The Problem with...Toy Story 4

The Toys are back in town.

The gang return for a fourth installment of the most important animation franchise in motion picture history; it is quite hard now to fathom how much of a game changing production Toy Story was in 1995 and how much of an influence the work has had since that release.

When Pixar made the first full-length computer animation film about toys that came to life once the kids left the room was a stroke of genius in original storytelling coupled with ground breaking technological achievement.

Pixar followed up with a huge range of films from underwater to crawling ants, before returning to the play area with Toy Story 2 where Woody and Buzz left the bedroom and further into the wider world.

In Toy Story 3, the trilogy was completed with an ending of the page as the toys faced death in the face and survived to tell the story. These characters were survivors and we were with them all the way, the circle (to borrow from another Disney classic) of life had been lived. TS3 ended with the group being moved to a new child's bedroom and altering from a young boy owner to a new young girl and her active imagination.

So we come to 2019's Toy Story 4, when we re-meet the group Josie has usurped Woody as the Sheriff of the group being somewhat banished to the back of the closet while others are played with. Woody's fear is that he is gathering dust in his old age, so he hops into Bonnie's backpack on her first day of kindergarden where he witnesses Bonnie's imagination first hand culminating in her creating Forky (Tony Hale) from a spork, curtain wire and lollipop sticks.

Travelling back home, Forky comes to life which is perhaps my first issue of note with the film. Forky is a creation of a child, the rest of the toys are built as toys for the purposes of entertaining children by higher powers (adults), so is Forky a statement on children's power of imagination that anything can become animated if it is created such as a disposable utensil from the trash. Forky also provides the first scare of the film, the first and certainly not the last of which there are many.

The scares are numerous especially in Second Chance Antiques, a store Woody encounters on Bonnie's roadtrip in Main Street USA, a store where antiques are awaiting a second chance at life as do unwanted toys - especially Gabby Gabby a toy with a faulty voice box and Victor - a ventriloquist doll of which there is 4 of him.  Victor is from a by gone era and his scary nature as an ominous threat of torment is used to frightening effect but overdone to the point of providing too many jump scares for what is aimed at a child friendly audience.

Yet perhaps they get away with it because the audience of this film has grown up since the original Toy Story over 20 years ago, so the jump scare is while telegraphed not that scary to that media savvy group, yet for a new child audience this would be far too scary with the dark corridors in a dingy second-hand store.

By the end, the jailbreak to rescue Forky from the hands of Gabby is saved by the great addition of Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves) an Evil Kenevel rip-off but his characterisation is brilliantly rendered, but there is a moment when Bonnie's backpack is left at the store. This is left there somehow as we do not see Bonnie leave it there and it is a matter of narrative convenience to help the gang escape the store.

Credit for the film is the use of female voice actors who come front and centre and outshine the stalwarts of Hanks and Allen, Annie Potts in particular as Bo Beep is exceptional getting her point across and bringing new life to a character that was one-dimensional in the first two films years ago.

In contrast to the tandem of Duck and Bunny (Peele and Kay), the use of a comedy duo helps the natural back and forth of their rapport yet too quickly it becomes familiar and long in the tooth in contrast to the quirkiness of Caboom.

All in all, the finale of the film was shooting for a grand goodbye to the group, instead it was handled somewhat slapdash and unfortunately does not make sense ultimately in the grandest scheme of things, this is a group who should be together no matter and the ending left this viewer a little cold.

There is even a suggestion perhaps of a further installment, personally that is not required, the toys are great but perhaps that idea would be best left on the shelf.

My Frozen review is actually Tangled

Like coming to a party when the lights are coming up, I was treated to a viewing of Disney's Frozen in the company of my wonderful girlfriend who has seen it on numerous occasions.

Now, I don't want to rock the boat nor be controversial but the film Frozen is okay. However, it is not the most amazing animated film of all time (that remains Toy Story 2 or the opening of Up). I can though see why the film has made near to £1 billion worldwide.  Strong female characters who hold our attention and are independent without the influence of their parents, the allure of royalty and the most Marmite of songs since Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' from Titanic, another chick flick. If you get the girls in the cinema you get box office for sure.

Yet, the film as a whole left me confused due to plot holes and convenient narrative twists.  Elsa leaves her homeland and in doing so freezes it in an eternal winter, yet creates a talking snowman without knowing. Anna chases her sister to make her return and break the spell, and builds her character creating her own true love without knowing.  

Anna is the optimistic sister, beguiling and hopeful that a new day will bring change and joy. Yet it is Elsa who gets the stand out track of independence - the song Let It Go, is about Elsa embracing her powers and not being bothered by what people think. The Broadway show tune is the sort of number to end the first act as the lead character reveals a change of perspective or intention, yet the message of the song proposes that she will face her detractors and yet she remains in a less than fully furnished ice castle with no nourishment, in essence she is Disney's first refugee.

The message of true act of love coming from one sister to another is one to be lauded in this day of selfishness and something I hope young viewers embrace in the cementing of familial ties in this day and age of vanity.

Frozen is good but it borrows a lot from another Disney film about a young princess banished from a kingdom who has to find her way home with the help of a young suitor and his trusted steed, I am talking about Tangled. A film that will be easily forgotten in the memory of cinephiles due to the overpowering juggernaut of Frozen. 

Tangled had better characters, better animation, a better set of songs albeit devoid of a smash hit Oscar winning song, and better comedy in the form of repartee between Eugene and his horse with good action set pieces.

Upon reflection, the addition of Olaf seems a last minute gamble and or risk as the dialogue between Anna and Christof would have been too telegraphed and perhaps reminded viewers of Tangled. Tangled was helped by the presence of a villain from the outset whereas here the narrative does not have a villain reveal himself until the last fifteen minutes, whereas we feel of Elsa as the villain. This makes our affection to her uneasy due to her self imposed exile and alienation from her sister, and all the more surprising that it is she who gets the stand out solo number.  And even more surprising that people want to be Elsa at parties and fancy dress, when Anna is the true star of the film learning about love, life and finding strength within herself she did not know she had, and rekindle the relationship with her sister when all was lost.

Elsa and Anna

Perhaps the placing of two female characters at the heart of a film will conflict emotions for viewers, whereas in Tangled you had the one princess to root for.  

Last week it was announced there will be a sequel and Frozen 2 will be upon us. For me though, I'm going to let my hair down and watch Tangled again.