Toy Story 4 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Toy Story 4 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 2, 2019

1995's Toy Story launched a franchise and propelled Pixar to studio stardom. Over the past quarter-century (hard to believe, isn't it?) many Pixar films have come and gone, from one-and-done titles to other franchises in their own right, but none have surpassed Toy Story (and its sequels) for popular culture infusion and sheer number of franchise films, now at number four with Toy Story 4, first time feature director Josh Cooley's continuation that manages to successfully further the brand even after it felt finished at the end of Toy Story 3. While it may subjectively be the least memorable film in the franchise, it explores a number of salient emotional currents while ramping up action and adventure to match.

As Bonnie's (voiced by Madeleine McGraw) orientation day at kindergarten draws near, Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) takes it upon himself to accompany her to school in her backpack. Good idea because she needs a little help, even if she doesn't quite know where it's coming from. When a bully throws away her craft supplies, Woody digs a few items out of the trash with which Bonnie makes a crude new toy she dubs "Forky" (voiced by Tony Hale). Forky instantly becomes Bonnie's favorite toy and is one of several she brings on a family vacation. As Woody works to reassure Forky of his place in the world, he by chance reunites with a long-departed Bo Peep (voiced by Annie Potts) and encounters a troubled, dated, and malfunctioning doll named Gabby Gabby (voiced by Christina Hendricks) whose nefarious actions only mask her desire to feel wanted and loved.

Compared to its predecessors, and particularly the emotionally satisfying third installment that all but appeared to bring the story to a close, Toy Story 4 plays light on its feet and hearkens back to the adventurous spirit that propelled the world while still exploring ideas of purpose, loyalty, and love. The story digs into those ideas from several perspectives, with Woody in the center of them all: Forky's struggle to identify his place and purpose in the world, Gabby Gabby's quest for relevance, and his own place in Bonnie's and Bo Peep's lives and amongst his friends. The storylines intertwine in action and connect through shared emotional fabrics that give the whole movie a sense of identifiable purpose and heart, all while exploring new worlds, introducing new characters, and bubbling over with delightful zaniness that always feels directed and complimentary rather than forced and focal.

But neither the film's emotional currents nor its action-adventure would matter without a character roster worth caring about. Pixar makes movies audiences can invest into, not simply watch from afar, movies with a fabric of family and not simply names and faces performing empty actions. Toy Story 4 does well in balancing the process of advancing its established characters -- notably Woody but also Bo Peep, who has been thrust into a primary role -- while building new characters from the ground-up, characters with identifiable personality and purpose who do not just fit a plot point of convenience but rather make a difference in expanding the world and opening the heart. The film does struggle, at times, to build a wholly unique identity. It does recycle some core dramatic content and essential themes about belonging and purpose and loyalty, but Director Josh Cooley, his animators, and his voice actors accomplish what should be impossible: making a fourth film in a series that seemed to finish after its third feel not only relevant but required, not recycled but real.

Toy Story 4 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Toy Story 4's 1080p presentation delivers plenty of visual delights. There's ample opportunity for the image to shine, from dusty antique store interiors to vividly colorful carnival lights at night. Character models are superb, showcasing not just the broad-stroke core details but allowing the viewer to explore the finer points of the digital handiwork -- little scuffs and longstanding points of wear, intimate clothing textures, all of the shelf wear seen on the trinkets and odds and ends -- with as much clarity as the 1080p resolution can muster. While it's not as clear and precise as the counterpart UHD, the Blu-ray proves more than adequate for textural investigations and absorbing the digital artistry at play. Colors are likewise excellent, again lacking the depth that the UHD's HDR color spectrum can deliver, but those watching on Blu-ray will never feel shortchanged. There's an endlessly engaging level of color explosion, particularly in bright interiors or well-lit carnival exteriors at night where a barrage of colorfully brilliant hues shine brightly against the night sky backdrop. Characters and clothes are organically colorful, including some that define a few of the old favorites who are little more than tertiary characters in this film, such as Jessie's red hair and Rex's green body. The Blu-ray certainly doesn't want for a greater color gamut. Blacks are strong, brights are intense, and contrast is perfectly dialed in for the duration. The image shows no obvious encode flaws, either. This is a terrific Blu-ray presentation from Disney.

Toy Story 4 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Per normal studio practice, Disney releases Toy Story 4 to Blu-ray without the UHD's Dolby Atmos soundtrack, replaced here with a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless presentation (note that the Blu-ray defaults to the DTS-HD HR 5.1 track rather than the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 offering, one of a total of three alternate English language tracks, discounting the audio descriptive track and the audio commentary; French and Spanish dubs are also included as well as English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles). Also per Disney norms, the track demonstrates more limited dynamic range and requires an upward volume adjustment to more fully appreciate. Once dialed up, the track proves capable if not a bit underwhelming. Surround engagement is not quite as robust as one might expect. Certainly there's plenty of movement and discrete elements in the rear four speakers, but don't expect a steady barrage of surround integration. What's there, notably heard during various action scenes, finds good spacing and plenty of accuracy to movement and clarity alike. The fronts stretch plenty wide to fully envelop the listener in both action and music; the latter is delivered with good definition but lacking a more authoritative presence, the same of which can be said of the more would-be dominant effects in the movie. Atmospherics are nicely integrated through the busier locales, particularly the carnival. Backgrounds do give way to dialogue as necessary, which is always clear and well prioritized in delivery from a natural front-center location.

Toy Story 4 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Toy Story 4 contains supplements across two Blu-ray discs. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

Disc One:

• Bo Rebooted (1080p, 6:21): An exploration of how Bo Peep makes the transition to main character status in Toy Story 4.
• Toy Stories (1080p, 5:38): Cast and crew share their memories of favorite childhood toys.
• Audio Commentary: Director Josh Cooley and Producer Mark Nielsen cover the film in detail, including propelling Bo to main character status, the importance of making a worthwhile successor to the other three films, characters, voice work, story details, animation, set pieces, digital cinematography, and much more.

Disc Two:

• Let's Ride with Ally Maki (1080p, 5:41): Ally Maki, who voices Giggle McDimples, leads a humorous dissection of the voice recording process, from temporary "scratch dialogue" to the final recording heard in the finished film.
• Woody & Buzz (1080p, 3:35): A quick look back at the relationship that is at the heart of the franchise and a quick recap of where the characters go and what they learn and experience in Toy Story 4.
• Anatomy of a Scene: Playground (1080p, 9:31): A complex breakdown of one of the movie's most pivotal moments. From theater seats, Sets Supervisor Thomas Jordan, Character Tailoring Lead Mariana Galindo, Sets Supervisor Steve Karski, and Story Artist Carrie Hobson explore the scene for its dramatic content and production essentials.
• Carnival Run (1080p, 1:00): A ground-level run-through of the film's massive carnival set piece.
• View from the Roof (1080p, 0:29): A view of the carnival set piece from a nearby rooftop.
• Toy Box (1080p, 13:00 total runtime): A quick exploration of some of the film's new characters. Included are Gabby Gabby & Her Gang, Forky, Duke Caboom, Ducky & Bunny, and Giggle McDimples.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 28:00 total runtime): A broad Introduction precedes the following scenes: Scamming Playtime, Bo Knows Hippos, Desperate Toys, Knock-Offs, Recruit Duke, and She's the One. The scenes are presented in fairly basic hand-animated storyboards with scene specific intros by Director Josh Cooley.
• Trailers & Promos (1080p): Following Carnival Prizes (3:25), a character montage, are the following trailers: Booth - Global Teaser in Spanish (1:39), Playtime - Global Trailer in English (2:20), Freedom - Global Trailer in Russian (1:46), and Pixar Pedigree - Exclusive for China (1:35).

Toy Story 4 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Despite the lighter emotional impact and familiar story refrains, Toy Story 4 expands the world through new adventures and new, satisfying next chapters in the lives of several of its characters. Many of the familiars have been relegated to background duty with greater focus on Woody, Bo Peep, and a cast of new faces, but through this lens comes a heartwarming story of purpose and place intermixed with the sort of vividly realized adventure that has acted as a counterbalance all these years and through all four films. It's not the best in the series, but it's a delight. There may not be much room to grow, but Pixar has given fans four first-class films that see an evolution in digital construction but a consistency in tone, heart, and spirit. Disney's Blu-ray is good, featuring excellent video, decent audio, and a fair smattering of extras across two discs. Highly recommended.