Toy Story 4 Review

*cracks knuckles* *brushes off cobwebs* *deep sigh*

Hello there. Guess who's back? There's a long and complicated reasoning as to why I took a break from this blog, but I'll save that for another post (maybe). Not sure if I'm OFFICIALLY back, but this is an upload, so I guess I'm back?

Enough of that nonsense, though. You're here for a movie review, and I'm here to write one. Let's get down to business.

"Toy Story 4" is the newest addition of the Toy Story franchise, continuing the story of Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang as they head out on a road trip with their new kid Bonnie. The story takes on a surprising new twist, as Bonnie creates and brings to life a new character named Forky: a spork with arts and crafts pieced together on him. Woody struggles with keeping Forky safe, as well as beginning to come to fruition that his role as a toy may be winding down. A heartfelt, emotional, and hilarious film, "Toy Story 4" is a delightful conclusion to an incredible series.

A lot of this post is gonna be focused on the characters, btw. I won't break down all of them, but there's a lot to cover with the newest additions.

I really enjoyed the completion of Woody's story arc in this movie. The film really focuses on his character, and shows how his role as favorite toy is coming to an end. Woody was so used to being there for Andy, it's hard for him to adjust to a new kid. He's willing to go to great lengths to keep her new toy Forky safe, knowing it was all he had left to do for the girl. To see how far Woody has come and grown, and the impact he has had was a pretty emotional tug, as for years he has served loyally for the kids he has had, no matter how they have treated him.

Buzz's role in this movie was pretty stereotypical: a support character who comes in and aids Woody. Buzz is also challenged by this idea of an "inner voice"; he is constantly pushing the buttons on his chest to listen to his voice box tell him how to make decisions. This idea of toys having a consciousness and them acknowledging it was really intriguing to see.

Many of our favorite characters played very little roles in this new film, as we hardly saw Jessie, Slinky, Bullseyes, Rex, the Potato Heads and the rest of the gang do much. Obviously this story was more focused on Woody's character and the re-emergence of Boo-Peep, as well as new characters like Forky and Duke Ca-Boom. While it was nice to have a new cast of toys, it felt almost as if our OG crew was irrelevant to the film in its entirety. Who knows, maybe a Toy Story 5 is underway, and we'll see these characters play a bigger role.

Speaking of new character, Forky may have been my favorite character in this movie. AN innocent spork who was experiencing the world for the first time and coming to realization his role as a toy, not trash. Don't let his multiple times saying "trash" fool you, Forky was an adorable and hilarious character, and a cool new twist for the Toy Story franchise.

Boo Peep is back! This movie explains her disappearance from Toy Story 3, as well as a complete character change and growth. From a minor love interest in the first two films with Woody, to a complete boss in this one! Boo Peep's character change was awesome to see, as she redefined the idea that being a lost toy ain't so bad! Her new look and new abilities with her cane made her role as the toy kicking, independent, mature character perfect for this film.

ICYMI: Keanu Reeves was in this movie. His role as Duke Ca-Boom, Canada's greatest stuntman, was a minor role, but extremely funny!

With some new music choices (literally a song about loving trash was in this movie), as well as some throwbacks (You Got a Friend in ME), this movie was visually pleasing to watch as well as fun to listen to. The animation was extremely well done. The movie is a bit on the shorter side, clocking in at an hour and 40 minutes, and I almost wished it had been longer so we could've seen more of the other characters, or make the conflict a bit more intriguing and not so quick to be solved.

"Toy Story 4" is an excellent addition to the franchise. It has great humor, fun, and an emotional pull to it that'll leave fans in tears and with a big smile. The official Sam's Snippets score is an 8.4.

But what do I know? After all...