GET READY TO HIT THE ROAD.
Woody and his friends are enjoying life with their new kid, Bonnie, but a toy that she makes, Forky, throws them into a new adventure. There really was no reason to make a fourth chapter in this franchise, but it is nevertheless entertaining, offering fun and excitement combined with a genuine desire to make children understand serious emotional issues. The film continues right after the third one and reintroduces Bo Peep, a major character from Toy Story 2 (1999), who ends up taking charge of Woody’s new mission. Forky, essentially just a plastic fork, is ingeniously voiced by Tony Hale.
2019-U.S. Animated. 100 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Mark Nielsen, Jonas Rivera, Galyn Susman. Directed by Josh Cooley. Screenplay: Andrew Stanton, Stephany Folsom. Music, Song: Randy Newman (”I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away”). Voices of Tom Hanks (Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear), Annie Potts (Bo Peep), Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele… Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton, Laurie Metcalf, Carl Weathers, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Betty White, Carl Reiner, Patricia Arquette, Bill Hader, Flea.
Trivia: Co-executive produced by Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich and Pete Docter. Also shown in 3D.
Oscar: Best Animated Feature.
Last word: “The interesting thing was, we had people that worked on the first ‘Toy Story’ film; my production designer designed Buzz Lightyear 30 years ago, and now he’s working on this one. We had people that were the OG team, and then we had newer artists that would show me pictures of them dressed as Buzz Lightyear for Halloween when they were five, and now were working on ‘Toy Story’. So, it was really cool, seeing these two groups that just really love it.” (Cooley, Deadline)
