TOY STORY 4

imherewithmag
Jul 16, 2019
6 min read

Updated: Jul 22, 2019

Woody - Tom Hanks and Forky - Tony Hale in Toy Story 4 (2019)

When a new toy called "Forky" joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy. Directed by Josh Cooley.

Tom Hanks stars as Woody

Screenwriters: Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Stephany Folsom

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Patricia Arquette, Joan Cusack, Keanu Reeves and many more

It is the most adult Toy Story yet. And yet kids will love it. Before you see it you may feel like its just a sequel to ‘fork’ more money out of you. But after you see it you’ll think everything but that. It is a great creative film with a beautiful story. You must see this film. It will connect with you in a meaningful way.

Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the gang embark on a road trip with Bonnie and a new toy named Forky. The adventurous journey soon turns into an unexpected reunion as Woody's slight detour leads him to his long-lost friend Bo Peep.

Toy Story 4 is a 2019 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's Toy Story series, and the sequel to 2010's Toy Story 3. It was directed by Josh Cooley (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Andrew Stanton (who had co-written the first three films) and Stephany Folsom; the three also conceived the story alongside John Lasseter (director of the first two installments in the franchise), Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Valerie LaPointe, and Martin Hynes.

The film stars the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Madeleine McGraw (replacing Emily Hahn), Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves, Ally Maki, Jay Hernandez, Lori Alan, and Joan Cusack.

The film continues from Toy Story 3, where Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear, among their other toy friends, have found new appreciation after being given by Andy to Bonnie. They are introduced to Forky, a spork that has been made into a toy, and embark on a road trip adventure. The film is dedicated to actor Don Rickles and animator Adam Burke, who died in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Toy Story 4 premiered on June 11, 2019 in Los Angeles, California and was theatrically released in the United States on June 21, 2019, in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX. The film has grossed over $776 million worldwide, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 2019 and the highest-grossing animated film of that year. Like its predecessors, Toy Story 4 received critical acclaim, with critics praising its story, humor, emotion, animation, and vocal performances.

Casting

Most of the previous voice actors, including Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, signed on to reprise their roless. Hanks stated in May 2016 that he had finished recording his first lines for Woody. Annie Potts was confirmed to return as Bo Peep, after being absent from Toy Story 3. Don Rickles intended to reprise his role as Mr. Potato Head, but died in April 2017, before any lines were recorded as the script was still being rewritten. According to Cooley, Rickles' family contacted Pixar and asked if there was any way to include him in the film. Pixar reviewed 25 years of archival material that Rickles had participated in, including unused lines from the first three Toy Story films, video games and other related media for the franchise, and other works, and were able to assemble enough material to use within the film Tony Hale was cast as Forky, a homemade toy suffering an existential crisis. Hale has performed roles before with similar panicked characters, notably Buster Bluth on Arrested Development and Gary Walsh on Veep. When asked to voice Forky, Hale said, "A utensil's existential crisis? I'm in!"

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele were cast as a pair of carnival prize plush toys named Ducky and Bunny. Cooley said that while they brought them on to provide some improvised comedy to the film, "they were story motivated which elevated Ducky and Bunny and the film to a level I never could have expected" Additionally, Keanu Reeves was announced to be voicing a character in the film, named Duke Caboom. Reeves said he was contacted out of the blue by Pixar for the role, seeking him to voice the part and letting him develop his own riffs on the character. On March 22, 2019, Madeline McGraw, who previously voiced Maddy McGear in Pixar's Cars 3, was revealed to be voicing Bonnie, replacing Emily Hahn. Comedians Carol Burnett, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and Betty White were added to the cast to voice a set of four toys that Bonnie played with as a toddler but had since outgrown, acting as "veteran" toys to help Woody prepare for when the same happens to him.

Music

Toy Story 4 Soundtrack album by Randy Newman Released June 21, 2019.

Randy Newman, who composed and wrote songs for the previous three films, was confirmed to be returning at D23 Expo 2015. Director Josh Cooley said that he hired Newman to return because "[he] can't imagine making a fourth one without Randy Newman". Newman wrote new themes for Bonnie, Gabby Gabby, and Duke Caboom, with the latter's featuring accordions and mandolins to represent the character's memories of rejection. He also wrote a "subordinate theme" for Forky. Newman also wrote two new songs for the film, titled "The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy" and "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away", with Newman also performing the latter. On June 5, 2019, Chris Stapleton's version of "Cowboy" was released as a single. The film's soundtrack, featuring Newman's score, Stapleton's and Newman's versions of the two new songs, and a new version of Newman's "You've Got a Friend in Me", was released on June 21, 2019, with the film.

Tom Hanks

Is an American actor and filmmaker. Hanks is known for his comedic and dramatic roles in such films as Splash (1984), Big (1988), Turner & Hooch (1989), A League of Their Own (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993),Forrest Gump (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), You've Got Mail (1998), The Green Mile (1999), Cast Away (2000), Road to Perdition(2002), Cloud Atlas (2012), Captain Phillips (2013), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), and Sully (2016). He has also starred in the Robert Langdon film series, and voices Sheriff Woody in the Toy Story film series. He is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is widely regarded as an American cultural icon.

Hanks has collaborated with film director Steven Spielberg on five films to date: Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can(2002), The Terminal (2004), Bridge of Spies (2015), and The Post (2017), as well as the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers, which launched Hanks as a successful director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2010, Spielberg and Hanks were executive producers on the HBO miniseries The Pacific.

Hanks' films have grossed more than $4.9 billion at U.S. and Canadian box offices and more than $9.96 billion worldwide, making him the fifth-highest-grossing actor in North America. Hanks has been nominated for numerous awards during his career. He won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Philadelphia (1993), as well as a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a People's Choice Award for Best Actor for Forrest Gump (1994). In 1995, Hanks became one of only two actors who won the Academy Award for Best Actor in consecutive years, with Spencer Tracy being the other. In 2004, he received the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).[5] In 2014, he received a Kennedy Center Honor, and in 2016, he received a Presidential Medal of Freedomfrom President Barack Obama, as well as the French Legion of Honor.