How TOY STORY 4's Story Arc Will Change Woody Forever
Fans have been torn about the upcoming fourth Toy Story film, as we were all pretty sure that the franchise was a trilogy that ended when a grown up Andy headed off to college and handed off the characters we came to know and love to a little girl who still had years of play to give the toys.
It had us all in tears thinking about how fleeting childhood is, and how all good things come to an end. It was bittersweet for sure. But it almost felt like it cheapened the whole experience when we heard a fourth film was being made, because it reopened that door we thought was closed. But it’s shaping up to give us another heart-wrenching story, with word on Woody’s story arc and a comment from Tom Hanks himself that pretty much seals the deal.
In a recent interview with THR, producer Jonas Rivera had this to say about Woody’s character throughout the movie series:
"All of these movies are about how Woody changes: From going selfish to selfless in the first one, the second one is him understanding that things don’t last forever. The third one is about letting go. These are big changes. We thought, if we’re going to do this, we need to think about, ‘What is the biggest change?’ What if [his relationship with Bo] was the thing that really changed him?”
That’s pretty interesting. It’s cool that the creators of the Toy Story movies have thought this far into the development of the animated character Woody. It shows in the final product. On whether or not this movie will be as much of a tear-jerker as the third installment, Hanks was quoted on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, saying:
“It was the first time that we were going to be recording the end of the movie, and Toy Story [4] is going to have an impactful ending. The way you record Toy Story, you’re in a room with the team that has created it. When I went in for my last day of recording, I wanted to have my back to them, because usually you’re facing him so he can look right up and you can talk about it. I didn’t want to see them and pretended they couldn’t see me.”
He went on to tease a big conclusion to the story, which Buzz Lightyear voice actor Tim Allen compared to a Marvel Studios scale epic while he was a guest on the the show The Talk. Hanks said:
“When I realized what they were going for, I realized, ‘Oh, this is a moment in history.’”
That sounds pretty epic! But Disney rarely disappoints, especially our friends at Pixar. Toy Story 4 will hit theaters June 21. Are you excited for the next chapter?