By the time you read this, tickets for Toy Story 4 will already be on sale and people will be lining up to see the latest adventure of Woody and Buzz. Some people might be thinking, “Do we really need another Toy Story movie?”  The answer to this question is YES!
Here is our quick review of Toy Story 4.

The movie begins with a flashback to remind us about the relationship between Andy and his toys. This is pretty great to watch because we are reminded how Woody is there for all of his friends and how he would do anything for them. Yeah, the tears might start to flow during this montage, but this won’t be the only time you will cry during Toy Story 4.

In this latest addition to the saga, Bonnie makes a new friend, Forky, in school and this new friend is the one toy that makes kindergarten bearable for her. This new toy becomes her everything and this toy does not think he is a toy. This is where Woody comes in. Even though he has not been played with for a while, Woody knows how important toys are to their children and does his best to keep Forky from running away.

Throughout the movie we see Woody trying his best to help keep Forky in the mix but also he is trying to teach Forky the importance of being a toy and why children need them. It’s a great theme that runs through the movie about knowing your worth and who you are. Knowing that while you may think you are not important, someone out there thinks you’re the most important thing to them (kind of like parents and their older childen…if you think about it that way.)

Once Forky gets lost (not a spoiler because you have seen it in the trailer) the fun begins and we run into old friends, Bo Peep, and meet some new ones: Ducky and Bunny, Duke Caboom, and Gabby Gabby. The new cast is a great fit for the movie and just the moments with Ducky and Bunny are the funniest moments on the screen. I don’t think I have ever laughed as loud as I did during this movie and I hope we see more adventures of these two characters.

My favorite new characters are Duke Caboom, Cananda’s Greatest Stuntman, and Combat Carl. You might remember seeing Combat Carl in the Toy Story of Horror short, and I’m glad they brought him back for a small role in this movie. Duke Caboom, voiced by Keanu Reeves, is reminiscent of the old Evel Knievel toy that I had when I was younger and seeing his backstory gave us some depth to his character. Again, this is another character I hope we see more of in the future.

There are a lot of Easter Eggs in the movie and these were the few that we caught: the grape bottle cap from UP, a couple of Kenner Star Wars figures, Reptillus Maximus, and the pizza planet truck. There are probably a lot more, but we will see what we can catch on our second viewing.

I’ve always said that the Toy Story movies were a great metaphor for parenting and also for teaching.

• Toy Story 1 was about having your first child, in this case, Buzz. It shows us how the normal routine you were used to has changed, but you learn to adapt and love this new being that is in your life.
• Toy Story 2 was about realizing that there will be one day when you are no longer needed by your child, but until that time comes, you will enjoy every day that you have with them.
• Toy Story 3 was about your children growing up and now you are being passed down to their children. Your child may not need you as much anymore, but now you have their children to look after. 
• Toy Story 4….well, I will wait until you see it to give my metaphor about that one. 

Final Thoughts: This is a great continuation of the Toy Story saga and an interesting episode in the series. The movie has a lot of great laughs, but it also tugs at the heartstrings. Stay through the credits for some fun moments and a great dedication. There is also a funny gag with the Pixar logo at the very end.

Kid Friendly: This is a Toy Story movie so it is very kid friendly. While the ventriloquist dummies might be scary for the younger children and one jump scare, the movie is alright for all ages.

Violence: Other than some chase scenes there is really no violence in the movie.

Fandads Rating: 5 out of 5