A Toy Story: Alles hört auf kein Kommando

Same old same old since #2. Woody needs to make a kid happy. Another toy is in trouble. Woody struggles to help that toy & also the kid. Buzz, etc help when Woody needs them. Well, somewhat different in this one is that Woody always needs to be told what to do & when to do it by Bo Peep. This is not surprising given Hollywood's current need to portray women as strong & noble and men as weak & nasty. And then there is Gabby, who is alternately sweet(ish) & evil. The only thing more creepy than Gabby are her accomplices. How/why did they decide to make Creepy Story with main themes being emancipation and emasculation?

Toy Story 4 takes us back to the beloved universe of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and their friends, while introducing a fresh perspective on what it means to find one's purpose and identity. Released a decade after its predecessor, this installment captures the charm and emotional depth that fans have come to expect, while carving out its own unique narrative.

The film begins with Woody grappling with his role in a world where his owner, Bonnie, is no longer a child who plays with him as much. This poignant shift raises questions about purpose and self-worth that are relatable to anyone who has experienced change in their life. When Bonnie creates a new toy named Forky, a spork that believes it's trash, Woody takes it upon himself to help Forky understand his value as a toy.

The heart of Toy Story 4 lies in its exploration of identity and belonging. Woody's journey of self-discovery is beautifully juxtaposed with Forky's comedic confusion and existential crisis. The humor is wonderfully balanced with deeper themes, making the film accessible for children while resonating with adult audiences.

In true Pixar fashion, Toy Story 4 shines with stunning animation and meticulous attention to detail. The visuals are breathtaking, from the vibrant carnival scenes to the serene backyard settings, immersing the audience in a richly created world. Each character is brought to life with distinct personalities, and the new characters, especially the loveable vintage doll Gabby Gabby, add depth to the emotional narrative.

The film also explores the theme of letting go, as Woody faces the reality of moving on from being Bonnie's favorite toy. In a powerful climax that emphasizes the importance of choice and selflessness, audiences are reminded that love can sometimes mean making tough decisions.

While Toy Story 4 may not have the same groundbreaking impact as its predecessors, it beautifully serves as a continuation that honors the legacy of the franchise. It leaves us with profound reflections on what it means to find our place in the world and the relationships that shape us.

As the credits roll, we're reminded that although toys may not be real in the traditional sense, the emotions and connections they represent are genuinely impactful. Toy Story 4 is a thoughtful, heartwarming addition to the series that reaffirms the idea that every ending is, in fact, a new beginning. It stands as a testament to the enduring power of friendship and the ever-evolving journey of self-discovery.

I know time is up to dust off a few gender-driven stereotypes. For that, "Frozen" was a landmark. But there's a fine line between creating new characters and promoting their differences and deconstructing old characters that belong to a whole other storyline in order to promote a difference, that's when I get the feeling that Disney is dangerously toying with its own legacy.

To make myself more specific, I would have no problem with a film centering on a gender exclusive romance and maybe that will be "Frozen II" novelty, but I would have a problem if they made a sequel to "The Fox and the Hound" in order to suggest that there was more than a friendship between Todd and Copper. Watching "Toy Story 4", I felt betrayed by the way the whole relationship between toys and owners, that took a trilogy to be built, was demystified in one single film to shine a light on Disney's 'new order'.

All the previous "Toy Story" movies had a specific story. The first was exploring the psychology of toys within their relationships with their owners. Anyone could relate to that, kids who own toys and adults who used to. It also sealed the friendship between Woody and Buzz, as two of Andy's favorites, not rivals. The second film established the issue of growing up through the Jessie situation and the impeding doom of hormone-driven rejection. Still, Andy and Woody realized that they were not articles among others or valuable items to be worshiped, having ANDY written on their feet was their value and it was perfect while it lasted.

The trilogy ended with the perfect tone (and note), Andy, now grown-up, realizes that the sentimental value of his toys depend on their current utilization as much as their past, so he gives all the toys, including Woody, to Bonnie. For the first time, there's a voluntary separation between the partners, it's an end of era but also a new start. And the toys' "circle of life" has always been about children having toys not toys having children, the song wasn't "I've got a friend in you" after all. In that fourth opus, there's such an obsession with that notion of "having children" that it felt like they were procreating them. I'm not exaggerating, it's used so many times it became a whole overarching theme.

But I didn't have a problem with that because the film started with a rather touching scene. Feeling rejected by Bonnie, Woody follows her in her first day at school and helps her create a new toy, "Forky", I just loved the way the "Spork" came alive on the sole basis that he was considered a toy, and the way Woody felt responsible in a fatherly that wasn't totally out of place in the film's context. Because the motive was still Bonnie: he didn't want her to lose her new toy, Woody was still thinking of his owner, and that's the way all toys behaved, not because that's the way it should be, but because that's the way it was established as soon as the series began.

This is why I just hated the way Woody admitted at the end that he did that because he had nothing else to do, as if toys were supposed to have an existence of their own, and being a lost toy was an option. Woody cared for Bonnie and Forky and it was out of character to describe this as a weakness. But the film constantly shows Woody as a weak character, both morally and physically, and for that, the studios came up with the right contrast: Bo Peep who is of course the incarnation of the Disney heroine, she's brave, bad-ass, perfect, not one ounce of vulnerability and nothing is impossible to her. Meanwhile, Jessie was relegated to a tertiary character while she could have been the female lead after all.

The character of Gabby Gabby was a great addition though, acting like a Disney villain (especially with her scary minions-automatons) but displaying a hidden depth that broke my heart. That Gabby had the potential, but Bo was such a caricature that I could hear the marketing strategy behind her creation "let her awesomeness put Woody to shame" and she did a great job at that. Naturally, she's proud of not "having children" which seems to associate parenting with a form of commitment a girl should be proud to reject. Quite hypocritical from a studio whose main audiences aren't seniors.

Now, maybe I'm overanalyzing, but when you also have two toys who insist on "having children" since they've been "waiting for three years" and they're males, it's of course a nod to the right for adoption, which draws the obvious parallel between belonging to children and having children. Which says in subtext, women shouldn't make raising families a priority but it's clearly one for those who've been denied this right. The message isn't wrong but just off-topic in the context of a series where a/ toys have always been the possessed ones not the possessors, b/ when the possession was a mark of friendship and nothing else and c/ when viewers could relate to owners, even from the toys' perspective. By over-humanizing them to make them timely relevant, something of the series' charm was lost.

My view is rather conservative but only in the sense that I wished the spirit of "Toy Story" to be conserved the way it was in the first three films, I enjoy a progressive film like anyone, but I wish Disney could do that with new characters, not with series whose arcs were perfectly closed. But I think I see where they're coming from, they're probably preparing a spin-off prequel that will center on Bo Peep, so maybe "Toy Story 4" is only a vehicle for her. Ironic that in the film, it's a skunk.

This movie is not just the other three. The plot is ok but it can't reach the level of that we we expected to see. It is quite usual and i had see that coming. It is ok to see for kids but i should not recommend parents watching this while caring of their child. Plus, all the toys behavior's just don't keep up with all we knew. Their moves, their language are not in same path as we got used. An unexpected and sad end comes through the end. But, directors, whatever you plan just stop it here!

I'll never forget seeing Toy Story 3 in the IMAX. Especially the ending. That heartwrenching moment when our main character has to grow up and put his childhood behind him is burned in my memory and is a surefire way to make me cry during a movie. It wasn't so much what was happening that made it such an impactful scene, it was what it meant for each of us on a personal level that made it just... work so well. Toy Story 3 was the perfect spot to end the series. The ending of that movie was a perfect bookend to the story.

Toy Story 4, therefore, is the three or four additional chapters tacked onto the end of a long novel that should've been left on the cutting room floor. Take the heart and adventure of the first 3 films and the emotionally wrenching conclusion of the third one, suck all the life out of them and you have Toy Story 4 in a nutshell.

From what I saw, I couldn't pick out any distinct message the film was trying to portray, really. Maybe it's something that requires another viewing or two; I have no idea. But my first impression of this movie is that it's just... pointless. It's fluff. It shows that Disney is fine putting out a story about growing up and leaving your toys in the past only to rush right back to them as soon as its nostalgic enough to turn a decent profit. I guess it worked; it performed well at the box office (and, yes, Disney sold me the BD combo pack) and it apparently got a high rating (likely for the sake that it's a group of animated things that resemble the characters you know and love. They felt like hollow shells of themselves, however; lacking anything of substance.

Ultimately, this movie left me with a sour taste in my mouth. The original trilogy were such perfect pieces of storytelling, each serving its purpose, telling unique stories and developing the characters. This one, if anything, undoes that. It's a presentation of these characters for no other reason than that Disney knows we'll buy it again.

I really hope this is the final instalment in the Toy Story series. Anything beyond this will enter into self-parody. It should've ended on the third one, but it didn't, and now we can only hope that this is the last toy story.