Bring a blankie and a hankie to "Toy Story 4," the latest in Disney-Pixar's consistently brilliant animated franchise (opening Friday, June 21). The blankie will get you in the mood for another enchanting tale of toys that spring to life, dash off on adventures and reveal inner lives as well. As for the hankie, if you've seen just one of these movies, you know it's basically survival gear.
You'll need it immediately. The film begins on moving day, when our favorite cowboy, Woody (Tom Hanks, perfect as ever), must part ways with Bo Peep (Annie Potts), a porcelain figurine who has landed in the giveaway box. Only an eighth of an inch of cardboard separates them, but Woody must obey his toyly duty to remain with the child that owns him. You've got to hand it to Pixar _ the first ten minutes of this movie are almost as powerful as the last ten of "Casablanca."
Fast-forward to the present, when a new little girl, Bonnie, owns Woody and the gang. (They're all here, even the late Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, thanks to previously unused audio.) On Bonnie's first day of kindergarten, she makes a friend _ "literally," as Woody puts it _ out of a spork and some glue-on eyes. He is Forky (Tony Hale), whose sudden birth leaves with him with a kind of permanent existential nausea. Woody appoints himself Forky's guardian, playing father figure to a newborn of sorts.
