By now, you have probably heard that Tom Hanks, known to Toy Story fans as the voice of Woody, dropped an atom bomb on the entertainment world. Hank's indicated that PIXAR was hard at work on Toy Story 4. During an interview on BBC TV earlier this week, Hanks was promoting his current film Larry Crowne, when the interviewer asked the question, that to be honest, was totally out of left field. "Will There Be A Toy Story 4?" Hanks answered quickly, but halfway through his response, he seemed to realize that perhaps he was saying too much. "I think there will be, yeah. I think they're working on it now."
The answer came as a shock to many because during the build up to Toy Story 3 both Disney and PIXAR had all but said that TS3 would be the final installment in the Toy Story film franchise. Then Disney/PIXAR announced last fall that a series of 'shorts' based on the Toy Story characters was in the works. The first short, Hawaiian Vacation debuted this past weekend as the lead in to CARS 2. Another Toy Story short is expected to debut before Disney's Thanksgiving release of The Muppets. So, obviously the franchise was far from dead. However, it's incredibly odd that the release of the new short and Hanks' revelation occurred so close together.
Unfortunately, this new revelation falls into a frustrating pattern that PIXAR has recently fallen into. The studio seems to be making decisions that make them look less like the innovative firebrand that changed the animated world, and more like a giant corporation making decisions based on money. Sure, this is show BUSINESS, but PIXAR has always had the integrity to focus more on art and story and less on possible financial gains.
In the past two years PIXAR has made decisions that seem to be counter to the studio's independent spirit. Like making a sequel to CARS, which was the studio's least popular film, and doing so only because of the lucrative nature of film's merchandising. Then there's the mixed feelings about creating a prequel to Monsters Inc. Though that may have more to do with the general distaste for prequel's since George Lucas made 'prequel' a bad word with Star Wars 1-3.
Ultimately, the most frustrating thing about the possibility of Toy Story 4 is that the primary reason for making a sequel would be to cash in on the MONUMENTAL success of the last film. Not to forward the story of the toy's that formerly belonged to Andy. However, there is hope. The all new teaser trailer for PIXAR's Brave has been incredibly well received. The PIXAR faithful are excited to see a new original tale that looks and feels like some of the studio's beloved classic's. Can PIXAR make a solid fourth film starring Woody & Buzz? Yeah, probably. But, should they?
What do you think? Would Toy Story 4 be a mistake for PIXAR? Leave your comments below.
-Admiral Duke
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