Toy Story Fangirl

In an interview with Fandango, Pixar CCO Pete Docter made some brief mentions of Toy Story 5, including the development process for the film.

He also talked about other films in production, which I won’t be getting into. But you can watch the interview – which took place during D23 – in its entirety here:

As far as Toy Story 5, Docter again touched upon the plot:

“So one thing we’ve been ignoring in Toy Story one through four is the reality that – guess what? – kids are more and more into video games, and phones, and technology, and so that’s what Woody and the gang are up against in this one, is toys and tech.”

And when asked by the interviewer if he could share any other details, he sort of hesitated for a moment then brought up Andrew Stanton directing:

“One thing that we’ve just announced today, is that it’s being written and directed by Andrew Stanton, who directed ‘Finding Nemo,’ and ‘[Finding] Dory,’ and ‘Wall-E.’ He’s an amazing writer; he’s written on all the other four. So to have him back at the helm, along with Kenna Harris, those two are a killer team.”

He also described how they decided to revisit the Toy Story franchise:

“The first three wrap up so nicely in a little trilogy, but the way Andrew has been approaching it, is almost more like what I read about – I’ve never worked in television – but people will say, oh, we only wrote up to the end of season one, and now we’re going again. What do we do? Well, we learn from what we’ve planted and then extrapolate from there. And so the cool thing about the way he’s been approaching it is, it’s not like we’ve been plotting this all along and we’re going to arrive here, it’s more like it’s a discovery for us as well. And I hope that translates into a fun ride for the audience.”

And finally, why they feel like they’re able to keep coming back to Toy Story for new stories:

“Woody has so many levels to him, he just seems very giving, and not all characters are like that.”

I think it’s interesting that Toy Story 5 has sort of developed organically from a new idea. I’ve always wondered if there was an existing long-term plan to bring the toys back together, once it was decided to have Woody leave the gang in Toy Story 4. I just appreciate the positive enthusiasm that seems to be surrounding this new film; it’s so different from the vibes I got from interviews the last time around.

One thing I’d like to address, though, that came up in several negative comments on my Instagram post about the Toy Story 5 announcements at D23, is the theme of technology. Those commenters felt the need to point out that Toy Story That Time Forgot already dealt with video games, suggesting that Pixar was being unoriginal with the story. Well, for one thing, that was a 22-minute television special, and it focused on video games only, in a very limited time frame compared to a movie. Besides, the special will be ten years old this Christmas – and hello, how much more are we addicted to tech now than then? The rise of influencers and Tiktok culture and all the other things that have such a chokehold on society (a whole other issue I could get into) have created an even more intense dependency and addiction to tech than existed back when Toy Story That Time Forgot was being made. Not to mention the negative effects things like social media and cyberbullying continue to have on our collective mental health. So maybe Pixar felt there was more to be explored here? Maybe we should give it a chance, and see what story they’d like to tell, before we judge? They must have felt it was relevant enough to devote a full feature-length film to it.

I’d also like to point out that a huge number of people out there don’t even know the Toy Story shorts and specials exist. Nearly a decade ago – when the Toy Story Toons were still relatively new – my family and I dressed like Jessie, Buzz, and Woody from Hawaiian Vacation at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. I think maybe two people the whole night knew who we were; mostly we got teasing remarks from other guests who hadn’t seen the shorts and thought they were being funny at guessing what we were. And these were supposed “Disney adults” – the same sort of people who, despite Buzz and Jessie’s blatant romantic storyline in Toy Story 3, and Woody and Bo’s in Toy Story 4, still to this day think Jessie and Woody are a couple. So, a plot delving deeper into the threat of tech gadgets to the toys’ life purpose will still reach a fresh audience. And for dedicated fans like me, who have seen Toy Story That Time Forgot a bajillion times already, well, I’m still interested to see what they do with it to expand the theme much further.

That all being said about social media comments, for those who’d like to keep up with my Toy Story 5 discoveries, for now your best bet is to make sure you’re subscribed to blog updates on here. I can’t deal with the comments anymore, y’all. It wears on my anxiety. I try to hold out hope that maybe this time it’ll be different, and make a post, only for the same old responses to pop up yet again. No, I don’t know why so-and-so isn’t in the one and only concept image that’s been released for a movie that’s nearly two years away. No, I don’t know why so-and-so isn’t in the teaser either (other than Pixar utilizing the Apple Watch face animations they already had on hand). I know comments can be turned off on Instagram, but why does that have to be necessary? I’ll still get messages, anyway, and I’ve become disillusioned with all of it. I can’t comprehend why anyone thinks that venting at me will accomplish anything – I don’t work for Pixar, nor do I have any connections there that I could possibly use for any influence or insider information (not that I would abuse that if I did, I would never betray confidentiality).

I’m just a fan who enjoys this series, enjoys documenting the things I find out about it, and tries to stay optimistic about new content – especially this far out, when the possibilities are still wide open. And right now, at this point in time, I’m excited about the possibilities!

Image of Pete Docter © Disney Pixar, with logo I edited onto it before the official movie logo was released. I realize the 5 is not the exact same shape as the official 5, but I’m not changing it just for that. Video © Fandango.