Toy Story 4

Toy Story 4 concludes the amazing animated-series with an emotional and beautiful thrill ride. Pixar managed to combine its old, magic flare with the power of its new, photo-realistic-animation—and it is breathtaking. The emotion pouring out of each frame pulled me into an unforgettable experience, proving itself as the best film of the summer.

The story is surprisingly small. It centers in on only a few of the original characters within a brief plot, but it does this to fully capitalize on the character development and emotional weight from each arc. A new corner of the storyworld is uncovered in this film as Woody meets lost toys that are strangely comfortable being without a loving kid. The conflict is mainly founded in Woody’s personal ideals. There is a small antagonist within Gabby Gabby, but as a whole the film does not revolve around a villain or set of forces opposing the toys on their road trip. The film chooses an interesting path of analyzing its characters’ intentions rather than a physical antagonist. Whether that detracts from the story is up to you, because I first believed it took away a large deal of what could be a great story, but then I recognized there would be no screen time for the authentic character moments. The story is small and simple, with no true villain, but in a way the story is separate from the events taking place since it is actually about the characters.

With Key and Peele, Keanu Reeves, and some brilliant banter between the central cast, this is one of the funniest films in the Pixar collection. Key and Peele as a plush-toy-duo of a duck and rabbit, stuck together by their tags, were overflowing with genuine laughs and creativity. Keanu Reeves’ Duke Caboom has a fantastic character arc that fully develops in the most hilarious way imaginable. The concept alone—Keanu Reeves playing a Canadian, daredevil-motorcyclist that is abandoned by his French-Canadian kid because he fails to jump as far as the commercials advertise—is brilliant, but the way the story cycles back to his development makes it crazier and crazier. These bits of humor would have completely drowned out the story if it were not for the fluid editing of this film. Each moment molded into the next, combining sad moments with humor and heartfelt character beats. This film knew how intense and sad the audience would feel towards the end, so it brought out real comedy throughout to highlight each moment.

The character development is unparalleled by any film yet this year. Toy Story 4 will win the Oscar for best animated film, but it might even get nominated for best picture—like Toy Story 3 in 2011. That is how real these characters feel, fully three-dimensional through their struggles and development. Woody and Bo Peep evolve right in front of the audience, showing how both of them see the world because of their past struggles and present ideals of finding a reason to live. This film is mainly about them, and their perspectives are exposed by the other toys on their team. Forky serves as the sponge to Woody’s beliefs, since he does not know how to be a toy. Woody continuously tells him why being there for their kid is the most important thing to living, but time and time again he hesitates when he looks to see other toys living without any kids. His entire life is put into question as he tries to bring Forky back to comfort Bonnie during Kindergarten, and he begins to realize how broken his mindset truly is.

Overall, the events that take place in Toy Story 4 are smaller than I expected, but it centers on the emotional weight of every scene for a heartwarming experience. The small hints slowly build on each other, until the ending finally reveals itself and the audience realizes it has all been building to this moment. The animation is beautiful, the humor is brilliant, and the character development is masterful. The story is so organic that I left the theater as if this film was always with me; I never thought of it as a separate addition to a series. The craft is simple but so touching, and it is smart enough to expand the story through character moments rather than an intense plot. Toy Story 4 manages to complete the series by taking it beyond a collection of well-written films; it creates a sense of conclusion and maturity no other children’s films come close to attempting.

Story Rating: 8/10

Character Rating: 10/10