MovieChat Forums > Toy Story 4 (2019) Discussion > Forky breaks the Toy Story universe

Forky breaks the Toy Story universe

posted 3 years ago by Drooch (5333)
15 replies | jump to latest

I liked Forky as a character and as an idea, but the way they handled it presents problems.

In the Toy Story universe all toys understand that they must never be seen moving independently, but now we have Forky - a toy assembled from bits and bobs who is ‘born’ once it is treated as a toy by a child.

Fine, but because he’s not manufactured as a toy he doesn’t know the ‘rules’ and moves around whenever he wants, only freezing when Woody can restrain him.

This presents a problem because then every single ‘homemade’ toy would be running around out in the open across the planet.

The only reason nobody saw Forky ‘alive’ was because he was amongst other toys and had Woody around who, rather implausibly, was able to constantly restrain him. This wouldn’t be the case for most other assembled toys, there would be millions of them bouncing around human civilisation.

I always assumed that Buzz was a one-off defective version of Buzz Lightyear who believes he is the real BL, most of them know they’re toys, so I kinda let it go, but Forky presents a whole new set of problems, and I think the script needed some adjustment to keep the Toy Story universe intact.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

"I always assumed that Buzz was a one-off defective version of Buzz Lightyear who believes he is the real BL, most of them know they’re toys"

No, in "TS2" they encountered a shelf of Buzz Lightyears in a toy store, and they ALL thought they were real soldiers in hypersleep containers.

Which presumes that although most toys seem to have the instinct to freeze when a human is around, even Buzz did it when he thought he was real, but that does imply that toys have a culture and share knowledge as they pass from child to child. As for Forky, I think he's just supposed to be a defective toy, who lacks the usual toy instincts and who lacks the normal toy learning capacity.

[–] Drooch (5333) 2 years ago

If Forky moves while humans are around then surely any homemade toys would do the same?

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

If I'm right and Forky is defective and doesn't have the usual inborn Toy instincts, then it's impossible to tell whether his behavior is true of all defective or homemade toys. Defects vary too much.

And if we're having a logical discussion about the rules of the Toy Story Universe, then it's more than the writers ever did! So I don't think it's really possible to determine what's possible and what isn't, because I seriously doubt the whole mishegas was written that way.

[–] Drooch (5333) 2 years ago

Well that’s the issue - the writers didn’t account for this stuff. If all the new Buzzes believed they were real space heroes, as you mentioned, then at some point one of them is going to be seen bouncing around by a human.

Same with Forky, if he’s a one-off homemade toy who doesn’t know ‘the rules’ then the writers needed to explain why that is, because I can’t see any reason as to why millions of homemade toys aren’t coexisting with mankind.

[–] Popcorngal (4804) 2 years ago

Woody had the patience of a saint dealing with Forky wanting be in the trash all the time. I have not watched the movies in a long time. I only saw the first one.

[–] Drooch (5333) 2 years ago

Not really on topic, but what’s even more bizarre is that you ‘only saw the first one’ yet here you are opining on the fourth one 🤷🏻‍♂️

[–] Popcorngal (4804) 2 years ago

I plan to see 2 and 3 eventually.

[–] Kowalski (75736) 2 years ago

👍🏾

[–] Drooch (5333) 2 years ago

So when you say ‘I only saw the first one’ what you meant was ‘I only saw the first and fourth one’? OK. What’s your opinion on why the Toy Story world isn’t overrun with moving objects like Forky, as per the OP?

[–] spurtle467 (1549) 2 years ago

Unfortunately this was a bit of a lame duck of the franchise. Not half as entertaining as the others, and conceptually could be better. I thought a sequel was totally unnecessary given how the third one ended but since they were going to do one I thought they could have gone in other directions. Why not feature the advancement of technology and stuff that kids actually seem to be playing with more than toys nowadays, such as mobile phones, tablets, lap tops or games consoles? The whole franchise never really touched on that when it's becoming a reality. It was a chance to go somewhere more meaningful and instead they went with this idea about toys not knowing they're toys, which they focused on too much, and as you say didn't add up next to the behaviour of the other toys.

[–] ChipDouglas (1607) 2 years ago

Are you seriously demanding logic from a kids movie that's also a Disney movie? Not gonna happen.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7704) 2 years ago

I really didn't like this because of Forky. I admit I always had more action figures than traditional toys but I don't think I ever cared about the stuff I made in craft class in school. The fact the child in this cares more about the thing she made more than her other toys is just ridiculous to me. I didn't like that Woody gets replaced with something she'll probably throw away in a few years.

[–] StrongRex (1319) 2 years ago

I thought it was ridiculous that Woody left Bonnie at the end because she “didn’t want to play with him anymore.” She was only putting him aside temporarily and showing more interest in other toys for the moment. Kids do that with their toys all the time. She didn’t want to stop playing with him forever. It’s maddening how I was aware of that fact but the movie wasn’t.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7704) 2 years ago

I agree on that too.

[–] StrongRex (1319) 2 years ago

I thought Forky was a STUPID idea.