When I think back to seeing the first 'Toy Story 4' trailer, I remember feeling disappointed. I felt like Pixar was just doing the sequel thing again, and 'Toy Story' just plain didn't need a fourth title. I felt like the way 'Toy Story 3' ended was the perfect way to end a long-lived trilogy, and this felt like Pixar running out of original ideas. I'll admit, I pretty much just rolled my eyes at the idea. Along would come a second trailer that gave us a bit more, and I decided that if Pixar had ever taught me one thing, I probably shouldn't judge this book by its cover. There had to be something more to it than I was seeing. Thankfully, I was right to think that. 'Toy Story 4' continues Woody's (Tom Hanks) story under Bonnie's (Madeleine McGraw) new ownership. Woody and the gang are all in their element with Bonnie, and have all become friends with Bonnie's other toys; among Bonnie's mainstays are a triceratops named Trixie (Kristen Schaal), a unicorn named Buttercup (Jeff Garlin), an elegant porcupine named Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) and and the aptly named Dolly (Bonnie Hunt). Taking a moment to rewind to 'Toy Story 3', I appreciate the fact that Bonnie owned a Totoro, who sadly doesn't come up here. But I'll tell you who does show up - Bonnie's toys she leaves in the closet; Carl Reineroceros (Carl Reiner), Bitey White (Betty White), Chairol Burnett (Carol Burnett), Melephant Brooks (Mel Brooks) and Old Timer (Alan Oppenheimer). Also, two fluffy carnival prize animals, Ducky (Keegan-Michael Key) and Bunny (Jordan Peele). I still don't even know if I've covered all the great voicework, but we must move forward. The plot of the film starts with Bonnie's Kindergarten orientation. She's scared, so being the comforting toy Woody is, he sneaks into her backpack to keep an eye on her. Bonnie sits alone, not really knowing where to start on a class project. Instead, she finds some materials Woody tossed on her table without her knowing, and creates Forky (Tony Hale). I find this shines a light on a question I never thought of with these movies - if a kid creates a toy, is it alive. The answer turns out to be "yes", but Forky thinks he belongs in the trash, being that he basically came from there. Woody tries to convince him otherwise, and that he's potentially Bonnie's new favourite toy. Forky brought her joy when she was feeling sad and scared. I have to appreciate the analogy that sometimes we can consider ourselves useless and/or pointless, but there's someone on the side lines trying to steer us in the right direction, reminding us we're loved. After Bonnie gets through her first day of Kindergarten, the family (Lori Alan and Jay Hernandez as the parents) decides to go on a road trip, allowing Bonnie to bring along all of her toys. During the trip, Forky jumps out and Woody goes after him, promising to meet at the RV park they were headed for. On their way over, Woody and Forky happen upon an antique shop where Woody recognizes Bo Peep's (Annie Potts) lamp. They go to explore, only to find themselves amid creepy ventriloquist dummies (Steve Purcell) and a doll named Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) who needs a new voice box if she ever wants to be enjoyed by a child - even if it means taking Woody's. As for Bo Peep, they do manage to eventually find each other after Woody escapes his situation, leaving Forky behind. Bo Peep, along with stunt driving Canadian, Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves) and a "Polly Pocket"-like character named Giggles McDimples (Ally Maki) help Woody try to get Forky back to Bonnie. As the plot unfolds, so does Woody's character development. While he remains used to the idea of playtime and loyalty to Bonnie (and once, Andy) he remains somewhat freaked out by the idea of being a lost toy. Bo Peep, on the other hand, tries to convince him that perhaps being lost isn't so bad. Her story is an interesting call-back to 'Toy Story 3' when Bo Peep is mentioned as a lost toy. Somehow, with the way Woody puts things in the scene, we all knew there was some untold story behind Bo Peep's disappearance. This movie fills in the blanks, namely with the opening scene. I always found that each of these movies speaks to a certain aspect of the life of a toy, which is very interesting. The first deals with going missing, and having to deal with that cynical kid we all knew who loved destroying toys. The second one deals with being stolen as a collector's item, and finding out you're part of a set. It further deals with the idea of being grown out of, and what will happen. This is all answered with the third film, showing Andy having grown out of his toys, and moving on to college. It deals with being donated, and whatever the next step in a toy's life might be, which brings Bonnie into the picture. Finally this film deals with the idea of a toy she creates, and Woody taking care of him. He also wants to take care of Bonnie, as he's loyal, but for once the film asks why he doesn't take care of himself. So while they all have to do with escape/break-out, they all have very different stories going on through the escape/break-out. 'Toy Story 4' would go on to win the Best Animated Feature Oscar, earning Pixar Golden Statue #10 for the category. I have to say that speaking for myself, it was probably my favourite animated film that year, and above all else, a very pleasant surprise. I remember leaving the theatre, wondering how the hell they pulled things off so well. It even gets kind of deep in a way we might not ever expect. In all honesty, I was kind of surprised by the way it all ended. With a very solid four titles under its belt, all being pleasant surprises for their time, the 'Toy Story' franchise may very well be the best series (including all sequels) in the Pixar library. One way or another, my generation has grown up with these movies. For me, it started when I was 13, and ended before the, shall we say, terror of 2020. There's a lot of nostalgia here, and I'm happy to have these films to refer to when I need the boost. 5/5
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Whether or not anyone liked the last three Pixar films, they all still veered away from what made Pixar so very special, as we've come to know it. 'Cars 2' was a bit of a cash-grab, 'Brave' was a fairly average princess movie better suited to Disney (in the tradition of 'Tangled', 'Frozen', 'Moana', etc), and 'Monsters University' was just plain fun, and a bit of style over substance. They all lacked a certain depth we loved Pixar for. I'm not bashing these films by any means, and still appreciate 'Brave' and 'Monsters University' on a certain level ('Cars 2' is truly the bump in Pixar's road). But they were nothing like 'Up', 'Toy Story 3' or 'WALL-E' where they made you stop and think about things. Soon enough, however, this movie would come along and bring things back to the way they once were. But just to get a couple of elephants out of the room, allow me to fully admit two realizations with this movie. One - 'Inside Herman's Head' did this first, so I can say it's 100% original; and Two - there is a moment here that suggests the adventure didn't need to be all that it was; think of the eagles flying the Fellowship to Mount Doom instead of taking a death-defying hike. With that said, however, this movie still holds a certain power that a lot of people have felt missing from Pixar over the few years leading up to this - almost exactly five years from 'Toy Story 3'. 'Inside Out' introduces us to a girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), and the various emotions who, shall we say, "pilot" her brain; Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). They control Riley's emotions and create Riley's "memories"; coloured orbs that stack up to fuel various personality islands like "Hockey Island", "Friendship Island", etc. All is well, but Riley soon turns eleven, and things start to go downhill when the family moves away. Inside Riley's head, there is a squabble between Joy and Sadness, as Sadness keeps touching memories and making them sad. An accident sends the pair to the vast memory bank of the brain, far away from "headquarters", leaving Riley alone with Anger, Fear and Disgust to drive her around. Now it's up to Joy and Sadness to return to Headquarters with that of a "core memory", which came with them during the squabble. If they can get her happy core memory back into headquarters, Riley can be happy again. Meanwhile, in headquarters, Anger, Fear and Disgust do their best, but without Joy or Sadness in the picture, Riley starts to feel sort of numb. While I strongly enjoy the creativity behind this film when it comes to the inner workings of someone's head, the real draw for me is the relatability of Riley's situation and what the film has to say on the matter. Without spoiling it, I might suggest that the underlying message is that "it's okay to not be okay". Anyone who has ever faced depression understands this phrase, and this is a movie that does a great job at getting that message across. I have to appreciate a lot of the ideas they have throughout the movie, like the idea of Riley's imaginary friend, Bing Bong (Richard Kind) and what they end up doing with him. Or the idea of the mysterious realm of abstract thought, which brings with it some pretty interesting animation. They also get into things like how Riley dreams, what happens to memories we forget, how the imagination works and more. Pixar really took care here to think about the inner workings of the brain and how they might translate to a fun, animated movie. This one puts Pete Docter back in the director's chair as well, so I was fairly confident it was in good hands after his work on 'Monsters, Inc.' and 'Up'. Sure enough, I was right, and this is another Pixar title that hits me in the feels every time. This would ultimately become the film I consider "Pixar's resurrection" in that it brings back the heart, original concepts and not only enjoyable, but relatable characters. Sure enough, it would also pick up Pixar's eighth Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and would even get a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. With this movie, it really felt like Pixar had made a triumphant return (at least for me), and despite the two things I pointed out in the beginning of the review, it's still a rather beautiful movie that does what Pixar does best and pull on those heartstrings - and not in a cheap way, but a relatable way. This is easily one of my favourites in the Pixar library for what it has to say, and I find a deeper connection with this one than many others. It was so good to see Pixar back on top that year. 5/5 |
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