It’s been eight years since Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the gang faced the fiery furnace in Toy Story 3, only to be saved and passed on to a new generation in the form of young girl Bonnie. Now the gang is back in the long-awaited Toy Story 4, and the first teaser is here to remind you that, yes, this is happening.
There’s no sense of the plot in the trailer, it's a chance to see the original gang back together: Woody and Buzz, Jessie, Slinky Dog, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Rex, Hamm, and one of the Little Green Men. There’s a fresh face too, in a googly-eyed spork with pipe cleaner arms called Forky – a pleasingly absurd addition who, according to the synopsis, will be central to the plot: “Woody has always been confident about his place in the world and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. But when Bonnie adds a reluctant new toy called “Forky” to her room, a road trip adventure alongside old and new friends will show Woody how big the world can be for a toy.” Forky is voiced by Tony Hale, aka Arrested Development's Buster Bluth.
Despite any reservations over the series continuing past its perfect finale, the first Toy Story 4 teaser is a welcome reminder of how much affection there is for these characters – and there's some pleasing weirdness in there too. It's time to get (cautiously) optimistic. The film is directed by Josh Cooley, who co-wrote Inside Out and directed its spin-off short Riley's First Date.
Toy Story 4 is due to come to life when nobody’s watching – oh who are we kidding, everyone will be watching – in UK cinemas on 21 June 2019.
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