ToyStory4 is messy but in the best possible way, writes BilgeEbiri
Photo: Disney/Pixar Call him Frankenstein’s Spork. The central figure in Toy Story 4 — not so much the protagonist but the character around whom most of the film turns — is a simple little plastic utensil that’s been outfitted with googly eyes and pipe-cleaner limbs by a lonely kindergartner. Oh, and contrary to all science and reason — even the perverse science and reason of the Toy Story universe — he’s sentient.
The bizarre, unsettling, and somehow still delightful Forky is the first sign that this Toy Story is not like the other Toy Story films. But he’s not the only sign, and more weirdness soon ensues. After Bonnie’s family loads up an RV and goes a road trip, Forky throws himself from a window of their moving vehicle and into the night. Determined to protect Forky at all costs, our rag-doll-cowboy hero Woody heads out in pursuit.
Such twisted developments in a Pixar sequel are more than welcome nowadays, since the once-mighty animation studio seems so content to churn out somewhat predictable, turbo-loaded follow-ups to its classics. What makes Toy Story 4 work is that instead of providing us with a clear emotional map to its characters and themes, the film never quite lets us know what to feel. It’s an unnerving little movie, one that at any given moment might deliver a burst of feeling, or a big laugh, or a jump scare.
In that sense, Toy Story 4 perhaps embodies its own message. It feels like a movie eager to break out of a mold — any mold. Every character in the movie struggles with a longing for a status quo that no longer exists. Woody thinks he can continue to be his child’s essential toy; indeed, the reason he’s so protective of Forky is because it makes him feel relevant. Bonnie herself is terrified of kindergarten and being separated from her parents.
That’s not to say that this isn’t still Pixar. I won’t give away the film’s climax, but I will say that the inevitable tears are jerked in layers: There’s one emotional climax for those viewers who are new to the series, another for those who have only vague memories of the previous films, and yet another for those who’ve totally grown up on these pictures. It’s a generous, inclusive approach, an acknowledgment that each person sees a different movie.
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