For me, like the majority of millennials, the first Toy Story movie was part of my childhood. I had the VHS copy and I remember playing it every weekend, some Saturday or Sunday afternoon, while my family took their siesta (and I snuck out of it) I don't even know how many times I've watched it.
Toy Story simply has a very special place in my heart, as a Pixar fan, their first feature film holds special meaning. The great part is that they've kept the magic alive with their sequels, although, for me, Toy Story 2 is my least favorite, and Toy Story 3 was just the ending I believed I wanted.
So when Toy Story 4 was announced, I was skeptical. But, finally, after watching it on Disney+, I can say Toy Story 4 was the ending we didn't know we needed.
Now, I'm going to go in depth with the actual movie, so if you haven't watched it, go back, because there are spoilers ahead!
Many would agree, with teary-eyed smiles, that Toy Story 3's ending was the epitome of wholesomeness. A perfect ending to wrap up the franchise, and say goodbye to Andy, Woody, Buzz and the rest of the toy gang, knowing that they'd be in the gentle and caring hands of the adorable Bonnie.
But what we didn't know was all the unexplored potential of toys that Toy Story 4 encompasses. Until now, toys had always been someone's property, whether it's a child, a collector, a daycare center... In Toy Stoy 4 we see the uncharted territory of independent toys, and we finally get to see what Bo Peep was up to all these years.
However, the most important part it, we get to see how Woody copes with this new environment after living his entire life as one of Andy's favorite toys. As it turns out, Woody ends up being forgotten in the closet during Bonnie's playtime. Feeling forgotten and isolated, but as always trying to put on a happy face for his comrades, he becomes overprotective of Bonnie, and decides to go with her to her kindergarten orientation day.
There he watches brokenhearted as Bonnie struggles to make friends, but soon enough, she ends up using her imagination and crafty hands to make a friend, as in create it. That is the birth of Forky, the lovable and dorky disposable plastic spork who can't avoid hurling himself into any trashcan he sees, after all, he was created from trash.
But Woody knows how important Forky is for Bonnie, so he gives his all to keep him away from trash.
This takes them through all sorts of hilarious situations and, frankly, one cannot help wondering this time, how doesn't anyone notice that these toys move on their own?
Woody and Forky end up stranded during a road trip with Bonnie and her parents, and on their way they find Bo Peep, and Woody learns how much she has changed since she was given away. She lives as a child-less toy in a kids' playground, with her other child-less toy friends. Woody doesn't understand how it doesn't affect her being given away. After all, that is his biggest fear.
But through his quest of finding Forky and returning him to Bonnie, he realizes the journey without a child wasn't so bad after all, and he did miss Bo Peep.
What Toy Story 4 shows is the possibility of Woody finally feeling complete as a toy without having an owner. It's an ode to giving yourself the opportunity to get out of the comfort zone, to find happiness by yourself in the journey, not the destination.
Also, it opens the possibility to expand the Toy Story universe, after what we thought was a an unopenable closure. And that, for me, is quite beautiful when done in a way that doesn't disrupt the narrative and the characters' personalities.
There he watches brokenhearted as Bonnie struggles to make friends, but soon enough, she ends up using her imagination and crafty hands to make a friend, as in create it. That is the birth of Forky, the lovable and dorky disposable plastic spork who can't avoid hurling himself into any trashcan he sees, after all, he was created from trash.
But Woody knows how important Forky is for Bonnie, so he gives his all to keep him away from trash.
This takes them through all sorts of hilarious situations and, frankly, one cannot help wondering this time, how doesn't anyone notice that these toys move on their own?
Woody and Forky end up stranded during a road trip with Bonnie and her parents, and on their way they find Bo Peep, and Woody learns how much she has changed since she was given away. She lives as a child-less toy in a kids' playground, with her other child-less toy friends. Woody doesn't understand how it doesn't affect her being given away. After all, that is his biggest fear.
But through his quest of finding Forky and returning him to Bonnie, he realizes the journey without a child wasn't so bad after all, and he did miss Bo Peep.
What Toy Story 4 shows is the possibility of Woody finally feeling complete as a toy without having an owner. It's an ode to giving yourself the opportunity to get out of the comfort zone, to find happiness by yourself in the journey, not the destination.
Also, it opens the possibility to expand the Toy Story universe, after what we thought was a an unopenable closure. And that, for me, is quite beautiful when done in a way that doesn't disrupt the narrative and the characters' personalities.
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