If you thought the phrase, “Andy’s coming!” was only synonymous to “Toy Story 3” (and the “TS” films prior it) you are mistaken. Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) has been the glue that’s bonded all of Andy’s toys together over the course of the last 24 years (the first movie in the “Toy Story” saga came out in 1995). As time progressed, characters such as Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen), Jessie (voiced by Mary Kate Bergman in 1999 and Joan Cusack in 2010 and 2019), and Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (voiced by the late Don Rickles and Estelle Harris) slowly drifted away from their original owner, and changed the name on the bottom of their boots or stuffed paws – from Andy to a new child, a young girl named Bonnie which is where the fourth movie in iconic series kicks off.

Here are five reasons why “Toy Story 4” is better than “Toy Story 3”:

1. The Overall Plot

Back in 2010, in “Toy Story 3” when Andy went off to college and the original gang of toys were thrown into Sunnyside Daycare Center and manipulated into following the ways of the other fellow toys that were there (a lot for a movie that personifies inanimate objects, I know). That is, until they were saved and brought home by Bonnie who loved them dearly, including stuffed animals like Mr. Prickle Pants (a porcupine voiced by Timothy Dalton) and Buttercup (a unicorn voiced by Jeff Garlin). Fast forward to 2019 where Bonnie is now about to start kindergarten and physically makes a new friend she feels very attached to — a spork with popsicle stick legs and googly eyes named Forky (voiced by Tony Hale). I love that when Forky comes to life, he thinks that he’s trash (I mean the contents he was made out of did come out of a trash bin) but the toys assure him that he’s a toy and along the way, they teach him how amazing it is to be loved by a kid.

2. “Forky” Is Made Out Of Bonnie’s Imagination

Usually, when making a toy, there is a set idea. For example, if a manufacturer is producing a Buzz Lightyear action figure, Buzz is a set idea. But when Forky is made, he’s simply made out of Bonnie’s mind. The materials to make him were put in front of her and her imagination runs wild. That’s what makes him a unique toy.

3. New Characters and Cameos

If you’ve heard of R.L. Stine, you’ve probably heard of his series “Goosebumps.” If you know “Goosebumps,” then you know the creepy little ventriloquist dummy named Slappy. Well, during a certain scene, we meet a ventriloquist dummy named Benson that weirdly looks similar to the one in “Goosebumps.” Next, there’s the duo of Bunny and Ducky, two plush carnival animals (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele) who add some humor to the original gang of toys. In addition, there may have been a little visit from the movie “Up” (which was also done by Pixar) when two of the toys are rummaging through items only to find and disregard the memorable grape soda pin from the film, which was released in 2009.

4. Nostalgia

The “Toy Story” saga itself is nostalgic, if you ask me. Adult played with the toys that are in the movie as kids, so they’re bringing back memories of the previous movies. The monkey in “Toy Story 3,” for example, (called the Musical Jolly Chimp) was a real toy that people played with as well as all the other known toys (Barbie and Ken dolls, Chatter Telephone, Sergeant army action figures, etc). So making a fourth movie just adds to relevancy.

5. The Transition of the Original Toys

At the end of the third movie, Andy is seen playing with his old toys in Bonnie’s front yard. Bonnie is elated when she sees them. Andy’s toys aren’t just toys that were only made for boys to play with. Bonnie has a variety of toys before being gifted with Andy’s (one example would be Trixie, a blue triceratops) and they aren’t only for girls or for boys. The neighbor’s daughter didn’t have to be a girl, so I think the handing down of the toys to a character that is a girl with universal toys was a good idea.

If “Toy Story 4” is the final film in the saga, Pixar did a good job executing it.