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Cinema Trips 'Toy Story 4'

My thoughts on the fourth installation in the 'Toy Story' franchise.

By BoblobV2Published 5 years ago 3 min read
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Toy Story 4 is the fourth installment of the Disney/Pixar franchise that has been in existence since 1995. The film stars Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Big), Tim Allen (Galaxy Quest, The Santa Clause), Annie Potts (Ghostbusters, Pretty in Pink), Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Veep), Keegan-Michael Key (The Predator, Tomorrowland), Jordan Peele (Captain Underpants, Storks), and Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, John Wick). The final screenplay for the film was written by Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, Wall-E, John Carter). Randy Newman (Monsters, Inc., Pleasantville) returns to the franchise to compose the music, and the film was directed by Josh Cooley (feature length debut).

Narrative

The film starts with the events that explain the reasons as to why Bo Peep was not present in Toy Story 3, and once that is established we move back promptly to the present day where Woody is now the least favourite toy, now that they belong to Bonnie. On one day, Woody goes to school with Bonnie where she makes Forky. From then on a vacation comes about and various shenanigans ensue, which has the characters question what is there in life now that your life purpose has been fulfilled, the difference between living for someone else and living for yourself, and exploring various other existential themes and questions through the various toys. These are themes that I never thought would be explored in a film such as this, and despite the heavy nature of the themes that are being discussed, the filmmakers manage to make things palatable to an audience of all ages by staying as simple as they can, which in turn, manages to make the resulting narrative far more profound than it had any right being. The film starts off slow, and gradually builds momentum till the last twenty minutes of the film, where it packs quite an emotional punch.

Characters

The characters have evolved through each of the films in the series, and here is no different. While much of the original cast are now in the periphery with the main focus being around Woody, Buzz, and Bo Peep, what the filmmakers ended up doing was give a lot more screen time to the new additions to the cast list. These new additions were where the humor in the film predominantly came from, the likes of Duke Caboom, Forky, Ducky, and Bunny were hilarious throughout the film in their own distinct way. The emotional drive for the film came by way of Woody, as we see his character change over the course of the film till he finds his new reason for being. The villain in the film, Gabby Gabby, is also a well-written, well-defined, and sympathetic character. As is often the case when it comes to Toy Story, all the characters are fantastically written, and in my opinion the new additions help make this the funniest of the four films.

Visuals/Music

The visuals in the film are fantastic, and the opening segment in particular looked incredible. The water graphics, the lighting, some of the textures, and the way the environment was presented in this segment reminded me of the textures you can find in a AAA video game. The fidelity of the toys and their movements were incredible, and the overall detail in the environment was just as jaw dropping. In short, this film is a visual treat for the eyes. The music does not lag behind either as the compositions elevate the emotion in the scene to extraordinary heights that let the weight of the scenes land with that much more emphasis.

In Closing

Toy Story 4 is a fantastic end to Woody's narrative. It was poignant, emotional, hilarious, and an overall wonderfully put together film. It is one that I definitely recommend you to watch.

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About the Creator

BoblobV2

Writing about anime, and anything else I find interesting.

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