Toy Story 4 (2019)

To me, the Toy Story series has been almost the antithesis of the Cars series. TS1, while flawed, was destined for classic status. TS2, while not feeling necessary, outdid it in my book. TS3, which I had long assumed would never happen, became my all-time favorite animated feature (tho I may revise that assessment with further viewings). Could TS4 continue the pattern?

A mere two years after the events of TS3, old toy cowboy Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) has lost favor with owner Bonnie, who's starting kindergarten. He's taking this decline better than he did in TS1, but his way of coping is to support Bonnie clandestinely against the advice of others; like the emotions in Inside Out, he prioritizes nothing over the happiness of "his kid." With his guidance, she makes an ugly yet fairly impressive arts-and-crafts toy named Forky (Tony Hale), who initially doesn't have the mindset for a sapient toy at all. By the time Forky's getting cooperative, Woody's eyes stray to a familiar sight in an antiques shop window, giving him a riskier new priority and prompting buddy Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) to go on his own rescue mission....

Thanks to ads, you've probably surmised that Woody's after Bo Peep (Annie Potts), the lamp figurine who had been his love interest until separated from the gang sometime between TS2 and TS3. After her nearly useless turns before, it's a relief to see her as a liberated tomboy, highly competent at getting by without a designated kid. Her Polly Pocket-size yet tough-cookie companion, Giggles McDimples (Ally Maki), helps with the increased female presence. Might I add that I never noticed before that Bo Peep's three sheep are conjoined.

Speaking of conjoined, you may have seen ads focusing on Ducky (Keegan-Michael Key) and Bunny (Jordan Peele), two carnival prizes stitched together at one hand each. I don't think they make any, er, key difference to the plot; they're just comic relief, as if we really needed more of that. From what I've seen, Key and Peele have a highly masculine sense of humor, which may explain why Ducky and Bunny keep entertaining unduly aggressive thoughts in defiance of their fuzzy appearances. (I haven't felt this sorry for inconvenienced minor Pixar humans since Finding Dory.)

Much funnier to me and my dad is flamboyantly Canadian stunt biker toy Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves, whom I didn't realize was Canadian). He's quite the poser, yet he tends to need encouragement in the wake of his rejection, having been oversold by a deceptive commercial. Hmm, I'd better take another look at TS4 ads for anything misleading.

Forky is the hardest character to relate to. Who has positive associations with trash? Who would prefer to spend the rest of his short existence lying inert in a wastebasket and then getting incinerated? (Of course, the desire to be manipulated like an inanimate object is rare among viewers as well.) Even when he warms up to the idea of bringing joy to a kid, he's more of an idiot than Buzz ever was. And yeah, Buzz is still an idiot.

The antagonists? Well, why not; other reviews have mentioned them, and they don't take long to reveal their unscrupulous nature. When humans aren't watching, the antiques shop is being unofficially run by cutesy yet eerily soft-spoken doll Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) and her nonspeaking dummy thugs. Compared with previous villains in the series, she doesn't have particularly harmful intentions -- indeed, the heroes learn to feel for her -- but she still creates half the obstacles. I guess the writers did well in trying something different. I just wish the stakes were higher.

Some of my disappointment stems from most of the returning characters having little to do. It makes sense in the case of Mr. Potato Head, since Don Rickles passed away, but must the rest hold down the fort while Woody, Bo, and Buzz have all the adventure? This wouldn't be so bad if the newcomers offered more innovation. Or at least represented a few more RL brands.

TS4 lacks the laugh-a-minute cleverness of its predecessors. I'd say it lacks the focal if not tonal consistency. There's not much of a climax. It hardly dares to go in a fresh direction until the ending, which looks designed to conclude the whole series. I rather hope so, because the well's running dry.

Nevertheless, it is a worthy entry overall. It's still cute, touching, and escapist as appropriate. I tentatively rank it above TS1.

ADDENDUM: No introductory short this time! Perhaps Pixar decided it's too much trouble for too little payoff. At least there's a slight bonus after the end credits.