Toy Story 4

Toy Story 4 takes a less menacing look at life beyond suburbia, as Woody (Tom Hanks) and the gang make friends with a new toy (Tony Hale as Forky) before heading out on an ill-defined road trip.

The new toy was created by Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw) during kindergarten orientation, and even though he now breathes life, he still seeks wide-eyed independence, with neither code-bound duty nor congregational chore, and one night he escapes, rashly jumping from a speedy camper's window, leaving loyal Woody no choice but to follow, to bring Bonnie back her most beloved possession.

But after locating Forky and encouraging him to return, he notices signs of a lost love in a local shop.

Hopeful to see how she's doing, and overwhelmed with feelings of good luck, he carefreely and quickly enters, only to discover envious misfortune.

For a doll whose voice box has never worked lies covetously waiting within, a doll who's never known the thrill of companionship, nor the love of enraptured being.

Woody's voice box still functions, and it's indeed a miraculous match, altercations maladroitly ensuing, Forky laid-back and none the wiser.

But Toy Story 4 isn't as traditional as its predecessor, there's room for change and compromise.

Bo (Annie Potts) shows Woody that life can flourish in the wild unknown, if one's attuned to wit and invention.

Times are tough for Woody, even if he's turned a blind eye.

He's not as popular as he was once was, and is sometimes left behind in the closet during playtime.

He's still as determined as ever, nevertheless, and does everything he can to delight little Bonnie, honourably exemplifying unyielding fidelity, in the pursuit of irrefutable happiness.

But there's also Bo, with whom he intuitively prospers, with a different kind of love he's never explored, in realms that could nurture alternative thought, where his exceeding talent could find new meaning.

Plus he's been loved throughout his entire existence, he's known the comforts of well-defined responsibility.

And understands that Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) never has, even though she's ever so adorable.

Toy Story 4 considers identity in flux perhaps as its original youthful audience comes of age.

The film's still innocent enough for the next generation of youngsters, but also introduces mature thought for ye olde old school devotees.

I suppose if they saw the first Toy Story when they were 5 they'd be 29 now, so no. 4 may have been released a bit too late.

But so many young adults are living at home for so much longer these days, many who perhaps have never considered moving out.

With rents soaring sky high in many places, I can see why they've chosen to stay.

It's alright living at home a lot of the time too, if your lifestyle isn't too disruptive.

There's no clear path, no precisely defined pattern, just extremely confidant justifications for whatever path you've chosen.

Just gotta choose one and give 'er.

'Til something else comes along down the way.

*Loved Toy Story 4's Canadiana.

**And Buzz Lightyear's (Tim Allen) commanding inner voice.

Toy Story 3

College. Suburbia. Daycare. Coming of age. Andy (John Morris) is all grown up and preparing for college near the beginning of Toy Story 3, and his favourite toys are worried about their resulting fate. Happy to live out their days in the attic, they suffer a crisis of conscience after having been accidentally thrown in the trash. Narrowly escaping their curbside predicament, they then stow themselves away within a box of donations travelling to Sunnyside Daycare. Accepting that Andy has outgrown them and happy to be living within an environment populated by energetic toy-loving kids again, Buzz (Tim Allen) etc. embrace their new surroundings and approach the transition enthusiastically. But Woody (Tom Hanks) knows that they were supposed to be sent to the attic and refuses to play any other role than that of one of Andy's toys. He therefore sets out to return home while his friends discover that Sunnyside is actually a maximum security prison run by a despotic toy named Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear (Ned Beatty). Will Woody be able to convince his friends that they should return home to their rightful owner, and if so, will he be able to help them escape?

Sigh. So the toys leave the private comforts of suburbia to live within the public domain only to discover that it's being run by a tyrant. They try and grow up, move on, adapt, change, only to be ruthlessly beat down and outrageously abused. The tyrant is defeated and replaced by Ken and Barbie (who live in Sunnyside's most suburban residence) who turn Sunnyside into a warm and friendly place. Which I guess just points out that as you move around working you'll probably find autocratic and hospitable environments, many of which are hospitably autocratic and autocratically hospitable, depending on their socio-political dynamics and how well your personality fits within, and while living within the autocratic, you may spend time wishing you were still at home. But the film's predominant focus vilifies the world outside that within which servants cater to the well-to-do, suggesting that it's better to grow up and live in suburbia than try and develop a more gregarious public sphere. Meaning thumbs down to Toy Story 3.