Some thoughts about Toy Story 4 :D
Spoilers included friends! Don’t read on if you’re avoiding those!
Doing the bullet point thing again cuz I don’t know how to write cohesively lol
Forky was such a wonderful character, and him and Woody interacting was super sweet. The part when they start to bond while walking in the middle of the night really got me. I remember back when the teaser came out I was so skeptical. But by the time the first full trailer came out, he totally won me over.
Woody has been my favorite for a long time. I keep thinking there is nothing that he can do that will make me love him even more than I normally do but DANG. He was just so stellar. His loyalty and selfless nature is made so much better because we have seen him at his very worst, and he has grown so much from there. If I really had to boil down a concise reason why I love him so much is because he is SO relatable to me. His character represents the ability to grow and evolve, to work towards being the best versions of ourselves. I can’t even express how much I love that.
Buzz. OH BUZZ. I love that Space Ranger with all of my heart. His concern and love for his friends is so wonderful, especially for Woody. He learned in this movie how to really stand on his own two feet. The inner voice bit was also probably my favorite running gag of the whole movie, which is saying a lot because there were so many hilarious running gags. It was just brilliant. Buzz is just a good guy I just love him.
Woody and Buzz’s friendship, oh my gosh. What can I even say about these two? They are just so precious. From that moment when the two of them are talking in the RV, to them after Woody’s argument with Bo, and the ENDING OH GEEZ I’ll talk about that in a bit though. I just love them.
I loved that Bo Peep had a great character arc in this movie. It was a little bit more subtle, but it was great. Bo’s been living her life freely outside of the Antique shop, totally accepting what’s been given to her but also choosing to make her own path. She’s been fine all this time without Woody, and Woody’s been fine all this time without her. But together they are so much more. That whole bit when they were arguing showed that maybe she was just a little bitter(? probably not the right term) that Woody had sorta always placed his loyalty in his kid over everything else, even over her. And that’s so hard, cause Andy did need Woody, and I think she probably understood that too, but dang. So when she decides to go back to help Woody again, knowing that he will still probably return to his kid, I really fell in love with her all over again.
One of the few complaints about this movie was honestly I just needed more Jessie. But the stuff she was in was soooo good. She is such an amazing compassionate character. She was clever and a great leader, and totally capable. OH AND ALSO HER AND BO BEING FRIENDS IS TOTALLY CANON NOW SO THAT DREAM IS FULFILLED LOL. I need like a prequel short of the two of them being bffs like PLZ PIXAR
I’ve been a steady shipper of Bo Peep and Woody for forever so obviously I soaked in all the glory of those little looks, playful gestures, the HUGS. OH GOSH THE HUGS. I love how Woody has like no chill in hiding his feelings for her. He just loves her so much and it melts me. Bo’s better at hiding it at first, but by the end they’re just totally into it. It killed me. I am just #ded over them.
I wasn’t really feeling much for Gabby the first time I watched the movie, but after seeing it a second time I do feel for her a bit more. The Dummies on the other hand? They’re still a whole lotta NOPE. That scene with the sewing machine is probably gonna be in my nightmares forever.
The other newbies? I mean what can I say? They all did such a fantastic job. I think other animation companies lean too heavily into their star power and what’s left is a lackluster performance. Pixar dug into each new character just enough, but I never thought they upstaged the main cast, which is important.
My only other minor complaint was that the pacing towards the end was SO FAST. It worked for earlier in the movie because it carried the comedy well, but dang I needed like at least an additional two minutes at the end haha.
Ok. So the ending. Not gonna lie, the first time I watched it I went home just feeling empty. I was so sad haha. But watching it again went so much better. I still cried, probably even harder than the first time. When Woody approaches Buzz after saying goodbye to Bo, he is totally resolved to Buzz’s advice “she’ll be alright.” But of course Buzz was talking about how Bonnie would be alright (and I dunno, I think what he was really saying was ‘WE will be alright.’) That moment probably will tell you more about what friendship is supposed to be more than any other piece of cinema.
I thought it was interesting that this real goodbye was so much more happy than the fakeout goodbye in TS3, even though in that movie at least there was the potential that they would all see each other again, whereas in this movie it’s uncertain. Oh that beautiful BEAUTIFUL poignant moment where Woody passes on the badge to Jessie, none of them have to ask whether he’s staying with Bo. It just seems like they are all so happy for him. And that hug between Buzz and Woody, gahhhhhhh. That is reason enough for this movie being made.
I loved this movie. It was hard to get through the end the first time, but every minute I love it more. I don’t think I’ve ever had a movie do that to me before.
Basically. I loved it. I love these characters. They mean so much to me, and I know I’m not the only one.
Anyway, thanks for listening to my ramblings. And thank you for being so kind.
