Toy Story 4

Toy Story 4 is a 2019 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fourth installment in Pixar's Toy Story film series and the sequel to Toy Story 3 (2010). It was directed by Josh Cooley from a screenplay by Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom; the three also developed the story alongside John Lasseter, Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Valerie LaPointe, and Martin Hynes. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Blake Clark, Jeff Pidgeon, Laurie Metcalf, John Morris, Joan Cusack, and Estelle Harris are among the actors who reprise their character roles from the first three films, and are joined by Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves, and Ally Maki, who voice new characters. Set after the third film, Toy Story 4 follows Woody (Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Allen) as the pair and the other toys go on a road trip with Bonnie (McGraw), who creates Forky (Hale), a spork made with recycled materials from her school. Meanwhile, Woody is reunited with Bo Peep (Potts), and must decide where his loyalties lie.

Talks for a fourth Toy Story film began in 2010, and Hanks stated that Pixar was working on the film in 2011. When the film was officially announced in November 2014 during an investor's call, it was reported that the film would be directed by Lasseter, who later announced it would be a love story, after writing a film treatment with Stanton, and input from Pete Docter and Lee Unkrich, while Galyn Susman would serve as the producer. Cooley was announced as the film's co-director in March 2015, while Pixar president Jim Morris described the film as a romantic comedy and said it would not be a continuation of the third film. In 2016, Cooley replaced Lasseter as the film's new director. New characters for the film were announced in 2018 and 2019 along with new cast members. Composer Randy Newman returned to score the film, marking his ninth collaboration with Pixar.

Toy Story 4 premiered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 11, 2019, and was released in the United States on June 21. It grossed $1.074 billion worldwide, becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2019 and is the highest-grossing film in the franchise, marginally surpassing Toy Story 3. Like its predecessors, the film received acclaim from critics, with praise for its story, humor, emotional depth, musical score, animation, and vocal performances. The film was nominated for two awards at the 92nd Academy Awards, winning Best Animated Feature, and received numerous other accolades. A sequel, Toy Story 5, is scheduled to be released on June 19, 2026.

Plot

Nine years ago, Woody and Bo Peep rescue Andy's remote control car, RC, from being washed away in a storm, before Bo and her lamp are donated to a new owner. Woody attempts to rescue her, but she insists it is okay as it is "time for the next kid". She asks Woody to come with her but when he hears Andy calling out for him, he chooses to stay.

In the present day, after a college-bound Andy has donated his toys to Bonnie, Woody struggles to adapt as Bonnie shows little interest in playing with him and her toys already have a leader. Bonnie is quite nervous about starting kindergarten, so Woody sneaks into her backpack as moral support. When she creates a spork at her kindergarten orientation, it comes to life as Forky. Forky suffers an existential crisis, seeing himself as trash, not a toy. As Forky quickly becomes Bonnie's favorite toy, Woody tries to stop Forky from throwing himself away.

When Bonnie's family goes on a road trip, Forky jumps out of the window of the RV, and Woody goes after him. As they walk to the park, Woody convinces Forky that his place is with Bonnie, and Forky overcomes his existential crisis. As they pass an antique store, he recognizes Bo Peep's lamp in the window, and detours inside to find her. They encounter a talking doll named Gabby Gabby and her ventriloquist dummy friends, who try to take Woody's voicebox to replace Gabby's broken one. Woody escapes, though Forky becomes Gabby's prisoner. At a playground nearby, Woody reunites with Bo and her sheep, who have become "lost toys", free from owners and able to do as they please, along with their new friend Giggle McDimples. They agree to help Woody rescue Forky.

Buzz Lightyear, trying to find Woody, gets lost in a traveling carnival and encounters prize toys Bunny and Ducky. They find Woody and Bo, who take them to stunt bike toy Duke Caboom. They attempt to rescue Forky, only to nearly get killed by the store owner's cat. The toys refuse to go back due to the danger, but Woody, who does not believe in leaving toys behind, inadvertently insults Bo's lost toy nature, leaving her and Buzz to rescue Forky. When he confronts Gabby, she explains that she means no harm only wanting his voice box so she can be played with by the store owner's granddaughter, Harmony. Woody agrees, only for Harmony to reject Gabby afterwards.

Woody sends Forky to the RV and convinces Gabby to return to Bonnie with him. Bo, Caboom, and the rest of the gang return and help the pair escape, and Bo and Woody reconcile. Jessie rallies Bonnie's toys to use the RV to drive back to the fair. On the way, Gabby notices a lost child at the carnival and leaves the group to comfort her until the parents arrive; the girl takes Gabby with her. Woody is hesitant to leave Bo again; Buzz assures him that Bonnie will be okay without him. Woody shares an emotional goodbye with his friends and joins Bo as a "lost toy". Some time later, the "lost toys" travel with the carnival and help prize toys find owners, while Bonnie creates a companion for Forky from a plastic knife.

Voice cast

Production

Development

Development on Toy Story 4 began shortly before the release of Toy Story 3 (2010). Tom Hanks and Tim Allen had tentatively signed on to reprise their respective roles of Woody and Buzz; Hanks stated the following year that he believed Pixar was working on a sequel. Then-studio head of Pixar John Lasseter, who directed the first two films and executive-produced the third, was scheduled to return to direct after writing a film treatment with Andrew Stanton, with input from Pete Docter and Lee Unkrich. Rashida Jones and Will McCormack joined as writers, with Galyn Susman returning as a producer from Toy Story short subjects. Lasseter explained that Pixar decided to produce the sequel because of their "pure passion" for the series, and that the film would be a love story. He also felt that "[Pixar] never even talked about doing another Toy Story film. But when Andrew, Pete, Lee and I came up with this new idea, I just could not stop thinking about it. It was so exciting to me, I knew we had to make this movie—and I wanted to direct it myself". According to Lasseter, the film was kept so secret that even Morris and his boss Edwin Catmull had no knowledge of it until the treatment was finished. He stressed that "we do not do any sequel because we want to print money" but rather to tell a new story.

In March 2015, Pixar president Jim Morris described the film as a romantic comedy and said it would not be a continuation of the third film. Josh Cooley was revealed to be the film's co-director that month. While concluding work on Inside Out (2015) and directing its short Riley's First Date (2015), Cooley was invited by Lasseter to join the project as co-director, a role Cooley accepted. Docter, Hanks, and producer Jonas Rivera were conscious that Cooley made another "younger generation" for filmmakers. At the D23 Expo in August 2015, Lasseter revealed that Toy Story 4 would be a love story between Woody and Bo Peep, and the story would involve Woody and Buzz Lightyear setting out to find and bring Bo back home. In 2016, Cooley replaced Lasseter as the director of the film and re-conceived the story as well as the purpose of Bo's return to the series. At the D23 Expo in July 2017, Pixar announced Cooley as the film's new director. In November 2017, Jones and McCormack were revealed to have withdrawn during production, citing "philosophical differences".

Writing

After writing a treatment for Toy Story 3 (2010), Stanton wrote one for Toy Story 4. This enabled Cooley to explore more ideas for Woody's overall story in the franchise, including an attempt to conclude the character's arc. Cooley and Rivera considered Toy Story 3 as the culmination of Woody and Andy's relationship; Rivera reasoned it that the franchise's focus was Woody.

By January 2018, Disney had confirmed that the screenplay was being written by Stephany Folsom, who eventually rewrote three quarters of Jones and McCormack's original script, according to Annie Potts. Folsom collaborated on the screenplay with Stanton, who had co-written the first two films.