Toy Story 4 (Pixar) (2019) (1 Viewer)

[Jake Lipson]

Tom Hanks talking about his final session voicing Woody for Toy Story 4:

The way you record Toy Story, you're in a room with the team that has created it. When I went in for my last day of recording, I wanted to have my back to them, because usually you're facing him so you can look right up and you can talk about it. But I didn't want to see them and I wanted to pretend they couldn't see me. When I realized what they were going for, I realized, 'Oh, this is a moment in history.'

https://screenrant.com/tom-hanks-toy-story-4-ending-emotional/

Calling it "a moment in history" is certainly big buildup. What could he be referring to?

Anyway, I assume/hope we will probably get the first teaser for the movie this month with Ralph Breaks the Internet, which would follow the pattern of Disney beginning the marketing for Pixar's big June release with the Thanksgiving release prior (Incredibles 2 with Coco, Cars 3 with Moana, Finding Dory with Good Dinosaur, etc.) Obviously, Ralph isn't a Pixar film, but I suspect they'll stick to this trend because in the end, it's all Disney.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

​

 

[Jake Lipson]

Huh.

The teaser really doesn't give us any indication of what this movie is, other than showing us the toys are back. And no sign of Bo Peep, whose return is apparently important. Basically it's a save-the-date for those people who don't follow movie industry news, who will go see Ralph Breaks the Internet and not know yet that Toy Story 4 is coming to inform them that the movie's in the works. That's okay, I guess. It matches what Pixar has done with teaser trailers in the past; last year at this time we got the teaser for Incredibles 2, which was just Jack-Jack shooting lasers at the logo.

It's interesting to see Mr. Potato Head still there following the death of Don Rickles. I wonder how they will handle his voice, whether with a recast or with old sessions from the previous films a la Paul Newman in Cars 3.

Also, from Disney's social media comes the teaser poster, which I gotta say I kind of like for its simplicity:

 

[Jake Lipson]

Another trailer, introducing Ducky and Bunny, voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele:



And more new teaser posters:

It's interesting to me that they don't feel the need to put the title on these posters at all. The Woody one from yesterday, and the Buzz one, don't need it for people to know what it is because those two are iconic. However, I wonder whether or not, if the posters featuring the new characters, are hanging in theaters, whether people would know what they are supposed to be advertising without the name.

Funnily enough, this reveal means Keegan-Michael Key is in both Toy Story 4 (June) and The Lion King remake (July, as one of the renamed hyenas) for Disney next year.

It's sort of funny to me that Toy Story 4 is coming along in the midst of its '90s Disney contemporaries all being remade in live-action. Which is not to suggest that they should remake Toy Story, ever, but it's ironic to find this film still continuing that storyline emerging just as the other films that came out around it (Aladdin, The Lion King, etc.) are on the remake docket.

 

[Brett_B]

Tom Hanks talking about his final session voicing Woody for Toy Story 4:



https://screenrant.com/tom-hanks-toy-story-4-ending-emotional/

Calling it "a moment in history" is certainly big buildup. What could he be referring to?

I am just speculating based on Tim Allen's and Tom Hank's comments, and I wonder if the ending could involve a death of a human character where a toy will end up being buried with said human? I could imagine some heartfelt emotions of the toys saying their last goodbyes to one another.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I wonder if the ending could involve a death of a human character where a toy will end up being buried with said human?

That would be awfully dark even for Pixar.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Tim Allen talked a little bit about a new character being voiced by Keanu Reeves:

https://ew.com/movies/2018/11/22/toy-story-4-keanu-reeves-tim-allen-jimmy-fallon/

 

[Jake Lipson]

Keanu Reeves talked to Collider a little bit about Toy Story 4, and says the people at Pixar called him out of the blue and pitched the role for him specifically. That's gotta be a cool feeling.

http://collider.com/toy-story-4-keanu-reeves/

 

[Mike Frezon]

Keanu Reeves talked to Collider a little bit about Toy Story 4, and says the people at Pixar called him out of the blue and pitched the role for him specifically. That's gotta be a cool feeling.

http://collider.com/toy-story-4-keanu-reeves/

I wonder if there'll be any point in the movie where his character will say "whoa..."

 

[Jake Lipson]

I think this qualifies as a rumor because the source is a leaked Russian calendar and not anything official from Disney, but I thought it was worth posting anyway.

Some might consider this to be a spoiler -- I don't -- but don't click if you don't want to know.

https://movieweb.com/toy-story-4-new-photo-characters-plot-details

The below is speculation on my part based on the information at the link:

Spoiler

If the synopsis is correct, this will be the first Toy Story film which has a shorter than than the amount of real time that has elapsed in the world since the last film. It might also require Bonnie to be recast, since I doubt the kid who voiced her for the third film in 2010 could pass for a kindergartner now.[/spoiler

 

[Sam Favate]

It's a long weekend here in the northeast with bad weather and frigid temperatures. Last year, we showed the kids The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which they'd never seen, and they loved. It became their world for several months. This year, at one of my son's request, we have been watching the Toy Story trilogy. They saw these movies when they were younger (about 3 or 4) which fueled a long, long obsession with them. They had (have) books, posters, stuffed animals, many, many action figures (which we literally searched the world for, sometimes ordering characters from China) and so on. But they moved on to Star Wars, Marvel, DC and other pursuits (like video games). But something reminded my son of Toy Story and he kept asking for it (and his toys, which had been packed away).

Yesterday, we watched the first one, today the second, and (I assume) tomorrow, the third. We also watched the trailers for Toy Story 4, which had both of them giddy with anticipation (and our trip to Toy Story Land in the spring won't hurt). It's a lot of fun to see them acting out their favorite scenes again, yelling "To Infinity and Beyond!" and hearing them cheer during the movies (my other son - not the one who requested the movies - drowned out the movie cheering for Woody, Buzz and Bullseye chasing the plane with Jesse in it at the end of 2).

I don't know if he sees this, but I see him in Andy. He has his toys set up all over, mixing characters from different universes (scale doesn't matter) and has them on adventures every day. They're his companions in a sense.

Toy Story and the Lord of the Rings - those might be the two most perfect trilogies ever made. What will we do come next January?

 

[Jake Lipson]

Toy Story and the Lord of the Rings - those might be the two most perfect trilogies ever made. What will we do come next January?

In my opinion, The Hobbit has tainted the legacy of The Lord of the Rings a bit. I know The Lord of the Rings is still untouched, but it's hard to watch it without being reminded of the over-extension and diminishing creative returns when they returned to that well.

I really, really hope that Toy Story 4 is as good as what has come before. The series has meant so much to me over the years that I don't think I could bear it if it's bad.

What will we do come next January?

Back to the Future? Although there's no reason to wait until January...

Also, if your kids are enjoying the Toy Story films proper, you might think about getting the Blu-rays for Toy Story of Terror and Toy Story That Time Forgot, the TV specials for ABC. Obviously, they aren't as substantial as the feature films, but they are extremely entertaining ways to spend more time with the characters, who are all consistent with their personalities and voice talent from the films. They're short enough that they really should be sharing a single disc, but I find enough value in them that I don't really mind having bought them. "Of Terror" also includes all of the Toy Story Toons shorts, and it's nice to have those all in one place. You can get "That Time Forgot" for free as a Disney Movie Reward, if you've got enough points for it from buying other discs.

 

[Sam Favate]

Also, if your kids are enjoying the Toy Story films proper, you might think about getting the Blu-rays for Toy Story of Terror and Toy Story That Time Forgot, the TV specials for ABC. Obviously, they aren't as substantial as the feature films, but they are extremely entertaining ways to spend more time with the characters, who are all consistent with their personalities and voice talent from the films. They're short enough that they really should be sharing a single disc, but I find enough value in them that I don't really mind having bought them. "Of Terror" also includes all of the Toy Story Toons shorts, and it's nice to have those all in one place. You can get "That Time Forgot" for free as a Disney Movie Reward, if you've got enough points for it from buying other discs.

Oh, believe me, we have those and they’re on deck for viewing!

 

[Jake Lipson]

Oh, believe me, we have those and they’re on deck for viewing!

Of course you do.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

In my opinion, The Hobbit has tainted the legacy of The Lord of the Rings a bit. I know The Lord of the Rings is still untouched, but it's hard to watch it without being reminded of the over-extension and diminishing creative returns when they returned to that well.

I agree.

I will never watch THE HOBBIT trilogy again. Just horrible. It is so painfully slow and uninteresting. They should have kept it to 2 films as originally planned.

But TOY STORY is just perfect! I am just a little upset Disney went back to the well on another sequel. It seemed like they ended on such a high note and a perfect close to a perfect story.[/QUOTE]

 

[Jake Lipson]

But TOY STORY is just perfect! I am just a little upset Disney went back to the well on another sequel. It seemed like they ended on such a high note and a perfect close to a perfect story.

I'm willing to give Pixar the benefit of the doubt for the time being. They must know that, given Toy Story's place as their legacy franchise, making a bad one would diminish the general goodwill toward the Pixar brand far more than another bad Cars sequel would. At least I hope they would realize that while making the next one. It's entirely possible that they've made another winner, and we'll all be very grateful for its existence when we see it. If not, I'll certainly be vocal about it. But for now, I think they've earned what, for me, I would term as cautious optimism.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I'm willing to give Pixar the benefit of the doubt for the time being. They must know that, given Toy Story's place as their legacy franchise, making a bad one would diminish the general goodwill toward the Pixar brand far more than another bad Cars sequel would. At least I hope they would realize that while making the next one. It's entirely possible that they've made another winner, and we'll all be very grateful for its existence when we see it. If not, I'll certainly be vocal about it. But for now, I think they've earned what, for me, I would term as cautious optimism.

If the TS4 is not so good, it won’t diminish my affection for Pixar. I did get tired of dipping to much into the Cars well, but jeez, is there another studio that has such a high batting average? The only thing that in mind mind, diminishes Pixar, is the crap the Lassiter did.

 

[Sam Favate]

The only thing that in mind mind, diminishes Pixar, is the crap the Lassiter did.

Nah, trust the art, not the artist, as the saying goes.

BTW, we did our viewing of TS3 today. It was a wonderful experience, and a bit poignant on the eve of my sons' 10th birthday. We have pictures of them as 4 and 5 year-olds surrounded by their toys, just like that picture of Andy. One of the boys burst into tears when Andy drove away and said "Thanks, guys." I pointed out to my wife later that he got it.

 

[Jake Lipson]

If the TS4 is not so good, it won’t diminish my affection for Pixar.

I disagree. If they deliver a bad Toy Story sequel, it won't make the first three any less brilliant, but it would be a severe disappointment and I wouldn't be as trusting of the quality of their brand in the future. The good name of Toy Story matters more than Cars sequels or Monsters University being less good than the original, because Toy Story is what made their name in the first place.

Nah, trust the art, not the artist, as the saying goes.

Lasseter is a different issue, and out of all the people who have been taken to task as a result of the Me Too movement, it has been the most disappointing to me to learn about his misbehavior because I admire his work so much. I wish that he had the common sense to realize that what he had been doing was wrong and that he shouldn't be doing it. I know Lasseter has been married (I don't know if his wife is still with him or not after this stuff came out), but I don't see why he found it difficult to just do the kinds of things he was accused of doing at work with his wife at home instead, and be professional with colleges and employees in the work environment.

But Lasseter still directed three of my favorite films of all time (the first two Toy Story films, and A Bug's Life), and I have seen all three of them since the news broke about him and I can still watch them and love them just as much as I did before. His talent doesn't excuse his behavior, and I think his immediate hiring at Skydance Animation is deeply problematic. But that doesn't make his existing work any less terrific.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Bo Peep is back, and she looks different. I'm really curious and excited to see what has happened to this character since we last saw her in Toy Story 2.