Toy Story 5 – All We Know
Bob Iger announced that there will be a Toy Story 5 with Pixar continuing on with the franchise.
Though it seemed improbable, we are actually getting a Toy Story 5. When Bob Iger stepped back into the shoes of Disney CEO, replacing Bob Chapek, who had held that position for a little over two years, change was expected. And change, so far, is what is happening at the Mouse House. Amongst these necessary changes comes an almost throwaway announcement from Iger that Disney has a few sequels up their sleeves.
Zootopia 2 and Frozen 3 are in the plans, but it is the third one Iger announced that is both exciting and head-scratching at the same time. So, what do we know about the planned Toy Story 5?
BOB IGER ANNOUNCED THE TOY STORY 5 SEQUEL
It is possible that Iger’s Toy Story 5 announcement was a way of softening the big blow he delivered during his first earnings call since his return. It came during the Q1 call where among other things, Iger announced the layoffs of 7,000 Disney employees. The mass layoffs are part of Iger and Disney’s plan to save $5.5 billion in studio costs.
“While this is necessary to address the challenges we’re facing today, I do not make this decision lightly,” Iger said in the Q1 call with analysts. “I have enormous respect and appreciation for the talent and dedication of our employees worldwide, and I’m mindful of the personal impact of these changes.”
But it was also during this call that Iger was able to spread some good news as well and that’s where Toy Story 5 came in. “Today I’m so pleased to announce that we have sequels in the works from our animation studios to some of our most popular franchises, Toy Story, Frozen, and Zootopia,” Iger said. “We’ll have more to share about these productions soon, but this is a great example of how we’re leaning into our unrivaled brands and franchises.”
Iger was not in a position to offer any more details concerning the three sequels like Toy Story 5, but the move to bring back these three properties is immediately a smart one. Frozen 2, released in 2019, brought Disney $1.45 billion at the box office; Zootopia, a 2016 animated film, cleared $1.02 billion; and the 2019 Toy Story 4 feature brought in $1.07 billion at the box office.
This announcement was more than likely spurred on by the simple fact that the past few Disney original animated features have not fared well at all in movie theaters. Whether one can say the COVID pandemic had anything to do with the numbers or not, the fact of the matter is that Disney’s latest, Strange World, brought in only $74 million worldwide and found itself on Disney+ a month after its release.
Encanto, which was a Thanksgiving 2021 release, didn’t fare much better, bringing in only $256 million worldwide, though this could definitely be attributed to the COVID pandemic. Still, Disney is smart to move back to properties that are well-known and ones that fans can’t get enough of.
TIM ALLEN WILL BE BACK AS BUZZ LIGHTYEAR
Tim Allen was one of the very first to address the Toy Story 5 announcement. In fact, he quickly went to his Twitter account to make an announcement of his own – he will be back voicing Buzz. Per Allen, “See ya soon Woody, you are a sad strange little man and you have my pity. And off we go to a number 5! To infinity and beyond!”
Does this mean Tom Hanks is on his way as well for Toy Story 5? The answer to that is almost 100 percent assured that he will return to his iconic voice role as Woody. To every Toy Story fan across the globe, you can’t have one without the other, so expect Hanks to return to the recording booth and once again wear Woody’s cowboy hat.
Allen’s Toy Story 5 announcement comes amidst former Home Improvement co-star, Pamela Anderson, stating in her recent memoirs that while on the set of the hit ‘90s series, Allen exposed himself to her. “On the first day of filming, I walked out of my dressing room, and Tim was in the hallway in his robe,” Anderson wrote.
“He opened his robe and flashed me quickly – completely naked underneath. He said it was only fair, because he had seen me naked,” she continued. “’Now we’re even.’ I laughed uncomfortably.”
Anderson went even further with her claim, stating that after the incident, Allen returned to his dressing room embarrassed but acted “like a little giddy schoolboy.”
Of course, Allen denies any wrongdoing, telling Variety, “I would never do such a thing,” while also saying the incident “never happened” and he was very “disappointed” in Anderson for making these accusations. It wouldn’t seem that the alleged incident will not stop him from appearing in Toy Story 5.
THE PLOT ISN’T KNOWN CONSIDERING HOW THE LAST ONE ENDED
That seems to be the main question and major concern for a fifth Toy Story. Many fans were quick to point out the perfect ending that was Toy Story 3. The third Toy Story came back in 2010 and ended with the tear-jerking scene of Andy heading off to college.
Before he left, though, Andy handed down his toys, including his two favorites, Woody and Buzz, to a new kid Bonnie. Of course, this transition didn’t happen until Andy got one last playtime in with Woody and Buzz. It was emotional and such a great ending – until it wasn’t.
Nine years later, in 2019, Disney decided to return to the Toy Story universe with Toy Story 4. Although the film was a winner in all respects (it cleared $1 billion at the box office), the complaint of the film held a common theme, that being the fourth film ruined the sweet, sad, emotionally charged ending to Toy Story 3.
You can’t blame those who put together Toy Story 4 for going after that highly emotional punch they were able to deliver with the third film, as in this one we saw Woody and Bo Peep heading off into the sunset with a group of toys who were looking for kids to own them while Buzz and the rest of the toys went back home with Bonnie.
It was the separation of Buzz and Woody, for what appeared to be the final time, that brought out the heartstring-tugging. So, two definitive and emotional endings with the last two films, what more can be said about Woody and Buzz? Does the Mouse House even know at this point?
THE TOY STORY 5 DIRECTOR HAS NOT BEEN DECIDED
Unfortunately, we are way too early into the Toy Story 5 game to know who will be running the ship. The first two Toy Story films were directed by John Lasseter and were released within a four-year window by Pixar (1995 and 1999).
The third Toy Story became the first in which Lasseter did not direct, that role was filled by Lee Unkrich, who was very familiar with the process, having edited the first film and co-directed the second. Lasseter did remain involved with the third story, as he stayed on as the film’s executive producer.
Toy Story 4 came about nine years later and although Lasseter was involved, it was only for a short time, as he stepped away from his CCO position at both the Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios to eventually take over in the same role at Skydance Animation.
The reasons for Lasseter’s departure from Disney centered on accusations of sexual misconduct, to which Lasseter first took a six-month leave of absence from Disney after confirming that his “missteps” were, in fact, true.
The misconduct he admitted to included “grabbing, kissing, [and] making comments about physical attributes.” And his actions were so well-known at this point that Pixar even had to have “minders” to keep an eye on him so he wouldn’t give in to those impulses. Upon his hiring at Skydance, Lasseter released a statement, via The Hollywood Reporter, discussing his past actions.
“I’m grateful to David and the Skydance team and know that I have been entrusted with an enormous responsibility. It is a distinct privilege that I will relish. I have spent the last year away from the industry in deep reflection, learning how my actions unintentionally made colleagues uncomfortable, which I deeply regret and apologize for. It has been humbling, but I believe it will make me a better leader.”
He continued, “I want nothing more than the opportunity to return to my creative and entrepreneurial roots, to build and invent again. I join Skydance with the same enthusiasm that drove me to help build Pixar, with a firm desire to tell original and diverse stories for audiences everywhere. With what I have learned and how I have grown in the past year, I am resolute in my commitment to build an animation studio upon a foundation of quality, safety, trust, and mutual respect.”
With all of that said, Iger’s announcement did not include those who would be in charge of making Toy Story 5 a profitable adventure for Disney and Pixar. Although many felt Toy Story 4 was unnecessary and these same people feel a Toy Story 5 film is also unnecessary, one can’t blame Disney for going back to the well for a fifth time.
The total budget for all four movies combined sits near $720 million, which may sound expensive for four animated features (it is), but with a return of nearly $3.5 billion at the box office, it seems like money well spent.
What that means for Toy Story 5 is unknown. What is known is that while the announcement of Toy Story 5 has caught some off guard, there is always that rabid fan base who want nothing more than to see (and hear) Woody and Buzz back together again. Those are the original voices of Tim Allen and Tom Hanks, or don’t you remember the recent fallout of last year’s Lightyear, which cast Chris Evans in the voice role of Buzz Lightyear?
Fans know what fans want. When we have more details, we will be sure to pass them along. For now, it is time to start getting excited about the reteaming (we hope and certainly expect it) of Allen and Hanks and a story worthy of a fifth go-around to infinity and beyond!
