Pixar’s beloved flagship franchise Toy Story comes to a definitive conclusion this year with Toy Story 4, which serves as an epilogue for the interconnected stories of Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), their friends, and a host of new toys. The sequel is currently enjoying critical and audience approval, but even something as cherished as a Toy Story movie isn’t free of some oversights.
Take note, these inconsistencies don’t dampen the movie’s overall quality, but they do poke a few holes in the otherwise near-perfect send-off for these beloved characters. So without further ado, here are 6 plot holes in Toy Story 4 that got us scratching our heads balanced with 5 awesome moments that had us either laughing or crying.
Plot Hole: A Matter Of Convenience
While it made sense in earlier installments and especially during nighttime, toys running around in broad daylight should’ve caught someone’s attention because of how ubiquitous cameras are in today’s society.
Toy Story 4, which is currently the most contemporary of the series, has the toys cause commotions in broad daylight or in very public areas while always conveniently avoiding passersby’s peripheral visions. Whether it’s a smartphone or a CCTV, a camera’s bound to catch the toys in motion if even by accident, yet Woody and company luckily never have to work around this.
Amazing Moment: Buzz To The Rescue
The original space ranger Buzz Lightyear gets his moment to shine when he goes off to save Woody by himself. While in previous movies he had a gang of trusty toys by his side, Buzz (and his inner voice) gets to be the hero of his own action story.
Though the adventure itself is comically short and Buzz winds up in even sillier adventures with the goofball plush toys Ducky and Bunny, his daring stunts in the crowded town carnival were a fun sight to behold. Star Command would be proud.
Plot Hole: Ducky And Bunny’s Kid
When they’re first introduced, the interconnected Ducky and Bunny accuse Buzz Lightyear of trying to steal their chance at being adopted by a kid. The only way Woody’s able to calm them down is to promise that Bonnie would take them in.
But by the movie’s end, the top prize plushies have a change of heart and dedicate their time to helping other toys get a kid. Their pivot isn’t a problem in and of itself, but the lack of an explanation for their abrupt decision is bound to raise a few questions and eyebrows.
Amazing Moment: Gabby Gabby’s Redemption
The Toy Story movies have memorable antagonists, but they’re all smug bullies who met terrible fates they deserved. Lotso the Huggin’ Bear was on the right track, but he regressed to stereotypical villainy by the third movie’s end.
Toy Story 4’s Gabby Gabby, conversely, is on a different level. Like her predecessors, she has a tragic backstory but she uses it to learn from her mistakes instead of justifying her self-centered actions. Gabby Gabby is the best realization of the tragic villain that Toy Story has been trying to depict since the Prospector’s debut.
Plot Hole: Duke Caboom’s Launcher
Duke Caboom’s comically tragic backstory rests on his underwhelming launcher, which failed to make him fly through a cardboard ring of fire. This disappointed his kid so much that he wound up in an antique store along with his launcher – which somehow worked perfectly during Toy Story 4.
Not only does it launch the daredevil toy over a distance of 4 feet, but in the finale it makes him fly across 40 feet. Given how the launcher was already problematic plus its added age, it’s a bit peculiar how it not only works, but did so spectacularly.
Amazing Moment: Forky Learns (And Teaches) About Life
Forky is a nervous wreck during the first half of his existence, panicking at the thought of sentience while suffering an identity crisis. Eventually, he not only learns how to deal with his existential dread but he also helps another toy get over her own troubles: specifically, Gabby Gabby.
Despite being held hostage by her ventriloquist dummies, Forky shares a short-lived yet genuine bond with Gabby Gabby, even helping her get the hang of tea parties. Though still a bit of a clutz by the end, Forky wound up inadvertently changing the lives of others around him.
Plot Hole: Forky Is Still Trash
Despite technically being ageless and immortal, the toys are still vulnerable to wear and tear. This just makes Forky stand out because unlike his manufactured friends, he’s literal trash that won’t last forever.
Granted, sporks can take eons to decompose but Forky isn’t as durable as a coin bank or a plushy animal. If anything, Forky and his newfound popsicle stick friend have the shortest lifespans in the gang because of how fragile they are. Add the fact that kids can be destructive and Forky’s future and relevance to Bonnie’s life don’t seem that long-term.
Amazing Moment: Bo Peep Survives
After disappearing without a word in Toy Story 3, Bo Peep makes her comeback in the series’ fourth entry. Her backstory isn’t shown but told, and it’s surprisingly action-packed and for lack of better words, badass.
As a Lost Toy who escaped an antique store, Bo Peep has been having the time of her life with her loyal three-headed sheep by her side. What makes her survival all the more awesome is when a certain detail about her mere being is taken into consideration.
Plot Hole: Bo Beep’s Resistance To Damage
Bo Peep is unique among Andy’s original toys because she’s a porcelain figure instead of an actual plaything. Though this makes her distinct, it also means she’s more vulnerable to damage and breakage.
Toy Story 4 reveals that she’s been a Lost Toy for more than seven years, and yet the worst she’s suffered from all the action is her arm becoming detachable with the help of some tape. The only explanation for this is she’s either the luckiest lampstand figure around or she’s made of the most durable porcelain available.
Amazing Moment: Woody Moves On
After years of watching over the toys as their self-proclaimed patriarch, Woody finally learns what real happiness is when he decides to become a Lost Toy alongside Bo Peep. No longer burdened by an obligation he forced on himself, Woody is free for the first time in his life.
For those who grew up watching the Toy Story movies, this was a heartfelt farewell to the loyal cowboy who was the series’ icon for the longest time. It was also great to see Woody truly happy after all these years, since he wasn’t the same after Andy left for good.
Plot Hole: Video Games
One of the strangest things about Toy Story is how video games barely exist. Due to their popularity, consoles would’ve almost certainly rendered Woody and the others obsolete. Yet in Toy Story 4, no one seems interested in the Pixar version of a Nintendo Switch – even if Rex plays a Buzz Lightyear game in Toy Story 2.
It’s not a detrimental issue, but it’s just weirdly archaic that Bonnie – a kid born in the digital age where the latest video games have replaced action figures in many children’s wish lists – never fiddled with a mobile game at least once.