Disney has released the second full-length trailer for Toy Story 4, and where the first trailer introduced a new “toy” to the cast and walked us through something of an existential crisis, this one sees our old pal Woody (Tom Hanks) having a crisis of his own.
The franchise’s familiar gang of original toys, including Woody and Buzz Lightyear, is all present and accounted for, but the Toy Story cast has expanded greatly over the years, and this time around, newcomer Forky (Tony Hale) — a spork with googly eyes and pipe cleaner hands — is shaking up the status quo. Woody’s new owner, Bonnie, who adopted him and the other toys at the end of Toy Story 3, created Forky herself, and loves him like all her other toys. So when Forky gets in trouble, Woody, naturally, tries to save him.
But while he’s on his rescue mission, he’s interrupted by the arrival of his old flame Bo Peep (Annie Potts). Bo now appears to be a badass carnival performer of some sort; her specific role is murky, and there’s been some speculation about her being the surprise blond villain of the film, in a potential twist that certainly doesn’t remind us of anything else we’ve seen lately. Bo tries to tempt Woody into leaving his old life behind; instead of just being a toy who brings happiness to a single kid, she tells him, he could have a life being treasured by thousands of kids. For a guy like Woody, that’s a really alluring offer; and after all, who hasn’t wanted to run away and join the carnival?
But the carnival is full of its own adventures and perils — in the trailer, we see glimpses of encounters with a mustachioed stunt toy named Duke Caboom, voiced by Keanu Reeves, and a pair of wisecracking plush toys voiced by longtime comedy partners Keegan Michael Key and Us director Jordan Peele. There are typical toy shenanigans, hijinks, and Woody clashing with Duke — yet another toy who, like Buzz before him, is peddling a hilariously over-the-top version of himself.
As my Vox colleague Alex Abad-Santos has noted, there’s been talk of Toy Story 4 being the final film in the venerable franchise. The adventures of Woody and his friends have delighted viewers (and tugged on their hearts) for nearly 25 years — the original Toy Story, which debuted in 1995, was Pixar’s very first feature film — and so far the series has yet to set a foot wrong. Pixar is now well-known for crafting moving and meaningful children’s films, and it all started with the saga of these toys and their surprisingly profound journeys through cycles of life, friendship, and love. If this really is the last Toy Story film, it looks on track to end the series on a high note.
