It feels like it’s been forever since there have been any official reports on the progress of Toy Story 4 – the most recent hints being glimpses of work in progress at the D23 Expo this past summer. The silence was broken yesterday, however, as news came out that Stephany Folsom has joined the film’s team as its new screenwriter.
It’s been nearly five months since the D23 Expo back in July, and I’ve been working on this post here and there since then, trying to collect my thoughts and photos from our experience – there was a lot about the event to process, and I’ve been rather overwhelmed with the thought of summarizing it all. However, with the recent controversy over John Lasseter’s allegations of misconduct, my recollections are now rather bittersweet. I’m thankful, though, that we attended the Expo while the magic was still unsullied for us. And since I refuse to let anyone destroy my love for Pixar or the toys – I will continue to view the studios as the sum of all the talented people who work there, not as one sole person – I’d like to look back, and share what we saw and learned at the Expo in regards to Pixar, and Toy Story specifically.
Yesterday’s breaking news about John Lasseter’s six-month sabbatical from Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, resulting from accusations of “missteps” brought against him, hit me like a ton of bricks, as I’m sure it did many other Pixar fans. But before anyone starts sharpening their pitchforks to come at me, I’d like to clarify that the intention of this post isn’t to be political, or controversial. Until more concrete details come out, I respectfully choose to keep my views and opinions to myself. One thing I do want to address, however, is the insight that this situation has brought to light regarding the delays Toy Story 4 has suffered in production over the past few years.
Cars 3 premieres this week, and with it has come a steady stream of promotional ads, new merchandise, special events, and of course trailers and television commercials. The advertising campaign for a new Pixar movie is always exciting, especially when the characters and setting allow for a little extra creativity in commercials. A couple years ago, the Inside Out cast popped up in all sorts of television ads, from the Super Bowl in January through the movie’s theatrical release in June. Dory and her aquatic friends weren’t quite as conducive to interacting with people in a commercial setting, nor were dinosaurs, so I don’t recall seeing quite as many for those films. But I do remember lots of commercials during the months surrounding Toy Story 3‘s release, and thought it would be fun to look back at them in a throwback post.
This past Wednesday, Toy Story fans were deeply saddened by the passing of Don Rickles, legendary comedian and the voice of Mr. Potato Head. And as soon as the news broke, speculation began as to what this would mean for his character’s future in the film franchise. Instead of addressing this at the time it was announced, however, I decided to wait a while and see what, if any, further information came out in regards to the impact on Toy Story 4. We still don’t know a lot, but here’s what we do know so far…
I’ll admit it; I know I’ve let this blog slide for the past few months. It’s not for a lack of love for Toy Story, though – if anything, it’s because Jessie’s cut from the Walt Disney World parks and Toy Story 4‘s second delay kind of put me in a fangirl tailspin. Since my last post, my family and I made a trip to Walt Disney World (which, by the way, isn’t all that magical when your favorite character is missing), and I’ve been focusing my efforts on fighting to get Jessie reinstated. But there have been a few little snippets of Toy Story news since then, so I thought I’d catch up and share what’s been going on since November…
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly yesterday, Pixar director Pete Docter shared a long-awaited update on Toy Story 4, coming almost a week after the announcement that the film’s release would be delayed yet another year, to 2019. Following some reflection on the 15th anniversary of Monsters Inc., which he directed, Docter went on to discuss the current status of the Toy Story sequel:
The Toy Story news I feared was sadly confirmed by various credible sources today, all of whom announced that Toy Story 4 would be swapping release dates with Incredibles 2. Now we have to wait until June 21, 2019 to see the toys again.
We passed the two-year countdown mark for Toy Story 4 back in June – down to 20 months now – but we still have a long way to go. And since news on the upcoming sequel continues to be light these days, I thought I might as well share another of my “throwback” posts while we wait. It’s as good a time as any to reminisce about the previous Toy Story film, as we anticipate the next one and ponder what secrets its story holds for us.
I think it’s safe to say that anyone who was a part of the Toy Story fandom during the days surrounding Toy Story 3‘s release in 2010 can remember director Lee Unkrich’s account on Formspring. The now-defunct social media site’s format was strictly Q&A, and although I never had the nerve to ask him anything myself, I can remember checking often to see if he’d answered anything new. Sadly, he deleted the account – and all the goodness it contained – not too long thereafter, so I never had the chance to screencap or jot down the questions that were asked and their replies, which were fascinating to a fan like myself.
What do I do when get too busy with everyday life to keep up with my blog? Catch up with one of my News Roundup posts, of course! It’s been a hectic few weeks for me, but fortunately (or unfortunately?), Toy Story news was light anyway. Finally, though, I have several exciting things to pass along to my fellow fans…
