The following is excerpted from an online article posted by Parents
Seven years after the fourth Toy Story film came out, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jessie reunite to save Bonnie from a threat parents know all too well: technology.
The film, out on June 19, 2019, emphasizes how children are embracing screen time—sometimes even getting addicted to it—and may be engaging in less imaginative play as a result. It also highlights the difficulties that sometimes come with navigating friendships and bullying, which impacts about 19% of students in the U.S. each year.
Along with entertainment, the filmmakers hope that children watching will walk away remembering the power of their imagination.
“You have access to this thing called imagination that is free, it’s yours, it’s unique,” says Lindsey Collins, the producer. “We as children who didn’t grow up with technology at all benefited from having boredom…and all of a sudden kind of triggering that imaginative play, and the gift of that.”
The film’s focus on friendship and finding “your people” is another lesson. We see that through Bonnie, who struggles to fit in with girls from her school, to later find a friend in Blaze (voiced by Mykal-Michelle Harris), an almost 10-year-old living on a ranch who shares the same desire to play as she does.