One of the most beloved franchises to come out of both Disney and Pixar is without a doubt the saga of Toy Story films. The fourth and possibly final film in the series, Toy Story 4, was released in the summer of 2019 and changed the entire landscape of the popular series forever.
The movie was far more serious in some ways than the previous ones had been, but it was also filled with just as much heart, humor, friendship, and love. The journey Woody, Buzz, and all the other toys embarked upon might be over for now but the legacy these characters have created is endless. Here, we take a look at the best lines to come out of this film.
Rex: "The panic is attacking me."
The adorable and completely neurotic Rex has long been one of the most beloved characters in the entire Toy Story franchise. Voiced by the comedy legend Wallace Shawn, the plastic dinosaur has been open about his struggles with anxiety and stress from the very beginning of the series.
And as always, Rex continues to struggle with handling change and unexpected situations in Toy Story 4 - a film that is definitely packed full with them. "The panic is attacking me" is honestly one of the most quotable, and relatable, things Rex has ever said.
Trixie: "I have a question. No. Wait. I have all the questions."
In Toy Story 3, Rex got a new partner in crime in the form of a fellow dinosaur toy, Trixie. Trixie is often far blunter than Rex is, but it's also clear that she has some of the same aversions to change and high-stress scenarios that Rex does. It must be a dinosaur thing.
Toy Story 4 starts off with Bonnie starting kindergarten and coming home with a new friend she has literally made in the form of Forky. This, of course, leads the always honest and curious Trixie to observe, "I have a question. No. Wait. I have all the questions."
Bo Peep: "Oh, Sheriff Woody. Always coming to the rescue."
The relationship between Woody and Bo Peep was one of the sweetest, but most understated parts of the first two films in the Toy Story series. Bo's absence was touched briefly upon in the third film in a truly emotional moment. But Toy Story 4 puts this relationship right at the forefront - and to great success.
Given their long history together, and their clear feelings for one another, Bo is one of the characters to understand Woody better than anyone else does, and she regards him with a clear fondness for some of the personality traits that others might find frustrating.
Ducky: "To infinity and my foot! In a galaxy far, far away, you got kicked in the head! In the vacuum of space, they cannot hear you scream!"
Toy Story 4 touches on far more emotional, adult, and serious topics than the other films in the series did. It's for that reason that it also features some of the franchise's most hilarious moments since they truly doubled down on the amount of comedic relief provided in the story by adding characters like the hilarious duo of Bunny and Ducky.
As voiced by the iconic comedy duo Key and Peele, the characters allow the movie to embrace some absurdist humor. From their very first scene, they also introduce even more pop culture references than ever before to a series already filled with them.
Bo Peep: "Open your eyes, Woody. There's plenty of kids out there. Sometimes change can be good."
If you had to encapsulate the overall message and plot of Toy Story 4 in one quote, this line from the now streetwise and experienced Bo Peep would do a pretty good job of that. Woody is struggling with an identity crisis throughout the movie, as he's no longer the favorite toy or Andy's toy.
It takes meeting Bo Peep, a happily lost toy, for him to realize that there's more to the world than the life he's known for the last few decades as Andy's, and now Bonnie's, toy.
Forky: "I am not a toy. I'm a spork. I was made for soup, salad, maybe chili, and then the trash. I'm litter. Freedom!"
Woody isn't the only character undergoing a crisis of identity in the movie, however. The entire point of Forky's character is to try and define what a toy's purpose is, and what a toy really means to a child. How, after all, can a spork with a few pieces of craft supplies glued to him be a toy?
From his very moment of creation, Forky is keenly aware of this fact, insisting on his identity as both a utensil and a piece of trash. Trash is even his favorite thing in the world, it seems, given his earnest journey to reunite with it, which features many hilarious attempts at becoming trash again.
Buzz Lightyear: "She'll be okay. Bonnie will be okay."
It was the moment that changed the Toy Story universe forever. In the film's closing moments, when it seems as if Woody will abandon his new life with Bo Peep to return to his life as an ignored toy with Bonnie, Buzz offers Woody some truly heroic and selfless advice.
Woody has spent his entire life caring for kids, and worrying about them, too. He did a great job with Andy, and now, Bonnie is looking elsewhere for the toy that she considers truly special. It's not Woody's job anymore, to live his life depending on the needs of one child. It's time for Woody to live the life he wants to live because Bonnie will be just fine.
Forky: "I'm trash!"
This line might be the simplest one on this entire list, but it's also one of the most hilarious, too. Frequently throughout the film, "trash" is the only word that Forky will say, including in the first moments after his unconventional birth and the subsequent montage of scenes in which he tries to throw himself out, to Woody's great frustration.
By the end of the film, Forky has clearly accepted his role as a toy, and the newfound identity that comes along with that. But before he was a toy, he was trash. And he'll never forget that.
Rex: "Does this mean Woody's a lost toy?" Buzz Lightyear: "He's not lost. Not anymore."
Toy Story 4 does a lot when it comes to tackling the very adult themes of finding yourself and your place in this world. The notion of being a lost toy is something that is unthinkable and even offensive to Woody at the film's beginning, when he works so valiantly to save poor RC from being swept away by rain and down the drain.
But by the end of the film, he's more than happy to live his life on the road with other allegedly lost toys. Because now, he finally knows exactly who he is, and what he wants from his life - making him the least lost he's been in quite some time.
Woody: "Being there for a child is the most noble thing a toy can do."
Woody's belief in supporting, loving, and raising the child you are lucky enough to belong to is a belief that is tested many times throughout the film. While he may ultimately come to the conclusion that there are other experiences to get from life, it's clear that this ideology is being passed on to a new "generation" of toys because of him.
Woody spent his life caring and being there for Andy. Now, Forky, having learned from his example, is serving the very same role for Bonnie, and becoming a hero just like Woody in the process.