Time is supposed to give us greater perspective. And since we don’t have a whole lot more to do these days than sit and overthink just about everything in our lives, I’ve been reflecting a bit on Toy Story 4, and how my opinions have evolved since I first wrote about it last summer.
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We’re in the midst of some crazy times right now, times that were just unfolding when I made my last post on here. We all have our own ways of dealing with the stress, but for me, I’ve been letting myself get lost in the Toy Story things that make me the happiest. It’s no secret that Buzz Lightyear and Jessie hold a special place in my fangirl heart, and it’s been quite some time since I did one of my throwback posts, so I thought I’d take a look back at them – more specifically, the moment I went from simply being a Pixar fan who was excited to see Toy Story 3, to falling hopelessly in love with these two characters, both as a couple and for who they are individually. And it all started with Dancing with the Stars…
Although we don’t hear much about the extra work that goes on behind the scenes in preparation for a film, there are always merchandise and promotional projects happening in tandem with the actual filmmaking. Books, for example, begin the process of publication long before the movie is released – and sometimes, when you’re lucky, you can find their titles ahead of time on Amazon or other publisher sites. As a part of my constant searching for Toy Story 4 news, I often check for these as well, and today, I actually found some titles with their expected release dates!
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.
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.
I received confirmation a couple days ago that Jessie is in fact slated to be cut from meet and greets at Walt Disney World, and needless to say it hit me like a punch in the gut. But since Jessie never gives up, and I’m going to continue to fight to keep her as a meetable character in the parks, I thought this would be as good a time as any to write something more personal, and share just why this character and her fictional world mean so much to me. Although I’ve written before about why Jessie is important as a character in the Toy Story series of films, these are my own reasons why she matters, to me…
Even though the next Academy Awards are still a while away, I thought that – with the Emmys this weekend and all – it might be a good time to revisit some of my very favorite archival material relating to the Toy Story films. I usually don’t make a big fuss over awards shows myself, unless there’s a movie (or a television show, or a musical performer) that I care especially about – needless to say, anything Toy Story would definitely get me to watch! And I’m no film critic or analyst, by any means, so don’t expect any discussion of the merits of nominations or statistical facts from me here. With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s take a look at the toys’ presence at the Oscars back in 1996, 2000, and 2011…
Toy Story Fangirl 