Directed by Josh Cooley

Toy Story 4 is like a bonus episode to a show you long since finished. Did you need it? Not really. Were you glad to see it? Perhaps. The marketing showcased a far darker, more depressing outing, which is not the final product at all. I guess I enjoyed this movie somewhat, but I have to say it is by far the weakest of all the Toy Story films, and I think most would agree. I didn’t feel the things I felt in the other ones this time around. This movie did have a few touching moments, and some good laugh out loud ones, but overall I left unsatisfied, and wanted to see another movie. Toy Story 4 isn’t a bad movie, it just feels a bit…hollow.

But why? The visuals are on point, great and wonderful animation. The whole cast is back too (though most sound noticeably older. Think James Earl Jones in Rogue One). The music is so good here too. And yet, I just feel tired of the same old thing. Of course this story continues on the nature of self and purpose, of reflection and loss. But I’m really over Woody’s whole obsession with Andy. And this iteration just seems like a mild retread of where we’ve been before.

The movie opens with a flashback from 9 years ago. Andy’s younger sister Molly decides she’s outgrown Bo Peep and gives her away. Woody and her share what they think is a final moment together as she’s given away. He has a chance to go with her, but declines. He belongs with Andy.

The movie has a neat and brief series of transitions that take us from there through all the storyline up to the present day, where you remember Andy went off to college and gave his toys to Bonnie. Little Bonnie has favorite toys she plays with more than the others, Woody is not among them. Now Bonnie has her first day of kindergarten, none of her toys are allowed. Woody disagrees with this. He think she needs someone to comfort her on this important day. He wants so desperately to be needed again. He sneaks along with her.

At school Bonnie sits alone, ignored by the other kids. She’s obviously sad so Woody plants some materials around her that she can play with. With this she makes Forky, a plastic spork with uneven beady eyes, fuzz string for arms, and broken popsicle sticks for feet. A hideous creation. She immediately falls in love with him.

When she brings them back home, Woody introduces Forky to the gang. “We’re toys” he has to repeat to him. “Trash?”, Forky thinks he’s trash, he doesn’t understand why he is alive, and always darts towards the garbage bin.

There’s a lot of existential stuff here. Is Woody useless now that Bonnie doesn’t play with him? Is Sporky still a living toy even though he was hand made by a kid? Even as he doesn’t want to be considered a toy, even as he seems to want to be thrown away. The other toys call him “just a spork”, even though he can walk and talk like all of them. And one might take Forky’s endless return to the trash bin and some sort of suicidal tendency, but this is a kid’s movie so I don’t want to push the envelope.

So there’s the movie’s basic dilemma. Forky keeps Bonnie happy cause she made him, Forky doesn’t want to exist so he escapes. Woody has to convince him to stay for Bonnie’s sake. Or so he says anyway. There is no staple villain of this picture like in the others. Although the story does later involve an antique shop with some extremely creepy dolls. They definitely nailed what they were going for with those. And a very questionable doll named Gabby, but she’s not as evil as we think she is.

This movie runs a lot more slowly than I thought it would, and carries some heavy thematic material in its story (although tastefully done, it’s still fine for kids to watch). And though at times it is very funny, it mostly is not. I think this premise is just too much for the franchise. Yeah, the Toy Story movies have always carried darker imagery and themes, but they had great plots and narratives to pack that punch. Toy Story 4 just doesn’t. It ALMOST feels a little like fan servicey filler. So what you get is an okay movie with some good themes. I think you’ll understand when you see the ventriloquist dummies. I liked parts of the movie. I liked Tony Hale as Forky, and some of the conversations he has with Woody are really good. And Key and Peele show up to voice two of the best characters. The design of the eyes of Ducky had me laughing more than I should have.

But overall I just am so unenthused. I didn’t even want to write this in case that wasn’t clear enough. If a movie is bad enough or great enough the review will pour out of me. Movies like this though? Where I’m kinda meh on the whole thing? are torture for me to sit and think about. Because I feel terrible that I didn’t like it more, and I don’t have enough to even hate on it. I think if the Toy Story movies continue, they should just do away with all the human characters, and have the conflicts be between toys themselves only. Now it should be about rebellion, maybe capitalize on the whole “lost” toys thing forever.

It all ends cheesily, predictably. The final shots are what you will expect them to be, there are no surprises here folks. Most people will enjoy that, and that’s fine. I don’t know what I wanted but it was more than this.

Two more things. Stick around for the credits, the very funniest moment happens here, and it steals the best scene from the rest of the movie. And also, a kid sitting behind me who I swear to you was no older than 10 remarked aloud as the memoriam for Don Rickles appeared, “That’s Mr. Potato. He died”. And that floored me more than anything else from the night