Josh Cooley directed Toy Story 4, released in June 2019, nine years after a third film widely received as the franchise's natural conclusion. The official trailer had to make the case for a sequel many assumed unnecessary, and it did so by leading with novelty: a road trip premise, the return of Bo Peep in a substantially revised form, and the introduction of Forky, a spork with an existential crisis.
First Impressions
The trailer moves quickly through the antique shop setting before pulling back to establish the road trip framework driving the film. The editing is brisk and comic in its rhythm, suited to a film less interested in emotional gravity than in finding a fresh tonal lane. Cooley's visual approach leans into the antique shop setting with a textural richness that distinguishes the film from its predecessors, and the footage presents that range without allowing it to distract from the central narrative thread.
What the Trailer Reveals
Forky's repeated attempts to discard himself provide the most immediately comic material, and the Bo Peep sequences signal a character who has changed considerably since her last appearance. Tom Hanks carries the emotional weight of Woody's situation with a restraint that keeps the trailer grounded, while Annie Potts's Bo Peep is reintroduced as a more independent and self-sufficient figure. Tony Hale's Forky is the comic centrepiece, his voice performance landing the character's absurdist logic with a precision that makes the premise work on its own terms. Keanu Reeves's Duke Caboom appears briefly, adding to the sense of a film that has populated its new world with some care.
Music and Sound
The score is lighter than Toy Story 3's, well matched to the road trip premise, and the trailer uses it to maintain momentum without allowing the material to feel slight. The audio choices suit a film that has consciously shifted its tonal register, and the familiar franchise warmth is present without being used as a crutch.
Most Memorable Moment
Forky's first appearance, flinging himself towards a bin with complete conviction while Woody watches in bewilderment, is the moment the trailer commits to its own comic logic. It is an absurdist image that could easily have read as desperate invention; here it reads as a film that has found a specific idea and intends to follow it through.
Trailer Verdict
A trailer that made a more persuasive case for its film's existence than the premise initially suggested. The Forky conceit could have read as desperate invention; here it reads as a film with a specific comic idea it intends to pursue with conviction. Whether that conviction carried through the full runtime was a separate question, but the trailer earned its pitch.