This film continues the story of Woody and the gang. Except this time, their new kid, Bonnie, creates a new toy at kindergarten orientation. Sporky, the arts-and-crafts spork figure, becomes Bonnie's new favorite toy. And Woody must do everything he can to protect their fragile new friend.
In the same vein as other Toy Story movies, this was an excellent tale. Despite the overarching storyline of recovering the lost Sporky and bringing him home to Bonnie, this tale was mostly about reuniting Woody and Bo Peep. She was mysteriously gone in Toy Story 3, but this film opens up with the backstory of her disappearance and deals with the conflict and resolution of discovering one another again in the wild.
The film did a good job of subverting expectations, making you think the story was playing out a certain way, until it suddenly turns another direction. I was on my toes through the final act, wondering how it was going to end. It had changed course a few times by then, which left me guessing if the obvious ending was coming, or if it was going to head down yet another path. Any film that prevents you from guessing the ending is a great film in my book. Once you see the ending coming, you're just sitting along for the ride, but if you can't guess what's going to happen, you find yourself more emotionally invested in the story up until the end.
There were several moments that made me cry. And just when I thought it was over, something else happened that brought on another emotional twist. The last 30 minutes or so kept me in an emotional turmoil. Pixar claimed they wouldn't do another sequel unless it could be on par or better than all the films before it. Mission accomplished, Pixar.
It also blows my mind that this film came out 24 years after the first Toy Story. Children who saw the first film in theaters are full-grown adults now. Heck, I was one of them; I was 11 years old when Toy Story came out. And now I'm 35 and still bawling like a baby at the theaters. ðŸ˜
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