Review: Toy Story 4, or Ugh I Hope This Is the Last

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Strangely, Duke Caboom looks a lot like Keanu Reeves.

I've said this over and over again: I am not a fan of sequels for profit's sake.

That said, Toy Story 4 should not have been made. Toy Story 3 would have been the perfect closer, as the entire Toy Story franchise would've focused on Andy and his relationship with his toys. We began with Andy as a young boy, and ended with Andy going off to college and passing on his toys to someone worthy of playing with these magical mischief-makers. Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending we all needed.

But that's that. Toy Story 4 did get made. So we're gonna have to deal with it.

The good thing about this fourth film is that it wasn't terrible. It wasn't bad at all. Well, it wasn't perfect, and neither was it great. It was just... good.

The rest of the cast, I believe, reprised their roles, led by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as Woody and Buzz, Annie Potts as Bo Peep, Joan Cusack as Jessie, Wallace Shawn as the slightly neurotic Rex, John Ratzenberger as Hamm, and Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head. But the best thing about this ensemble would be the new additions. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele of Key and Peele fame play the amusement park stuffed toys Ducky and Bunny, Christina Hendricks plays the creepy doll Gabby Gabby, Tony Hale plays Forky, while the Internet's boyfriend Keanu Reeves plays Duke Caboom, the Canadian daredevil with a penchant for motorbikes. If only a ten-movie deal were in order, these new guys definitely need to be back.

The thing that ties the whole four-film series together would be Randy Newman's music, which has Toy Story written all over it. Newman's country-like drawl set to the soothing sounds of acoustic steel guitars has been the series's signature sound since Toy Story's debut in 1995, and to deviate from that now would be alienating to the fans, especially those who didn't want a fourth movie in the first place.

All in all, Toy Story 4 feels like an epilogue. But not just your usual epilogue – it feels like an epilogue that forces its nostalgia on its viewers, sort of like having a completely wrapped trilogy and then going, "Hey, wait! We still have more little anecdotes to share! Don't leave!" Honestly, though, I hope this is the end of the series. New and original films are what's missing in Hollywood right now, and it seems that even the pre-movie Pixar short film, the last great venue of original animated storytelling, was taken out of the equation. Bring it back, please.

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"Nah, I don't think we're getting our own spin-off."

Toy Story 4. USA. 2019.



Original rating: 8.0/10
Rashida Jones as one of the story writers: +0.1
Badass Bo Peep: +0.1
No Pixar short: -0.3
Final rating: 7.9/10

WALL-E

And Pixar does it yet again.

Pixar Studios still continues to be the best and most artistic makers of computer-animated films, and it is rather hard to maintain that status, what with all the other studios racing to topple them off their pedestal. But after nine films under its belt, Pixar still remains the undisputed leader in quality storytelling.

WALL-E would be a shoo-in for another Academy Award. It pushes its boundaries this time by going into outer space which, after Finding Nemo, Pixar felt it was ready to do. The camera work for the space shots were carefully researched, including the nebulous clouds and the lens flares, and without too much dialogue to hold you down, you can just sit back and let the scenery sink in.

The absence of dialogue, especially for the first part of the film, makes WALL-E transcend language barriers, and just goes to prove that an actor's performance is not gauged by how good he is at accents or voice-changing, but by how well he can convey emotions without even opening his mouth. Then again, Pixar has already been proving this point with their short film tie-ins (this particular film is paired up with the short film Presto, which works wonderfully without any dialogue whatsoever).

The design of the characters is also quite interesting. The robot EVE's design was actually based on the sleek, white design of Apple products like the iPod (it would be interesting to note that Pixar used to be owned by Steve Jobs before it was acquired by Disney). Some critics say that WALL-E's design was based on Johnny 5, the talking robot from the eighties film Short Circuit. But the resemblance is only in the binocular eyes and the tank treads, and it stops there. WALL-E is a complete character on his own, and as soon as you see the film, you'll agree that it would be an insult to state that WALL-E is a Johnny 5 rip-off.

WALL-E's voice was created by Ben Burtt, the genius behind the excellent sound design of the Star Wars prequels, and he also does the voice of several other robots in the film, like the clean-up bot M-O (which stands for Microbe Obliterator). Kathy Najimy and Pixar favorite John Ratzenberger star as Mary and John, two obese humans on board the Axiom. And the Axiom's computer is voiced by Sigourney Weaver, a clear nod to the Alien films.

Again, WALL-E is not just a children's film, but one even adults would enjoy. So I suggest you see it with your special someone, and you'd be holding hands before the film ends. Oh, and before I forget: stay for the closing credits, for a run-through of the history of art.


Rating: Five stars.