Question: Why is it not easy to be a toy?

Answer: Because you may not be the favourite toy of the child you belong to and your addiction to be loved may have you questioning your reason for existence.

This is what Sheriff Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), is going through in Pixar Animation Studio’s latest instalment of Toy Story, after we saw Andy giving away his toys to Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw) in Toy Story 3, thinking that all has ended well for Woody, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and co.

Yet here they are back again in Toy Story 4, with Woody subconsciously fighting with his fear of no longer being needed by Bonnie, yet due to his caring personality, he ends up ensuring Bonnie’s happiness throughout the film. Take note though, it’s not that Bonnie does not love Woody (in fact she takes him and her toy gang to a road trip with her parents), only he is not the toy she loves the most, rather that place is taken up by Forky (Tony Hale), a nervous spork done up by Bonnie at kindergarten, who believes his place is in the trash.

To give meaning to himself being one of Bonnie’s toys, Woody takes to mentoring Forky out of his existential crisis, and keeps saving him and taking him out of the trash. Up comes the family road trip and Forky jumps off in search of trash again. Woody jumps off in search of him. Having found him, Woody explains the meaning of being owned as a toy by a child, and is able to convince Forky to return to Bonnie.

On the way to Bonnie, Woody sees the lamp in an antique store on which his porcelain friend Bo Peep (Annie Potts) used to live, and goes inside to look for her. There he encounters the soft-spoken never-loved Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), who was manufactured with a faulty voice box due to which no child was willing to buy her. Gabby Gabby tries to capture him with the help of her creepy ventriloquist dummies. Woody escapes, while Forky is held hostage. In trying to find a way to get Forky back, Woody encounters Bo again, who has turned into a renegade ‘lost’ toy and loves her life that way.

She agrees to help Woody with her friends toy cop Giggles McDimples (Ally Maki) and Duke Kaboom (Keanu Reeves), a daredevil motorbiker toy.

More drama ensues as each toy tries to do their best in bringing back newfound lost buddies, while looking for meaning to their life.

Some new toys and their stories add to the interest and the contemplative mood of the movie means it will be enjoyed by adults too.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 3rd, 2019