Toy Story 4
Vibe
Pixar’s fourth installment follows Woody as he adjusts to a new role in Bonnie’s room, where he is no longer the central figure he once was. When Bonnie creates a toy named Forky, whose confusion about his own identity sets off a chain of events, Woody embarks on a journey that reunites him with Bo Peep and introduces new perspectives on what it means to be a toy. As the story unfolds across carnivals and antique shops, Woody is faced with a choice between returning to familiar purpose or embracing a different path altogether. Directed by Josh Cooley, the film blends humor and adventure with a more introspective tone, becoming a meditation on identity, independence, and letting go.
Watch for
- Woody’s evolving relationship with Forky, which reframes questions of identity and purpose.
- Bo Peep’s reintroduction, offering a contrasting view of independence and autonomy.
- The antique shop setting, filled with new characters that reflect different paths a toy can take.
- Woody’s final decision, where the film’s themes of choice, growth, and letting go come fully into focus.
Production notes
Toy Story 4 was directed by Josh Cooley in his feature directorial debut; he had been a Pixar story artist for over a decade and had co-written Inside Out. The film was famously controversial during its development — many fans (and some Pixar veterans) felt Toy Story 3 had ended the franchise perfectly, and Toy Story 4 had to justify its existence as a non-redundant continuation. The screenplay was reworked extensively over five years, and original director John Lasseter departed the project (and Pixar) in November 2018 amid sexual misconduct allegations. Cooley took over and completed the film. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles (who had died in 2017, with archived recordings used), and Annie Potts all returned. New cast included Tony Hale as Forky, Christina Hendricks as Gabby Gabby, Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele as Bunny and Ducky, and Keanu Reeves as Duke Caboom. The film cost approximately $200 million.
Trivia
- Toy Story 4 was developed largely under John Lasseter's creative leadership before his November 2018 departure from Pixar amid sexual misconduct allegations; Josh Cooley took over and completed the film, becoming the first Pixar director not personally chosen by Lasseter.
- Don Rickles, the original voice of Mr. Potato Head, had died in April 2017 before recording any new dialogue; the production used outtakes and unused recordings from previous films to allow the character to appear briefly.
- Forky — voiced by Tony Hale — was conceived as a way of exploring the Toy Story premise from the perspective of a toy that doesn't believe it's a toy; the character became one of Pixar's biggest breakout characters in years.
- Keanu Reeves's Duke Caboom — a Canadian motorcycle stunt-toy — was reportedly improvised heavily during recording sessions; many of the character's lines were Reeves's spontaneous riffs that the team kept in the final film.
- Toy Story 4's ending — Woody choosing to leave Bonnie and stay with Bo Peep rather than return to a child's room — was reportedly the most divisive creative choice of the production, with debates about whether it served or violated the franchise's foundational themes about toys belonging to children.
Legacy
Toy Story 4 grossed approximately $1.07 billion worldwide on a $200 million budget, becoming Pixar's second billion-dollar Toy Story film and winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, with an additional nomination for Best Original Song ('I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away'). Critically, the film received some of the strongest reviews in the franchise — many critics treated it as a genuine continuation of the series' emotional ambition rather than a redundant cash-in, though debates about whether Toy Story 3's ending should have been respected as final continued. The fifth Toy Story film is scheduled for June 2026 release with Andrew Stanton directing — a project that arrives in an industry context where the franchise's continued commercial reliability has shaped Pixar's broader sequel strategy. Forky and Duke Caboom joined the Toy Story merchandise roster as breakout new characters, and the film's exploration of identity and choice marked the most philosophical entry in the franchise's three-decade run.