Deciphering Toy Story 4's Existence

Toy Story 4 is a movie that confuses me. After Toy Story 3 ended the franchise on a thematically poignant note it seems so odd to release another film. I am curious about this new project but cautious. To alleviate some of this confusion I have decided to delve into what is known so far about the project in order to get a better feel of what to expect upon its release.

The Talent Behind It

The film's IMDB page shows a mix of old and new talents. John Lasster, Andrew Stanton, Pete Doctor, and Lee Unkrich are all credited as story creators. All four of them are Pixar veterans who have extensive history with the franchise. Having such figureheads in charge of the story is a potential sign this new narrative may have the depth of past entries.

Though they may have created the narrative they are not in charge of the script. Will McCormack and Stephen Folsom are the movie's screenwriters and both are relatively new to feature film making. Additionally neither has much experience with animated projects with Folsom having written two episodes of Star Wars Resistance.

Josh Cooley, the director, lands in the middle of the rookie-veteran spectrum. Cooley has been a storyboard artist with Pixar since The Incredibles and was one of three screenwriters on Inside Out. He has directed animated shorts but Toy Story 4 will be his first feature-length film.

The Premise

A summary of the film can be found on Pixar's website which ,for brevity's sake, will not be copy/pasted here. This paragraph has three major details about the movie:

1.  It is a road-trip so the plot will be structured around visiting various settings and set pieces.
2. Forky, the character that premiered in the first trailer, will be a central figure in the story and his identity crisis regarding his status as a toy.
3. Woody's conceptions about the world seem to be the main theme of the narrative. It mentions that Woody has always devoted himself to taking care of his owner and never questioned this role until now.

This premise is interesting as it does buck trends established in the previous films. Instead of focusing on one central location the narrative will shift its settings throughout the story. Having the main character's world view challenged also presents some interesting opportunities to explore Woody's character.

The Marketing 

So far there have been three trailers released for the film with each having a comedic tone. Comedy seems to be the central tenet of the marketing campaign which could best be seen in the second trailer which focuses on Ducky and Bunny, two new characters who are voiced by Keegan-Micheal Key and Jordan Peele. The ad is centered on Bunny and Ducky recreating a reoccurring sketch from their show, Key & Peele. 

Bo Peep's appearance on the international poster and Super Bowl spot seems to be a play to nostalgia. Compared to the comedy this aspect of the marketing is fairly minor though.

The Verdict 

Having so many Toy Story founders still playing a hand in the new installment's creation is reassuring and the plot synopsis hints that there may be interesting themes. Though having this project's screenwriters being relative fresh faces is interesting but odd since only one of them, Folsom, has previous experience writing for animation.

The advertising push is probably the most concerning aspect of the movie. Focusing on Key & Peele is weird considering their show been off the air for years and both comedians have been successfully pursuing solo careers since its cancellation. Bringing them together for Toy Story 4 seems like a move that is a year or two too late. It makes Ducky and Bunny feel like characters from previous drafts that were brought into the final product even if their gimmick is dated, which makes me worried if there are other dated aspects. 

While the ads have not made me laugh it would be wrong to write off what the comedy will be like in the final product. Jokes have failed to land so far though that could be tied to how little I am attached to these new characters which the final film could fix. This feature is being promoted as the most light-heated in the series so while their is precedent for thematic depth it should not be the expectation.