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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Toy Story 4 (4K Blu-ray) (2019)

Toy Story 4 (4K Blu-ray) (2019)

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Released 9-Oct-2019
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Details At A Glance

General		Extras
Category	Animation	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2019
Running Time	100:03
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Multi Disc Set (3)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu	Cast & Crew
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Josh Cooley
Studio Distributor	Pixar Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.	Starring	Tom Hanks Tim Allen Annie Potts Tony Hale Keegan-Michael Key Jordan Peele Madeleine McGraw Christina Hendricks Keanu Reeves Joan Cusack Ally Maki Bonnie Hunt Kristen Schaal
Case	Standard Blu-ray	Starring
RPI	$29.95	Music	Randy Newman

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Atmos English Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 English Dolby Digital 5.1 English Dolby Digital 2.0 English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 French Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	2160p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.40:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No	Miscellaneous
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired French Spanish	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

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Plot Synopsis

    Back in 2010, Pixar Studios defied the odds to deliver the excellent Toy Story 3, a long-delayed sequel which closed the Toy Story series on a fitting, cathartic, pitch-perfect note. Arriving nine years later, 2019's Toy Story 4 sees Pixar defying the odds once again, producing a third sequel that confidently avoids tarnishing Toy Story's esteemed legacy. With newcomer Josh Cooley at the helm, this fourth Toy Story feature does not attempt to retcon the earlier films, or extend the brand awkwardly or unnaturally - instead, it assuredly justifies its existence by exploring fertile narrative and thematic ground. Recapturing the spirit of its predecessors, Toy Story 4 is immense fun, delivering all the requisite comedy, adventure, joy, and whimsy that has characterised this franchise since the beginning.

    This sequel picks up two years after Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and the rest of Andy's toys were donated to young Bonnie (Madeline McGraw). However, Bonnie has started neglecting Woody; she ignores him during playtime, and puts his sheriff badge on Jessie (Joan Cusack) instead. Still determined to protect Bonnie, Woody sneaks along for her kindergarten orientation where she creates a new plaything out of a spork: the neurotic, googly-eyed Forky (Tony Hale). Bonnie loves Forky, but he instantly experiences an existential crisis, believing that he is garbage as opposed to an actual toy. Woody serves as Forky's around-the-clock guardian, an undertaking that gets more complicated when Bonnie's family goes on a road trip. Getting lost after Forky dives out of the RV, Woody and his new pal find themselves at an antique store where they encounter a talking doll, Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks). As Buzz and the other toys search for their friends, Woody is held captive by Gabby Gabby, who intends to rejuvenate herself by stealing his voice box. The adventure reunites Woody with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and her sheep, who now live as nomad adventurers without a child owner.

    Perhaps inevitably, Toy Story 4 plays out with a different tone to the preceding films. It's still Toy Story with the same brand of scenarios, but it deals with fresh themes and ideas, and subsequently feels like somewhat of a standalone movie even though it does tie off a loose plot thread from Toy Story 3. Indeed, an opening prologue details Bo Peep's initial departure from the group, with Woody forced to choose between the woman he loves and Andy's bedroom, which sets up the main thrust of this story. (The intervening years with Bo are briskly covered in the Disney+ exclusive short movie, Lamp Life.) Once the story hits the road with Bonnie's family, Toy Story 4 splits up the principal toys, with screenwriters Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom labouring to include everybody in some capacity. Woody's story is easily the meatiest while Buzz's subplot is less involving, as he searches for his "inner voice" in the form of his pre-recorded Space Ranger voice messages. Buzz has less to do here compared to the previous movies, while the script also sidelines the rest of the returning characters, which is a bit disappointing.

    Toy Story 4 is not an all-out sobfest like Toy Story 3, but the finale does tug on the heartstrings, and those who grew up with these flicks will find the ending indescribably affecting. Toy Story 3 saw the toys coming to terms with mortality and time, but this fourth movie involves the main characters dealing with self-actualisation. This theme is primarily explored in Woody's arc, as he ponders his true purpose and struggles to remain a leader/guardian. Unwanted by Bonnie, the cowboy desperately clings to his longstanding role in the group, with his increasingly meaningless existence now solely consumed with safeguarding Bonnie's happiness. Woody takes the initiative with the arrival of Forky, frantically trying to maintain order and prevent the spork from committing suicide. Furthermore, Gabby Gabby is a more layered villain than expected; instead of an outright sinister antagonist, Gabby Gabby adds welcome poignancy to the story and contributes to Woody's character growth. However, as ever, even though there are deeper themes at play, Toy Story 4 does not skimp on the laughs - the writing is witty and razor-sharp, making this one of 2019's most effective comedies. Indeed, like many of Pixar's movies, Toy Story 4 is hugely entertaining, but there is also more to the feature than just humour and adventure. Likewise, the narrative does incorporate familiar story beats, but the sophisticated and confident execution prevents the movie from feeling perfunctory or formulaic.

    The improvements in Pixar's animation techniques since 1995 are all over the screen, but Toy Story 4 also takes things a step further. In addition to the animation looking more detailed than ever, the cinematography and lighting are particularly exceptional, as the animators deliberately simulate the look of specific camera lenses from shot to shot, down to anamorphic/spherical distortion, careful focus, and even grain/noise. Furthermore, as usual, Pixar gets ample mileage from creating perilous set-pieces in everyday locations with banal things - the antique store, for instance, is the stage for a rescue mission, and the toys face great risk in the form of a cat. The franchise's long-time composer, Randy Newman, also returns for this instalment, cooking up a flavoursome soundtrack that's wholly in keeping with his melodic contributions to the original trilogy. Newman even contributes a new original song, "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away," which received an Oscar nomination.

    Without a doubt, it's the supporting cast who steal the show in Toy Story 4. Sure, the returning cast is magnificent from top to bottom, as the performers immaculately slip back into their respective roles, but the new characters deliver the lion's share of the laughs. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele are roll-on-the-ground hilarious as a snarky pair of stuffed carnival animals, while the always-reliable Keanu Reeves brings terrific oomph and enthusiasm as overeager Canadian daredevil Duke Caboom. Tony Hale is another comedic standout as Forky, giving the timid utensil a legitimate personality and easily earning big laughs. Out of the main cast, Hanks does most of the heavy lifting in terms of drama, and his effortless gravitas elevates the material. Plus, Toy Story 4 sees the return of Annie Potts as Bo, who ably handles a more prominent role in this story. Moreover, Bo's character evolution is intriguing, with the formally soft-spoken love interest becoming a self-assured, self-sufficient action heroine, and Potts convincingly sells the characterisation. Hanks and Potts' interplay is a constant joy, as well, infusing the picture with genuine heart. Admittedly, the movie does miss hitting darker notes in the Woody/Bo relationship, particularly in regards to their philosophical differences, but this is a negligible misstep.

    At first glance, this basic plot could have been turned into another Toy Story television special or Disney+ original. However, there is weight and significance to Toy Story 4's narrative, which sparkles with the same adventurous spirit as its predecessors while finding interesting new places for the characters to go. Even though this is more or less a victory lap sequel, it's miraculous how fresh the film feels, and it does not carry the commercial/cash-in vibe of other Pixar sequels. In fact, while Toy Story 4 still primarily targets a young audience, this instalment is actually more relatable for adults, as it's a story about coping with loss and change. Toy Story 3 felt like the perfect conclusion to a perfect trilogy, but this fourth film is a worthwhile and welcome epilogue. Hilarious, visually stunning, exciting, swiftly-paced, and emotional, Toy Story 4 is further proof that, even with a few misfires under the studio's belt, it's foolish to underestimate Pixar. Be sure to stick around for additional material during the end credits.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    A rarity in contemporary animated cinema, Toy Story 4 was reportedly completed with a 4K digital intermediate, which makes it an obvious and welcome choice for a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. The resulting HEVC/H.265-encoded, ultra high definition presentation is frankly stunning, and sets a new standard for the format. Framed at its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, and placed on a dual-layered BD-66 with a healthy video bitrate, Toy Story 4 is reference material in every sense of the word, and represents a noticeable improvement over the already stunning 1080p Blu-ray. Since the movie was finished at 4K, the 2160p transfer reveals tighter and more precise detailing across the board, with the smallest of details being brought out effortlessly. In short, this is reference material in every sense of the word, and one of the best UHD discs I have ever seen. I wouldn't say that it's a day-and-night difference compared to the 1080p Blu-ray, but the improvements are considerable at times, and difficult to ignore.

    Unsurprisingly, it's the High Dynamic Range grading, superior chroma subsampling and wide colour gamut which really elevates this transfer above its 1080p counterpart. Unsurprisingly, too, the disc is only encoded in HDR10 as opposed to Dolby Vision, as the DV-enhanced presentation is saved for Disney+. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine Dolby Vision offering much of an improvement, as the HDR on this disc is extraordinary. The 1080p Blu-ray simply cannot match up, as the UHD shows bolder colours and superior luminance, with superb image depth and exceptional saturation. Just see the party scene at the 55-minute mark, as the flashing blue and red lights are more impactful than ever. Additionally, there is more variety to the colour palette. For instance, whereas blanket tints on the 1080p Blu-ray overwhelm colour intricacies (the blue-tinted night scenes), everything looks gorgeously varied and truer in UHD. The HDR also resolves firmer specular detail in skies, while the lights at the carnival demonstrate fantastic luminance that 1080p cannot even hope to match. In Standard Dynamic Range, specular detail and highlights are lost at times, whereas the HDR-enhanced transfer does justice to the animators' highly detailed work. Toy Story 4 looks beautiful from a colour standpoint, and the HDR allows the movie to look better on disc than it did at the cinema.

    Whereas the previous Toy Story movies were completed at lower resolutions, resulting in minor 4K upgrades, Toy Story 4 is a native 4K title, and it looks phenomenal. The characters were redesigned for this go-round, with Bo Peep in particular showing considerable differences, and the resultant textures on her clothing are especially eye-popping - just see her introductory shot at 35:55. Other characters like Benson and Gabby Gabby also exhibit intricate detailing, and any limitations to skin textures (in terms of the toys and the humans) are purely by design. Luckily, the transfer is stable, and there's no unsightly smeariness to spoil the gorgeous image. Toy Story 4 looks incredibly sharp as well, and the UHD encoding does a better job with the fur on Ducky and Bunny. Also see the opening scene in the rainstorm - a wide shot flawlessly resolves every drop of rain running down the car, and the landscapes are virtually photorealistic. Other landscapes look likewise exceptional, from the lush greenery to the meticulous details within the antiques store. Furthermore, the fleeting shots containing deliberate noise/grain are also better-resolved on this 4K disc, looking tighter and more subtle. Additionally, some segments of the film look deliberately rough, for instance Duke's flashback at 57:30 which is treated to look like an old video (overly soft and with video artefacts), and these creative choices are faithfully carried over to the 4K presentation.

    Thankfully, there are no problems from an encoding standpoint. The bitrate normally hovers around the 40-45 Mbps mark, which is standard for a Disney title, and is more than sufficient to faithfully bring the source to disc without any bothersome compression artefacts. Indeed, the encoding is flawless, without any evidence of macroblocking, aliasing, banding, or other anomalies. It's impossible to overstate how spectacular Toy Story 4 looks in UHD, thanks to the exceptional animation work as well as Disney's flawless encoding. It's the best-looking Toy Story movie on the format, and it's the best-looking Pixar movie to date on 4K, as well.

    Subtitles are included in English SDH, French and Spanish. The subtitle track is well-formatted and free of errors.

*Video Ratings Summary*
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

As per standard operating practise for Disney, Toy Story 4 comes to 4K Blu-ray with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack, which represents an upgrade over the regular Blu-ray's DTS-HD MA 7.1 mix. And as per usual, to get the full experience of the Atmos track, you'll need to raise the volume above regular listening levels. However, with the volume raised, there's little else to complain about this pristine and impactful lossless audio mix. It's worth pointing out that I only have a 7.1 set-up, and therefore cannot comment on the overhead component of the Atmos mix, but it still sounds fantastic on my equipment. From the beginning, the lightning storm shows exceptional surround activity and low-frequency effects, with the thunder sounding intimidating and the sounds of rain coming from all around. When the toys are in Bonnie's dark cupboard at 7:34, their voices are isolated to certain channels. The mix remains dynamic throughout the movie, as the surround channels remain constantly active to deliver Randy Newman's music, environmental ambience, and other sounds.

Furthermore, the mix never experiences problems with prioritisation - the dialogue is always clear, and is never overwhelmed by sound effects or music. At the carnival, there's terrific LFE when Buzz runs underneath the rides, while engine sounds are apparent whenever the RV is in motion. The skunk car also sounds appropriately loud as it drives off with Woody and Bo. Ambience is impressive, too. When Woody and Forky walk along the road, for example, the sound of crickets fill the speakers, while some scenes inside the antique store are accompanied by the creepy old-timey song "Midnight, the Stars and You" by Ray Noble. Unlike some other Disney presentations, I never felt that the audio seemed excessively compromised, tinny, or compressed - the mix is crystal clear and comprehensible from start to finish. As with the Blu-ray's DTS-HD MA 7.1 track, some scenes sound a little too front-centric, but that could be source-related. This is the track's only drawback. On the whole, however, Toy Story 4's Atmos mix is huge satisfying, and - luckily - the disc defaults to the Atmos, rather than any of the alternative lossy tracks.

*Audio Ratings Summary*
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

The 4K disc contains no extras, as usual. Not even the commentary. However, this is a three-disc set, featuring the 1080p Blu-ray as well as the bonus disc.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

In terms of extras, all editions worldwide are identical at the present.

Summary

Toy Story 4 may not seem necessary, but it's a wonderful epilogue to the exceptional Toy Story trilogy. It's miraculous that the Pixar team were able to find such fertile narrative and thematic material for this fourth instalment.

On 4K, Toy Story 4 looks and sounds incredible. The video presentation is flawless in every sense of the word, and the Atmos track is likewise terrific, especially by Disney's standards. This is also a three-disc set, featuring a satisfying array of special features. 4K is definitely the preferred way to experience this sequel on home video. Highly recommended.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Review Equipment
DVD	Sony UBP-X700 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player, using HDMI output
Display	LG OLED65E6T. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 2160p.
Audio Decoder	Built in to amplifier/receiver. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
Amplification	Samsung Series 7 HT-J7750W
Speakers	Samsung Tall Boy speakers, 7.1 set-up

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