Toy Story 4: What Does It Mean to Be a Toy?

My friend Katie and I went to see Toy Story 4 last week, but we had already seen many movie reviews talking about how this was a movie that tried to tackle the idea of the essential meaninglessness of life. As two ladies suffering from existential crises, this movie was exactly what we needed. Pixar might be sticking to animation as their medium, but let's just acknowledge that they no longer make movies for kids. You can take a young kid to this movie and they will happily giggle every time Forky comes on screen, but adults had better be prepared to sob and confuse the hell out of the oblivious children.

At the end of Toy Story 3 (spoiler alert!), Andy had gone off to college and bequeathed all his toys to a little toddler, Bonnie. So we now get to see how Woody and the gang fare in this new environment. Turns out Bonnie isn't quite so interested in playing with Woody, favoring some of the other toys instead, but Woody is still the purpose-driven toy he always has been, determined to ensure that the world is arranged to make Bonnie happy and that she always has the comfort of a toy, regardless of who that toy might be. Which leads to him jumping into her backpack when she heads off to her first day of Kindergarten and inadvertently helping her create a toy for herself out of a spork with googly eyes and pipe cleaners for arms. She names this horrific creation Forky, and he promptly becomes her favorite toy.

Unfortunately, once Forky gains sentience, he cannot comprehend the notion of being a Toy. He was created out of trash, and so all he wants to do is jump into the trash can and return to whence he came. Woody had to keep an eagle eye on Forky, constantly retrieving him from trash cans and desperately trying to drill into him the idea that his life's purpose is to be a Toy and make Bonnie happy. He gradually succeeds, but then further complications arise and the movie turns into a rescue mission as Forky gets kidnapped by the creepiest dolls ever that have been lying kid-less and unplayed with for years in an antiques store.

Word of caution: don't take very young kids to see this movie, because the creepy dolls genuinely turned this film into a Chucky-esque horror film. Even the adults in the audience were screeching when these ventriloquist dummies showed up on screen. There's quite a bit of carnage and high-stakes drama that ensues, as well as a beautiful romance for Woody, some entertaining comedy where Buzz Lightyear finally discovers his inner voice, and everyone eventually figures out that sometimes it's OK to be lost. Damned if I didn't wish I had a Woody in my life to help me figure those things out.

This is officially the final installment in the Toy Story franchise and it is bittersweet, entertaining from start to finish, and the perfect end to a series of movies that kept leaping from strength to strength. Tom Hanks' voice acting as Woody is unsurprisingly sublime, as are all the other actors who bring these characters to life, and the animation itself is a singular work of art. I was particularly beguiled by Bo Peep, a porcelain doll who shone during the entire film, and even the sound editing was perfect, with the porcelain clinking as she and her sheep raced across the screen on their various adventures. Everything about Toy Story 4 is imaginative, thought-provoking, and heartwarming. So leave your kids with the babysitter and head to the movies. These toys have some life lessons to impart to us adults.