Let's Discuss--Toy Story 4: Part Review, Part Rant

So this will be a somewhat unconventional review of Toy Story 4, which I FINALLY saw yesterday. You know me, I'm a big Disney fan and Toy Story originated in my youth, so I love that the movies kept coming throughout the years. The rumors I read about this movie was that the storyline would be a love story. And it was in a lot of ways, as it opened with us learning when Bo Peep left the toys when they were still Andy's. So likely sometime right after the second movie when you think about it.

As we all know, the toys now belong to Bonnie, the little girl who was at the day care where Andy's mom had initially donated the toys to before they made their great escape. But it seems within a year? maybe less? Bonnie has already tired of Woody and is about to start kindergarten. It's at an orientation days where she creates Forky, the little spork with eyes, mouth, legs and all that jazz. Forky helps Bonnie get through that first practice day of school and somehow comes to life!

Forky believes he's trash, but it's Woody, the forgotten toy already, who must convince him otherwise. That's when Bonnie's family goes on  road trip before summer ends, it seems they are literally just driving to nowhere. Stopping at campsites and relaxing. All the while, Forky keeps trying to throw himself in the trash and Woody keeps trying to stop him.

When Forky's latest attempts separate him and Woody from the rest of the gang, Woody finds himself outside an antiques store with a very familiar looking lamp in the window. Yes, it's Bo Peep's lamp, though she's not standing on it.

It's not long before we meet creepy dolls...yes, creepy-freaking-dolls in this antiques store! The dummies you see in the picture very much reminded me of the Goosebumps one and there's that girl doll who's like the mob boss of it all. She wants Woody's voice box as hers was always defective and they apparently came from the same time. She wants a voice box that works so the granddaughter of the shopowner will want her and play with her. All toys just want to have a kid of their own. All toys...except some!

Bo and Woody finally reunite after all these years apart. It wasn't the kind of reunion that led to happy kisses and whatnot like we'd see with the Disney Princess group. There's been a lot of time apart for these two. Woody just wants to get him and Forky--who's being held hostage by the creepy doll group--back to Bonnie. Buzz wants to help Woody out in whatever way he can as well and sneaks off and must list to his inner voice, as Woody had suggested, to do what is right in rescuing him.

Overall, I though this was a really cute movie! Ducky and Bunny were probably my favorites. They are two carnival prizes that are attached together and they too want to belong to a kid and reluctantly help Buzz out with his quest in hopes that Bonnie might like them too.

My issues with this movie lie in the ending. That soul crushing ending. I can't decide if this ending crushed me more than the third movie or not. I honestly think this ending was more soul crushing...more soul crushing then when the toys were headed for a fiery inferno!

SPOILER TERRITORY--SINCE IT'S BEEN OUT FOR A MONTH I FEEL LIKE I CAN VENT ABOUT THIS ENDING HERE AND NOW. DO NOT READ WITHIN THE STARRED OFF SECTION IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT AND DON'T WANT TO KNOW HOW IT ALL ENDS!!!!!


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Okay, the movie ended where Woody basically had a choice, go back to Bonnie and be her toy for however many years he has left with her or stay with Bo (and a slew of other new toys that he met) and help carnival toys find their kids. He decides to stay with Bo. I wasn't so much destroyed by his decision, what destroyed me, in a sense, was Bonnie! The kid who was obsessed with Woody when she found him at the daycare and played with him. Then Andy actually gives Woody to her and oh, it's all great fun and games. There were a few short movie adventures where they had more great moments together.

I feel like maybe a year passes between the third movie and this one and suddenly Bonnie is DONE with Woody! DONE! Yet she plays with EVERY SINGLE ONE OF ANDY'S TOYS still in all her games! Then in the end credits, a few more scenes pop up and it's revealed that one year later, when Bonnie had her first day of first grave she freaking KEPT FORKY! She kept the freaking spork and then made another plastic utensil toy out of a knife. She has freaking toys made from trash and yet NEVER NOTICED that Woody disappeared! 

WTF.

WTFREAKINGF?! That's what had me walking out of the theater in a way that my soul felt destroyed. Woody was happy with Bo going with the traveling carnival and helping carnival prize toys find a kid for their own, and that was all good. But how can Bonnie not freaking care that she lost her cowboy doll? The toy she LOVED in the third movie and played with through those short film adventures and then not care about him at all? I mean, I get kids move on with toys and all that, but she still played with ALL OF ANDY'S TOYS still but left Woody out. WTF?!

In a way, I feel like that had to happen, so Woody could leave and be with Bo, but it still made me mad. And then he basically leaves all his friends behind. That he will never again see Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, the Potato Heads, Slink...everyone! His friendship with Buzz didn't last until Infinity and Beyond like they said because they are separated...UNTIL INFINITY AND BEYOND!!! I am destroyed by this! I am destroyed that Bonnie was so freaking fickle with Woody! He might have just been better off staying with Andy! He might have given him to his kid somewhere down the line! Because seriously WTF?!!!!

Bonnie basically turned into a horrible villain for me! I mean, seriously, you kept a freaking spork for a YEAR but don't give a crap that your favorite cowboy doll is gone forever?! I know kids grow out of toys and that's what the movie was trying to say. Bonnie is just fine without Woody, but it angered me soooooo much. Bonnie just HAD to have Woody and she dumps him within a year! Despicable. Woody and his friends are separated for good now and I just feel destroyed by that...even if he is happy with Bo.






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END OF RANT




So all in all, I enjoyed the movie, but am still in a love/hate relationship with that ending! I had the need to vent about my feelings for it, hence the lost post here and why I am even writing something of a movie discussion post here. 

Tell me, if you saw Toy Story 4, how did you feel about the ending? It's been a month, so I'm opening up spoilers to comments too. If you haven't seen the movie yet but plan to, please avoid reading the comments to be safe. I sometimes wait to see movies until they're on DVD too, hence why I blocked off my spoilery rant in the middle.


Overall Movie Rating 4/5 stars

I'm calling this a discussion! ;)