Sometimes the best little sneak peeks come from unsuspecting places! Today’s find is from what appears to be a “Build-A-Forky” media or press gift that was sent out by Disney UK.
The images and videos were shared on social media by @SophieAthawes on Twitter and @odeoncinemas on Instagram.
Here are the tweets where they were revealed:
And here’s a closer look at the photo in the last tweet:
Ok, first off, I want one of these kits! How fun does that look to make?!? But the best thing about it is the artwork. Across the bottom of the insert with the Toy Story 4 synopsis, we see a lineup who I assume (and hope, based on who’s included) will be the major players in the story. Woody and Buzz are there, of course – if you look at the very first video, Woody is running after Forky, who’s in the far left the image. Jessie and Bo – with her sheep – are front and center, which I’m very happy to see. Other classics shown are Hamm, Rex, and one of the Aliens.
Then there are the new silhouettes in the crowd. Ducky and Bunny are familiar now, so they’re easy to make out. But there are two we haven’t formally met yet. Third from the left I think it’s safe to say is Duke Caboom, in his stuntman’s suit and cape. Tim Allen described Keanu Reeves’ character to be short, so I’ll be very surprised if Duke Caboom isn’t the toy voiced by Reeves.
The other unfamiliar character is on the far right. Judging from the clothing and hairstyle, my guess is that this is Gabby Gabby, one of the characters who had a costume shown on the Disguise site. The name seems like a reference to the vintage Chatty Cathy dolls, which were popular talking (pull-string) dolls in the early 1960s. Here’s what we saw of that costume…
… it certainly matches the silhouette, right down to the pose. And here’s an original 1961 Chatty Cathy for comparison…
I’d read before, from a leak posted by someone involved with promotional materials, that there’d be a classic girl doll among the new cast. It sure seems now that this guy knew what he was talking about, as many of the characters he described line up with those we’ve learned of so far:
What are some new licensed characters showing up? All new characters look original, and most look like vintage/classic toys (a big classic girly doll, an 80s type action figure). There’s one I thought it was really original and something Toy Story had never done before either: a handmade character built with household/disposable items, which confirms that stuff kids make also becomes alive in this universe. I’m somewhat excited about this one; an editorial copy appendix shows some taglines and such about the character, and though he seems your basic “wacky” type character, he has a darker, existential dread-ridden side to him, as he doesn’t seem to know what he even is and he’s the only one of his “species.”
This same person also called “a returning character’s in-universe re-design,” which we now know is Bo.
Hopefully soon we’ll have official images of more of the new characters. By this point in Toy Story 3‘s lead-up, we’d already gotten posters of the classic toys who were returning, and were starting to be introduced to the new cast. We had even gotten the first real trailer (not teaser!) all the way back in October 2009! The wait for any updates feels excruciating this time around, but the Toy Story 4 news should be more steady in the coming months. Stay tuned!
Images © Disney/Pixar, Disney UK, Sophie Athawes and Odeon Cinemas. Chatty Cathy image from Ruby Lane. Many thanks to @MovingClastle on Twitter for this tip!
Toy Story Fangirl 