Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #2,089
Written 7/5/20
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Buy it... if you desire a predictably sentimental continuation of
the style and themes from the first two Toy Story soundtracks,
Randy Newman playing a heavier hand of nostalgia in the fourth entry's
music.
Avoid it... if you demand any substantial evolution of the
franchise's musical style, for the four new themes in this work fit
seamlessly with the reprises of old favorites and become a rather
anonymous mesh of Newman's standard fare.
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| Newman |
Toy Story 4: (Randy Newman) For many years, a
consensus opinion had maintained that the conclusion of 2010's Toy
Story 3 was the perfect ending for the toys and human characters of
the original trilogy of films. The franchise can't shake the warm and
fuzzy appeal of the concept, however, and with the support of much of
the voice cast, not to mention a billion dollars in profits, Disney and
Pixar have left the door open indefinitely. The fourth film, 2019's
Toy Story 4, reprised the themes of separation and farewell, so
much so that the franchise should be renamed "Goodbye Story" given its
perpetually melancholy tone of the more recent entries. It elevates the
female character of Bo Peep into a lead role, and the story follows her
adventure in an antique shop near a fairground. Meanwhile, Woody, Buzz,
and crew salvage an annoying spork that their new child owner, Bonnie,
has built, and their own unlikely journey to the same fairground results
in a culmination of a battle against yet another set of
not-so-benevolent toys. It's an unnecessary film with highly obnoxious
new characters (the spork really needed to die), continuous torture of
favorite old toys, and a coda that loses the upbeat tone that made the
franchise so appealing at the start. On the upside are absolutely
spectacular animated visuals, particularly of the carnival lights, and a
notable prologue reprising the scenes of better times with the previous
owners of the toys. Also hitting the right notes of nostalgia is
composer Randy Newman, so much a fixture of these films that the
producers never considered any alternative for Toy Story 4. The
formula for Newman on this fourth entry seems familiar to the previous
films on the surface, with the composer's standard underscore
sensibilities joined by a pair of new songs. But the equation is a
little different this time because Newman made a concerted effort to
revisit considerable material from the first two films. The soundtrack
opens with the original recording of "You've Got a Friend in Me" during
the flashback sequence. The all-new "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself
Away," representing the spork, is a vaguely gospel song about suicide
that might feel more at home in 2009's The Princess and the Frog,
and despite its short running time and rather irritating interlude in
the picture, the song was nominated for an Oscar. Better is the
Grammy-nominated "The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy," another very short
entry for Woody that jives with the tone of the soundtrack as a whole.
None of the songs' melodies, including "You've Got a Friend in Me,"
figures strongly in Newman's score.
Generally, Newman's music for
Toy Story 4 is on
par with the quality you hear in the rest of the franchise. These are
all competent works with a solid musical voice, and the fourth score
offers nothing unexpected or transcendent compared to the previous
three. There is one significant shift in this sequel, however, and that
is a return by Newman to substantial phrasing from the first and second
scores, notably in how he reprises action segments for Woody and Buzz.
Listeners hoping for a nostalgic fix will best hear these passages in
"Operation Pull Toy" at the start and "Buzz's Flight & a Maiden," the
latter an extended homage to the Zurg sequences in
Toy Story 2.
The three-note fanfare fragment that Newman has dropped humorously into
moments of Buzz's one-liners is back. Woody's material becomes
understandably defeated as the film progresses, though by "Parting Gifts
& New Horizons," the work shifts to redemption in adequate doses to
satisfy. The love theme for Woody and Bo Peep has a touch of "A Part of
Your World" from Alan Menken's
The Little Mermaid in its rising
progressions, but it bookends the score well in the opening and closing
cues. Several new themes were devised for the new human owner, Bonnie,
and new toys: Duke Caboom, Gabby Gabby, and Forky, the ridiculous spork.
Of these, the Bonnie and Duke Caboom themes are attractions, the former
conveyed beautifully early in "School Daze" and the latter infusing
faux-Eastern Canadian tones into "Recruiting Duke Caboom." The Forky
theme is introduced late in "School Daze" but formally comes to life in
"Trash Can Chronicles." It's odd that this melody doesn't have much in
common with Newman's song for the same character. The Gabby Gabby
presence, while inspiring quick bursts of suspense in the middle of the
score, evolves into a sad but somewhat underplayed theme in "Gabby
Gabby's Most Noble Thing," where it shares time with Bonnie's theme. The
"Parting Gifts & New Horizons" conclusion is strong summary of most of
the score's ideas, sharing time with a tribute to John Williams'
E.T.
The Extra-Terrestrial as a parody near the end. The album appends
the "Plush Rush!" mini-feature cue for the new comedy relief characters,
Ducky and Bunny, complete with the closing scream from the scene.
Overall, the songs are rather weak in
Toy Story 4 but the score
is slightly better than Newman's average for the franchise. The entire
package retains a three-star rating just like its three predecessors,
and something must be said consistency. There is comfort in hearing the
work of the 75-year-old Newman persist in this franchise. Whether or not
it meets your tastes, the concept's music retains valuable personality
unlike any other.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For Randy Newman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.15
(in 20 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.11
(in 22,948 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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