Today, Pixar released several new posters and videos for Toy Story 4, including a new US television commercial and a Japanese trailer.
The American TV spot doesn’t show much that we haven’t already seen before…
We do get our first glimpse of what seems to be the antique store’s resident cat, who will definitely be an antagonist for the toys, but that’s all that’s really new here, besides a couple more quick bits of action footage that fall in line with what was shown in previous trailers.
The poster doesn’t reveal anything different, either; it’s very reminiscent of the previous US poster, minus the additional characters on the sides
Japanese trailers typically give away a lot more than others, however that’s not the case with the one that was released today. It still gives us a couple new looks at scenes found in past trailers:
There’s one new shot of Bo sliding down a sort of zipline in the antique store. We also see new angles of the original gang in the RV – including Woody and Buzz having what appears to be a serious conversation – and another flashback with Andy.
Thanks to the kindness of @mammamiaojisan on Twitter, I have a rough translation of some of the lines in the video. It opens with the narration, “You still do not know the true Toy Story.” When Bo and Woody are under the car, she says, “There should be other ways of living in toys.” And Buzz’s line to Woody, when they’re talking in the RV, is “Follow the voice of your heart.”
The narrator’s closing line – which was all that could be translated clearly with Google Translate’s voice recognition before I had help from a native speaker – says something along the lines of the ending being “beyond your imagination.” Nothing like even more agonizingly cryptic remarks about how this movie will end!
The Japanese poster is just another twist on Buzz and Woody at the carnival – it’s beautiful, but like everything else, it doesn’t offer any new clues.
There was also the following rough translation of the synopsis on the Japanese Disney website:
This time, the latest video, which has been opened up, depicts Woody swinging to “a toy’s fate” and “your true feelings.” Woody, who believes that the most important thing for toys is “always at the side of the child,” and believes that the child and “it will live alive for a long time,” has reunited, Bo, who has no owner now I am moved by Peep’s words, “There should be another way of living in toys, too.” The Japanese version of the poster, which has been opened along with the images, depicts Woody and Buzz standing in front of the amusement park that will be the stage of this work, giving a feeling of “something” different from the previous “Toy Story.” Is it a new journey or a farewell? The amazing decision that Woody chose at the end. The final chapter of Woody’s adventure opens!
Is this truly the final chapter? Or is something lost in the translation? We have heard hints from others – filmmakers and voice actors alike – that there may be more with the toys in the future, and we already know about new Toy Story content coming to Disney+. Will the stories continue without Woody, if it is HIS final chapter, and his alone?
We’re just a little over two months out, and this film is still extremely secret. I honestly don’t know what to expect from Toy Story 4 – and while I’m getting rather frustrated with all this mystery, I’m sure that’s exactly how Disney and Pixar want it. And Considering the lack of the classic characters (except for Woody and Buzz, and Bo of course) in all the promotional material to date, I really hope that there are twists and turns along the way that will give the other toys a role to play, too.
A good amount of movie merchandise will be hitting shelves on Monday (April 22), and we’re only a little over two weeks away from the tie-in book releases on May 7. I’d expect to see more interviews and promotional videos in the coming weeks as well. Soon we’ll have more pieces of this complicated Toy Story 4 puzzle. Stay tuned for updates, I’ll share as I find them!
Images © Disney/Pixar. Many thanks to my friend (and blog collaborator) Heathinator for playing with Google translate to see what we could discern!
Toy Story Fangirl 