Film

People Are Having Their Hearts Broken By ‘Toy Story 4’, The Film Starring A Talking Plastic Fork

Prepare to bawl.

by Joseph Earp  25 June 2019
Toy Story 4 Reviews

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When it was first announced that Pixar were beginning work on a fourth instalment in the Toy Story franchise, longtime fans were put in that weird position of wanting less of something they loved.

For many devoted obsessives of the series, it wasn’t clear why there should be another movie after the obviously perfect finale of Toy Story 3. After all, that film — spoilers — ends with Woody and Buzz going onto a new home, having been saved from almost certain toy death in a fiery incinerator.

Though deeply traumatic, the two friends moving on together to live with the young Bonnie was finely crafted closure, a farewell to a story that had taken over a decade to tell. Woody and Buzz, immortal playthings, were saying goodbye to one chapter, and opening up another — this time, without an audience around to watch them.

Only, of course, they now do have an audience again, this time flocking to cinemas to see their misadventures with an existentially confused plastic fork named Forky, voiced by Tony Hale.

But, to the surprise of even longtime fans of the series, it looks like Pixar made the right decision on this one — Toy Story 4 is being heralded as a perfect extension of a story so many felt had run its course.

Critics have widely praised the film, with the troubled Forky being highlighted as one of the major drawcards. “I’m all for [Pixar] exploring new concepts and original characters going forward, and setting aside the endless anthologizing of its biggest hits for a good long while,” David Sims of The Atlantic wrote. “But if I had to get another Toy Story, this is about as strange and beguiling an entry as I could have hoped for.”

There’s no audience/critic divide on this one, either — though Toy Story 4 has slightly underperformed at the box office, audiences are broadly loving the work. Many are calling it a “worthy addition” to the series, and are noting that it is a four quadrant hit, beloved by children and parents alike.

Oh, and that it’s totally breaking their hearts.

Yep, unsurprisingly, given that Tom Hanks announced last year that he could barely even utter his last lines of dialogue in the film, so overcome was he with emotion, the film is absolutely wrecking the emotions of its viewers.

So yep, if you’re yet to see it, just get ready to absolutely bawl your eyes out at an animated tale starring some toys and a fork, okay?