Toy Story 4 (2019)

When Toy Story 3 arrived in 2010 and reduced grown adults to quietly weeping into their popcorn, the general consensus was that Pixar had brought the franchise to a close in about the most satisfying way imaginable. Nine years later, Toy Story 4 showed up to test that assumption. Directed by Josh Cooley, whose previous Pixar work includes the short Riley's First Date?, the film picks up with Woody, Buzz and the rest of Bonnie's toybox embarking on a road trip that forces Woody, in particular, to reckon with who he is when his sense of purpose begins to slip. The inciting chaos is provided by Forky, a spork-turned-toy that Bonnie fashions in class and immediately adores, much to Forky's own bewilderment. It is, on paper, a fairly slim premise for a fourth instalment in a beloved series, and plenty of people questioned whether Pixar should have left well enough alone.

Production landed firmly in Pixar's hands at Disney, and the studio's reputation for pushing the boundaries of computer animation is very much on display here. Cooley steps up from short films to a full feature with a confident hand, and the film runs at a brisk 100 minutes, which keeps things moving without feeling rushed. The screenplay went through a notably turbulent development process by Pixar's own standards, with several credited writers and a significant reshaping of the story's direction along the way, though the finished film gives little indication of that behind-the-scenes upheaval. For fans of another animated entry in the family canon, there is something pleasingly familiar about the way Toy Story 4 uses a colourful, somewhat fantastical setting to explore what are, at heart, very human preoccupations.

The cast is as reliable as you would expect. Tom Hanks returns as Woody, and whatever one thinks of the film's necessity, his vocal performance remains warm and textured in a way that is genuinely difficult to manufacture. Tim Allen is back as Buzz, though this instalment gives him a slightly reduced role. Annie Potts reprises Bo Peep after her absence from the third film, and the new additions include Tony Hale as the hapless Forky and Keegan-Michael Key as one half of a plush carnival prize duo. Hanks, for his part, has a knack for lending sincerity to polished but unremarkable material, something you can see across his broader filmography, including his work in The Da Vinci Code and Inferno, where the films around him vary in quality but his presence is consistently grounding. Here, though, the material genuinely meets him.

Toy Story 4 (2019) may not have seemed necessary after the emotional perfection of Toy Story 3, but it proves itself as a worthy (and surprisingly poignant) coda to Woody and Buzz’s journey. The animation is nothing short of astounding: every thread on Woody’s plaid shirt, every glint in Forky’s googly eyes, and every rain-slicked street in the carnival-lit town feels rendered with meticulous, heart-filled care. Pixar’s technical mastery has never been more evident, turning plastic and fabric into vessels of profound emotion. The story wisely shifts focus, giving Woody a final arc centered on identity, purpose, and letting go, not just of Andy, but of his own definition of loyalty. Along the way, we meet new characters who instantly earn their place in the pantheon, none more so than Forky (or “Sporky,” as he insists), a spork-turned-toy whose existential confusion is both hilarious and oddly touching. His wide-eyed panic (“I’m trash!”) delivers some of the film’s biggest laughs, but also its quietest truths about self-worth. While the plot occasionally meanders through familiar chase sequences, the emotional beats land with sincerity, and the ending (gentle, bittersweet, and beautifully understated) honors decades of friendship without overstaying its welcome. It’s not as thematically rich as TS3, but it’s warmer and wiser than it has any right to be. Toy Story 4 didn’t need to exist, but now that it does, it feels essential. With stunning visuals, genuine humor (thanks, Sporky!), and a finale that closes the book with grace, it’s a joyful, heartfelt farewell to old friends… and a quiet nod to the idea that every toy (and every story) deserves a proper goodbye.

Those feelings about the ending stayed with me for a good while after the credits rolled, which is not something I say lightly about a fourth instalment in any franchise. There is a generosity to the way Toy Story 4 wraps things up, a willingness to let a character change rather than simply repeat themselves, that I find more interesting than a lot of animated sequels bother to attempt. It is not a film without its loose threads or its slower stretches, and anyone coming in hoping to replicate the specific emotional gut-punch of the third film will probably find this one a different, quieter beast. But quieter does not mean lesser. Sometimes a goodbye that does not try too hard to be a goodbye is exactly the right kind to give.

Rating: ★★★½  | Year: 2019  | Watched: 2026-04-27

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Trailer

▶ Watch the official trailer for Toy Story 4 (2019) on YouTube

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Disney Plus
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Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US

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Related on Movies With Macca

More from Josh Cooley: Riley's First Date? (2015)
More with Tom Hanks: Inferno (2016) · Angels & Demons (2009) · The Da Vinci Code (2006) · Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2020)
More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
More family: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Wonder (2017) · Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anastasia (1997)
More comedy: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · Americana (2023) · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)