Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Rex, and the rest of the toys from Bonnie’s house are back on June 21 in Pixar’s Toy Story 4. The new adventure promises that “on the road of life, there are old friends, new friends, and stories that change you
Soooo, of course, that means we’re also going to weep as Woody struggles with what it means to be a toy after being lost by Bonnie (who inherited him from Andy).
But before the fun begins, and the tears start, we have five big questions to ask about Toy Story 4.
What happened to Bo Peep?
After disappearing in Toy Story 3 (where Woody said she’d gone to a new home), Bo is back in a big way — so much so that Buzzfeed reported Toy Story 4 has been referred to as “Peep” within the walls of Pixar.
What has happened in the intervening years? It is still a mystery, but Bo arrives as a “lost toy” who doesn’t belong to any single child. She also appears to be a badass who survives the antique shop villains of Gabby Gabby and Benson.
Bo’s new aesthetic is as different as her philosophy on toy life, and her design is based on a combination of Rey from Star Wars, the Bride from Kill Bill, and her shepherd’s crook can serve as a throwing spear and, appropriately, a “Bo” staff.
Where’s Andy?
Before heading off to college at the end of Toy Story 3, Andy gave his toys, including Woody, to Bonnie, whose care they remain in the new movie.
So it would seem Andy is out of the picture, but Bonnie is still a toddler in Toy Story 4, which means not much time has likely passed between films. Perhaps Andy returns to check in on his old pals when he comes home from college.
And who’s that new kid in the trailer that looks SORT OF like Andy in a flashback – maybe? Another thing about the new film that’s curious is Laurie Metcalfe is once again listed in the credits as Andy’s Mom, Mrs. Davis. So Andy’s story may not be over yet. Then again, knowing how these movies like to make us cry, maybe they kill off Andy, and that leads to Woody’s current crisis!
What gives a toy life?
A running theme throughout the movies is that a toy’s purpose is to be played with. And a child can give them life, as Bonnie does with Forky in an arts & crafts class (and this was apparently done without Forky having a say in it!)
Also, Bo Peep and her sheep are less toys in the traditional sense, but porcelain figures part of a lamp set.
But that begs the question of, “Can anything come to life as a toy?”
At what age do children lose the godlike power to grant life to toys (I’m asking for a … friend who still collects action figures)? But the child’s power does not account for new toys yet to be played with, such as the mint-in-box Stinky Pete The Prospector (in Toy Story 2), or Ducky and Bunny — voiced by Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele in the new movie.
And could Andy or Bonnie have given life to a real potato by sticking eyes and a mouth on it, just to watch it rot and die?
And THAT brings us to another question…
Are toys immortal (and in an existential hell)?
We have seen toys survive mutilations at the hands of Sid, and they can apparently survive strapped to the front of adult Sid’s truck (as was the case with Lotso in Toy Story 3).
Jessie appeared to live in solitude for years after being forgotten by her original kid, Emily. Meanwhile, Toy Story 4 has characters such as Bo Peep, Gabby Gabby, Duke Caboom, and Benson surviving in an antique shop. Meanwhile, in Toy Story 2, Stinky Pete suggested that toys can live for eternity (but feared spending it in a landfill, discarded)
This seems to suggest that toys can be broken, scuffed up, chipped, and worn down — or left unplayed with — AND YET they continue to “live” without an apparent ability to die even after they are no longer loved.
This opens up a nightmarish existential can of worms that children are potential deities in the Toy Story land, that can grant life easily, but then grow weary of their creations and move on — leaving the toys to exist FOREVER, abandoned by an uncaring god.
Will Woody leave Bonnie?
We’re making a bold prediction here: Woody will choose to leave Bonnie — and Buzz, and Jessie — behind by the end of Toy Story 4.
In The Beach Boys’ song “God Only Knows,” which features prominently in the official trailer, Brian Wilson’s lyrics ask “God only knows what I’d be without you,” along with the suggestion that life would go on, even if it would carry additional sadness. And if it’s one thing to expect from Toy Story, it’s ALL the feels, including sadness.
Our guess? Woody will choose his life as a toy is best spent not tied to one child. Like Bo, we think he will discover his identity outside of Bonnie, and offer a teary farewell to his friends.
After all, what better way for a cowboy to say so long than to ride off into the sunset?
