Toy Story 4 (Pixar) (2019) (1 Viewer)

[Jake Lipson]

Tom Hanks on Jimmy Kimmel Live:



There is a brief clip pretty late in this interview which I fast-forwarded through, but the interview itself is really good.

 

[mattCR]

90 reviews now. Still 100%. Yeah, this is going to be good. I admit, for me, the original 3 films had some incredible moments about big issues. But Toy Story 2 (Outgrowing someone/something) in "When She Loved Me" and in TS3, as the toys accepted fate and held hands... forget animated films, those were two fantastically realized moments in filmmaking

 

[Sam Favate]

EW's review is up, and although the film gets a B, it's pretty negative throughout. The critic seemed to really feel the film was unnecessary.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I pre-ordered the soundtrack from Amazon as soon as it was listed (their dispute with Disney is over Blu-ray and movies only, not CDs. The CD is being released on Friday, June 21, the same day as the movie, but originally my pre-order diddn't have a delivery date attached to it.

Then it was updated to next Wednesday, June 26.

Today, new orders of the soundtrack will trigger release date delivery of June 21 for Prime members.

I just cancelled my initial pre-order and then immediately re-ordered the exact same item to get the new, earlier delivery date. That seems like more work than I should have had to do -- part of the point of Prime is to get pre-orders on the release date without having to do anything -- but there you go.

If anyone else has pre-ordered the soundtrack, you might want to check your delivery date.

 

[holtge]

Gotta say. As of right now, Toy Story 4 has 111 reviews listed on Rotten Tomatoes and is still sitting at 100% fresh. That's impressive. Especially after the first three films in the saga averaged 99.3% fresh!

 

[Jake Lipson]

I've been re-watching the previous films this week in advance of 4 on Thursday night and I just finished Toy Story 2. Something occurred to me that I hadn't thought of before in relation to the new movie.

Fair warning: This is a super deep dive/geeky worldbuilding question into Toy Story world, so here goes.

Woody is famous from Woody's Roundup, but Andy clearly doesn't know what that is. Obviously that's because the show is from the '50s and he wasn't born yet. If he's like most kids, he probably wouldn't be interested in an old black-and-white show, so he probably never watched it, even though his mom probably knows what it is. To Andy, Woody is just his toy. However, Buzz is different because Buzz is a current-day '90s toy and Andy has other merchandise relating to Buzz, like the bed sheets and the video game and stuff. Andy probably watches the Buzz Lightyear movie/TV show/whatever he comes from in-universe.

Which raises the question: what is Buzz Lightyear in universe at the time of Toy Story 3 and 4? The age gap between Andy and Bonnie isn't as significant as between Andy and the '50s when Woody's Roundup was on, but it's still a significant one. Does Bonnie know what Buzz Lightyear, the entertainment property in the Toy Story world, is? Has she ever seen the show? Does she care about it? Or is it, to her, an older relic like the Woody's Roundup show probably was to Andy growing up? If Buzz is now from a dormant franchise, that might impact how Bonnie plays with the toy Buzz. Certainly, if somebody gave me a toy from a thing I wasn't interested in, I would play with it less than I would for the toys that were connected to my favorite movies and shows and things. I had a Jurassic Park toy car growing up, but it didn't mean anything to me because I hadn't seen the Jurassic Park movie at the time. I was more interested in my Aladdin and Lion King and, yes, Toy Story toys because I was obsessed with those movies.

We know the toys will be on their own without Bonnie for most of the movie because they can't be alive around her, but it also raises a question of what Buzz's status is in the larger world. We've seen in the trailers that he somehow becomes a prize alongside Ducky and Bunny. If someone comes along and tries to win a prize, would Buzz be seen as a cool toy? Is he a valuable collectable? Or is he just some old toy no one cares about anymore?

The same applies to all of Andy's toys in Bonnie's world. I'm sure that she appreciates Andy giving them to her and she will play with them, but what do they mean to her versus what they meant to Andy? How does that impact how she plays with them? It will be interesting to see how the new movie addresses this.

Edit: Bonnie knows what the Buzz Lightyear property is. After I finished my rewatch of Toy Story 3, I also rewatched all the Toy Story Toons shorts, plus Toy Story of Terror and Toy Story That Time Forgot. I had forgotten that in the Toy Story Toon short Small Fry, which played in theaters in front of Muppets Most Wanted, Bonnie and her mom go to Poultry Palace. She gets a Zurg belt buckle with her kids meal. She asks about getting a miniature Buzz instead but they're all out, except for the display copy. This indicates that Buzz Lightyear is still an active franchise in Bonnie's childhood, enough so that it has a fast-food tie in, and that she's a fan of it. It has apparently endured all the way from Andy's childhood to Bonnie's childhood, so is either extremely long-running or has been rebooted and/or extended much like Star Wars, which would make sense because so much of the Buzz mythology is based on Star Wars anyway.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Also, Amazon shipped my copy of the soundtrack CD. It's due to arrive Friday, as it should, after the drama earlier this week with its arrival supposedly being delayed until Tuesday. Is anyone else getting it?

 

[Jason_V]

Also, Amazon shipped my copy of the soundtrack CD. It's due to arrive Friday, as it should, after the drama earlier this week with its arrival supposedly being delayed until Tuesday. Is anyone else getting it?

I will at some point, but it won't be this week.

Just about 11 hours til showtime tonight. I'm really digging the 6 pm show time; a lot of the preview nights here start at 7 or later. The 6 pm show will start by 6:30 and be done by 8:15 or so. Meaning I'm home by 8:45.

 

[benbess]

Really good! My rating: "A"

 

[Jake Lipson]

I'm headed to the theater shortly for my 7pm showtime (couldn't make the 6:00 this time.) See you all on the other side.

 

[TravisR]

I don't even need to read this thread because I know nearly everyone will love it. I guess I could stick around to see the obligatory rankings of the Pixar movies though.

 

[Edwin-S]

I don't even need to read this thread because I know nearly everyone will love it. I guess I could stick around to see the obligatory rankings of the Pixar movies though.

CARS is #1, followed by CARS 2.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I really enjoyed the movie overall.

I'm still working out how I feel about

Spoiler

Woody leaving the gang to live with Bo Peep.

I'm not sure if that was unsatisfying or if I'm just sad about it. I'm leaning toward the latter. But the movie is really good.

You should all stay after all the credits. There are some scenes in the middle of the credits, and while there isn't exactly a bonus scene at the tail end, the studio logo has been modified in a cool way for the tag.

 

[Jason_V]

I really enjoyed the movie overall.

I'm still working out how I feel about

Spoiler

Woody leaving the gang to live with Bo Peep.

I'm not sure if that was unsatisfying or if I'm just sad about it. I'm leaning toward the latter. But the movie is really good.

You should all stay after all the credits. There are some scenes in the middle of the credits, and while there isn't exactly a bonus scene at the tail end, the studio logo has been modified in a cool way for the tag.

Re: the Spoiler...

Spoiler

I've always seen this franchise as Woody's story. He's the "daddy" of the toys and takes care of them. At some point, the toys are grown up enough to be on their own. Total metaphor for parents and their kids...at some point the kids leave the house and are on their own. The parents can't protect them anymore. I loved the ending and there was not a dry eye in the theater.

Suffice to say, loved the movie. Every dang minute of it.

 

[steve jaros]

I saw TS4 today in 3D, and I enjoyed it very much. Not a classic like I and II, but IMO better than 3 (which I also liked). Very satisfying in all respects.

 

[English Invader]

I saw the film today and was very happy with it. I was skeptical because I felt the concept had come to a natural conclusion at the end of the third film and I wasn't sure what else they could do with it without devaluing the previous films. I'm delighted to say they proved me wrong - the third film resolved things from Andy's point of view but the ending did little to resolve the character issues of the toys. TS4 tells that story.

If you're on the fence about seeing this film because you feel everything had been said in TS3, don't be because it hasn't. You owe it to yourself to see this movie.

 

[Jake Lipson]

My copy of the soundtrack just arrived from Amazon. I haven't seen the track list posted before, so posted it below in spoiler brackets All tracks which don't have a performer listed are score, and of course the score is composed by Randy Newman.

Spoiler: Track List

1) You've Got A Friend in Me (performed by Randy Newman, the same track from the original in 1995)
2) I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away (performed by Randy Newman)
3) The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy (performed by Chris Stapleton)
4) Operation Pull Toy
5) Woody's Closet of Neglect
6) School Daze
7) Trash Can Chronicles
8) The Road to Antiques
9) A Spork in the Road
10) Rubber Baby Buggy Butlers
11) Buzz's Flight & a Maiden
12) Ducky, Bunny & Tea
13) Moving at the Speed of Skunk
14) Bo Peep's Panorama for Two
15) Three Sheeps [sic] to the Wind
16) Sneaking and Antiquing
17) Recruiting Duke Caboom
18) Prepping the Jump
19) Let's Caboom!
20) Cowboy Sacrifice
21) Operation Harmony
22) Duke's Best Crash Ever
23) Gabby Gabby's Most Noble Thing
24) Parting Gifts & New Horizons
25) The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy (Soundtrack Version) performed by Randy Newman
26) Plush Rush

Total running time is 72:59.

The included booklet includes some pictures and lyrics for the songs, plus album credits and a list of musicians in the orchestra, but no liner notes of any kind.

 

[mattCR]

I found the underlying storyline to be very deep and well realized.. and it was one that as an adult, really hit me.

Spoiler

Realizing that you can have friends, good friends, but life can change, needs can change, you move on and become separated, you still root for each other but your lives diverge, especially as a new relationship comes into your life.

Admittedly, the moment I realized where Woody was going to go, I nearly broke down in tears in the theater. Admittedly, there are a few films this summer I'm figuring are going to get me, maybe more than others, and the recent passing of my spouse definitely put me more in the "this could hit me hard" films, but I thought that was so well done, and so relatable for kids as just a thing that happens and for adults, so much subtext of the decisions we make in our lives..

I loved it. Very much. It isn't quite TS2 - which to me is a near perfect animated film - but it is damn good, and one of the best films I've seen this year.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Matt, my condolences as I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Matt, my condolences as I'm sorry for your loss.

Matt, I echo Robert's sentiment. That had to hit hard!