Released in 2019, Toy Story 4 might technically be an entry in a series, but I'm convinced it's actually part of Disney's great "oops, sorry we didn't make every female character a girlboss 💪✨" apology tour of the late 2010s. You remember it - when we got a new canon of spiritually hollow live-action remakes desperately trying to fix perceived problems that weren't actually problems in the first place.
Some fans were disappointed by Bo Peep's absence from Toy Story 3. It's understandable. While she was fairly minor in the grand scheme of things, she was a beloved character, and being Woody's romantic partner gave her an elevated place in the toy hierarchy. So Toy Story 4 swooped in with the huge apology no one asked for. But they didn't bring back Bo Peep – they completely rewrote her. The delicate, nurturing shepherdess we knew has been replaced by an impostor so dissimilar to the orignal I consider her a completely new character.
Here's what pisses me off: Bo Peep was traditionally feminine in the best possible way. She was seductive, nurturing, graceful – and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Those are valid ways of being a woman, and treating them as character flaws that need correcting is honestly more regressive than anything in the original films. The franchise already had Jessie as the "action girl" type, in a way that was authentically great, unforced and true to her character. But apparently that wasn't enough.
Even the new Bo Peep's character design confirms we're dealing with an impostor. Gone is the delicate design that made her look like an actual antique shepherdess. Sure, the original was a bit 90s, but I'm sure they could have found a way to provide visual continuity despite the new technology, just like they did for the other toys. Instead, we get the generic Pixar girl face, a new outfit trading her pink dress for blue pants (because "strong female character"), and even a more realistic skin colour instead of white porcelain, stripping away everything that made Bo Peep visually unique.
Here's a small albeit telling detail that proves the writers either never watched the original film or just didn't give a damn: when Bo reunites with Buzz, she cheerfully says "hey, my old moving buddy!" This is complete nonsense. It's clearly a reference to her original line about wanting Buzz to be her "moving buddy" after his flying demonstration, a flirty quip that helped send Woody's jealousy of Buzz over the edge. But were they actually moving buddies? Obviously not! Anyone who even half remembers Toy Story would recall that Buzz and Woody missed Andy's move because they had to escape from Sid's house. It's like some lazy writer read through Bo Peep's previous lines and threw it in without any context or understanding. Further proof this bitch is an impostor and I want to know what she did with the original Bo Peep.
It's not just Bo Peep that is ruined. She's emblematic of a broader problem. The movie's central message completely betrays everything the franchise stood for. The idea that Woody should prioritize making himself happy over making a child happy is total character assassination. For three movies, Woody championed the belief that a toy's highest calling is bringing joy to their kid. This wasn't some toxic obligation; it was literally the most fulfilling purpose a toy could have, according to the series' own mythology. But Toy Story 4 wants us to believe Woody's been wrong this whole time, pushing individualistic self-help philosophy that completely undermines the communal values that made the trilogy meaningful.
What they did to Buzz is equally criminal. The resourceful space ranger who could devise clever plans and serve as Woody's capable partner has been transformed into a dim-witted himbo pressing his own buttons and listening to his "inner voice." It's as if he's had a lobotomy between films. And rather than interact with other main characters, he spends most of the movie with Key and Peele, who are there for some reason, as stuffed animals whose entire personality is... being Key and Peele. Who is this movie even for? There's plenty of native humour to be derived from the Toy Story universe, but the writers have no idea how to access it. Instead they chose to just drop in an existing comedy duo for comic relief and call it a day.
But the movie's highest crime is breaking up Woody and Buzz at the end – separating the central friendship that was the beating heart of the entire franchise. These characters defined partnership, having each other's backs no matter what. "You've got a friend in me" indeed - until Woody abandoned both his calling and his best friend to live some bohemian lifestyle with a fake Bo Peep. I guess when push comes to shove, Woody really is thinking with his... well, his woody.
Then there's the villain situation. Gabby Gabby wants Woody's voice box, and he eventually just gives it to her, and we're meant to think she's redeemed, because after all, all she ever wanted was to be loved. The franchise always understood that wanting love isn't enough to excuse bad behaviour. Gabby faces rejection by her preferred child and we're meant to feel sorry for her. This isn't redemption. Stinky Pete and Lotso faced similiar tragedies, but were given opportunities for redemption and rejected them. Gabby gets handed everything with no reckoning, no earned character growth.
This movie feels like it was written by people who either hate Toy Story or have never actually watched the previous films. How else do you explain the complete misunderstanding of what made these characters work? How else do you account for systematically undermining every theme and relationship the franchise spent three movies establishing?
Toy Story was a wonderful movie. The first Pixar feature film, it was technologically groundbreaking, with a well written story and rich world of characters. If you were a kid in 1995, it's pretty much guaranteed that Toy Story was the best movie you'd ever seen.
Toy Story 2 was a perfect sequel. It expanded the universe, stretched its characters in new ways, added new beloved characters, didn't tread over old ground or retcon any lore, and was arguably better than its predecessor.
Toy Story 3 was a solid ending – it had emotional weight, thematic closure, and satisfying conclusions. But I guess Disney looked at their bank account and decided emotional closure doesn't pay bills like another sequel does.
Toy Story 4 is a goddamn travesty. It's completely unnecessary, insulting to the franchise's legacy. Toy Story 4 took a perfect trilogy about the power of friendship, loyalty, and finding purpose in serving others, and ruined it in favour of a half-baked philosophy about "finding yourself." They turned a story about growing up into a story about growing selfish. But hey, at least it made a billion dollars.
Just to prove they still cannot leave it alone, Toy Story 5 is due for release in 2026. According to early sneak peek reviews, Woody will reunite with the gang again, and the toys will be working against the latest antagonist getting between kids and their toys: the iPad. I think this sounds shithouse, and will date the show firmly in the 2020s the same way Toy Story 4's anti-Disney Disney revisionism dated it clearly in the late 2010s. The original trilogy dealt with universal childhood experiences - getting new toys, growing up, moving on - that feel just as relevant today as they did when the movies were made. They also derived conflict from internal character dynamics of the toys' fear of abandonment, and their sense of identity. Trading these in for external, preachy conflicts about modern parenting and screen time is a hell of a downgrade. The decline of this once-great franchise is sad to see.
My comprehensive breakdown of all the reasons Toy Story 4 sucks
— Hannah Shelley, MLIS (Metadata, Lattes & Impostor Syndrome) (@hannahshelley.bsky.social) July 27, 2025 at 10:56 PM
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