Our family was invited to see Toy Story 4 as part of a media preview and we accepted because we have been Toy Story fans since the very first movie. Our son is 11 and still a big fan, though I wondered when I asked him if he wanted to go if it might be too young for him. That didn’t turn out to be the case at all.
We all thoroughly enjoyed the movie, especially the character Duke Kaboom from Canada and all the Canada references because we are proud Canadians. My son thought that the dummy/puppet characters might be a bit creepy for younger kids but the smaller kids in the audience didn’t seem distressed by them. We liked how nuanced and multidimensional the characters were and enjoyed the redemption character arc of Gabby the doll – we didn’t initially like her very much but she became pretty endearing. Our favourite new character was Forky, because he was just so darn cute.
There were valuable lessons in loyalty, friendship, perseverance and lots of laughs. We laughed until our bellies hurt. While animated, the movie isn’t just for little kids, there was truly something for everyone. Our whole family enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to existing Toy Story fans and also to those those who haven’t seen a movie yet. Seeing familiar characters was great, but the movie didn’t rely on so much prior knowledge of plot points that it would preclude new viewers from falling in love with the characters just like we did in the first Toy Story movie.
The way the movie ended left us wondering if there would be more movies or if this would be the end of the Toy Story franchise. Personally I hope there will be more and spinoffs too, but it did leave things in such a way that conceivably it could be the last in the series. If it is, I will be sad, but what a way to end a series if that’s the case. Definitely check it out and be ready to laugh, cry and have a wonderful time with characters you already love and some new faces that will worm their way right into your heart.
Here’s the trailer:
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