By Anna Husted EBS FILM CRITIC
“Toy Story 4” is the
darkest and most existential in the “Toy Story” film franchise to date. Albert
Camus, one of the greatest writers of existential concepts, once said, “… the
only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your
very existence is an act of rebellion.” Woody takes this challenge on directly
in “Toy Story 4.”
Bonnie, the latest
in a line of Woody’s owners, has stopped playing with Woody, but Woody doesn’t
know anything in life except to care for your kid. When Bonnie makes her latest
toy, Forky, voiced by a hilarious-as-always Tony Hale, out of a spork with pipe
cleaner for arms while at her Kindergarten orientation, Woody takes it upon
himself to make sure Forky joins the gang of toys to make Bonnie happy. The
problem: Forky believes he is a single use plastic meant for “soup, salad,
maybe chili and then trash.”
The montage of Forky
repeatedly throwing himself into the trash is as hilarious as it is grim—rarely
in an animated movie made for children do you get this sort of existential
questioning—what is Forky’s purpose in life now that Bonnie changed it? Forky’s
disposition eventually affects Woody’s as well because he is increasingly ignored
by Bonnie.
As I write this
review, I appreciate “Toy Story 4” more and more. Upon my initial viewing, the
movie seemed simple, but in reality it is as complex as the previous three
films. These toys still have something to teach us about our own human condition,
and, ironically, the meaning of what it is to be alive.
Without spoiling too
much of the film, “Toy Story 4” takes us into dark corners of creepy antique
shops, but with new characters that are always there to lighten the mood. This
includes Ducky and Bunny, two carnival stuffed animals who are stuck together
played by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele respectively.
I’ve loved the world
and characters of the “Toy Story” franchise since the first installment came
out in 1995, and I will love long after the final film hits the big screen.
They bring such a rich balance of comedic and philosophical depth to
storytelling and a comradery of characters unlike any other film series. “Toy
Story 4” stands tall with its predecessors and adds to that depth of character
– giving us all “the feels” once again.
“Toy Story 4” is now
playing in theaters.
Anna Husted has a master’s
in film studies from New York University. In Big Sky she can be found hiking a
mountain or at the movies at Lone Peak Cinema. When not gazing at the silver
screen or watching her new favorite TV show, she’s reading, fishing or
roughhousing with her cat, Indiana Jones.
