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I'm genuinely so annoyed with the constant Toy Story 5 bashing. People will accept the Spider-Man villains coming back to life for no obvious narrative reason other than pointing in the theater and going "I know what that is!" People will accept Wolverine coming back from the dead. People will accept the 187th Batman movie. People will accept David Tennant as The Doctor after his incarnation already exited the show. People will accept Shrek 5 despite the last two being dumpster fires. But people still won't give the most critically acclaimed movie franchise of all time the benefit of the doubt l.

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hm. knowing how so many ppl disliked ts4 (i know ppl who actually hated it) and also knowing disneys tendency to self-correct, added to bo not appearing in that first look... im scared man. i have faith in pixars writing teams of course (even monsters university which i didnt care much for had some really interesting concepts) but then i think of the incredibles 2 and the whole screenslaver thing, and in general how ppl dont know how to talk about technology to kids who were basically raised by it... its a lot to ask from a movie. and then i dont really like the delusional buzz bit anymore tbh... idk. from what you said im kinda worried

There's so many intricacies to filmmaking, especially when it's a big franchise that's being overseen by a massive corporation. It's really so hard to tell how a product will turn out when there's such a wide array of moving parts here. The fact that all four Toy Story movies have been great (IMO) is a complete miracle. I don't think any other franchise has kept that consistent quality. There's always risk involved in doing another one. I'll say that I have faith the movie can be as great as the others. Andrew Stanton hasn't let us down with Toy Story yet. He has a great track record. And The Incredibles 2 did have a different creative team behind it. I think a movie being directed by the man who did Wall-E has the potential to sell the whole "technology" bit. Toy Story 4 seemed like a completely different movie when you compare the teaser with the final product. I know that Disney has overcorrected sometimes, but Toy Story 4 was still a critically acclaimed film that won an Oscar. I can believe that any undoing of TS4 can be done with tact. I noticed on another look that Woody isn't wearing his badge in the concept art. Jessie still has it. There's some continuity being kept there. Regardless, it's gonna be an interesting ride. Thanks for the ask

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My thoughts on Toy Story 5 at D23

I MISSED WOODY SO MUCH AND THE REST OF THE GANG BUT ESPECIALLY WOODY I LOVED SEEING WOODY AND CO.

It seems the little girl they're all staring at in the concept art is Bonnie. And she doesn't seem that much older. This is one of the most interesting things to me. I figured TS5 might have a significant time skip to keep some weight from the ending to TS4. We know that at least a year has passed from the credits in TS4. But I don't know if having them reunite so quickly will be a good idea. If the gang gets right back together, Toy Story 4's ending could lose some of its meaning. I never thought a permanent separation would ruin the ending to TS4, but having them come back together so quickly could potentially jeopardize the emotional stakes of TS4.

How is Woody even back with them so quickly? What circumstances would have them all together again in such a timely manner? Did the toys explicitly ask Woody for help?

The reunion of the gang was done in such an unceremonious manner. I knew the gang was gonna be shown together in the promo. But they didn't even build up their reconciliation in the quick video they showed.

Bo Peep isn't mentioned. Bo Peep isn't in the concept art. Bo Peep is nowhere to be found. Does Woody separate from her? Is Woody simply going on an adventure with the old gang before planning on returning to her? Is she with him and just not in that particular scene?

Woody and Buzz (also Jessie) are the only ones that were mentioned in the plot summary. I find this interesting. They are also the only characters to appear in the video that was shown. I get the feeling that we're going to see a return to the TS2 and TS3 style of leads.

Toy Story 4 was hardly shown as they presented images from the previous films to pull us in. I also found the language being used to be very interesting. "Loyalty." "Friendship." "Growing up." There wasn't much that could be directly linked to Toy Story 4. The only image shown from Toy Story 4 was a flashback scene with Andy. Does Andrew Stanton not care for that movie?

I find the fact they went with the "toys vs. technology" route interesting. This has been a suggested plot since before TS4 released. I think it could be a great way to weave together the messages of abandonment or fear of rejection and insecurity that the series has long studied into a cohesive fifth installment. My only worry is that it could seem boomerish or like it's pandering + perhaps date the film.

They're really doing the whole "delusional Buzz" plot again lol. TS4 was the only movie to not fully do this. I worry that facing an army of Buzz Lightyears could seem a bit childlish. But it depends on how it's done in the movie. I hope it doesn't feel like another contrived way to get TS1 buzz back.

A lot of my thoughts on the movie will depend on how much of an emphasis these plot elements have on the movie. Are they an inciting set of moments to set the events of the movie into motion? Are they subplots? Are they main focuses? The plot summary of Toy Story 4 that released with its teaser trailer would have you thinking the entire movie was about Forky. That proved to not be the case at all. My primary worry is that the movie will feel like it doesn't add emotional components to Toy Story as a franchise while acting like filler. This was my concern for TS4. I hope they can do it right again. The initial details aren't the entire picture of the emotional crux of the film.

What will the end goal be? It'd seem redundant to have Woody reunite with the gang and leave once more. But I also think it has a higher chance of happening with the fact that everyone seems to get back together so quickly. These characters are going to be faced with a sad truth: Kids don't care about toys as much now. With this in mind, I can think of a few immediate options. Maybe they'll now all become lost toys with Woody. Maybe there's an option we haven't considered. Maybe they really will bring the only child on the planet in who could reasonably have an emotional connection with this random string of toys for a suitable period of time: Andy's kids. This could be a fascinating existential idea. The toys have established they can find new purposes when their owner is done with them. What happens when there is no more purpose in the world for them period?

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Woody was actually extremely in-character for Toy Story 4 and its ending. In fact, I would argue that Woody has never Woody'd so much.

This notion that "loyalty" is Woody's defining character trait is a myth. Let's think about it. Where does Woody's loyalty stem from? Why is he so immensely loyal to Andy? Because Andy gives him love and validation.

Any time Woody is met with a circumstance where he feels he is not receiving the love and attention he wants, he makes a very sudden and drastic change to his life.

Andy's gonna grow up and ditch me one day? Time to abandon all my friends and my girlfriend, as well as my owner. I'm gonna go to a faraway country with these strangers I met hours ago.

Andy's going to college? Well, I'm gonna leave the only home I've known for years to go stay with this little girl I spent a few hours with. I'm taking all my friends, too. They don't really get a say in this.

Andy's gone and Bonnie doesn't really care about me? I'm gonna leave all of my friends and my owner to be a hobo in a traveling carnival with my ex that I haven't seen in years, but reconnected with a few hours ago. There's no way to get back if I change my mind btw.

Woody is impulsive and wants to be loved. That's his defining character trait. That's why he pushed Buzz out the window. That's why he refused to leave Andy until he knew there was a replacement

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I think something that would be fascinating for Toy Story 5 to explore is the fact that Woody leaving the gang behind would be more hurtful for Buzz than it was for Woody. Woody had existed for a while before he met Buzz. On the flip-side, Buzz is all Woody knows.

Woody was the first toy that Buzz ever saw. Woody is the one who told him what life as a toy was all about. He guided him through his existential crisis and convinced him he had worth as a toy. Woody is the one who told Buzz that life was only worth living as a toy if you were being loved by a kid.

And then Woody leaves, living his life without an owner.

The person who showed him how to live life has suddenly left him. The person who taught him everything he knows has seemingly opted for an entirely different worldview that Buzz hasn't heard the rationale for. His whole life is turned upside down by this event.

"Unnecessary"? Please! Toy Story 5 has so much to explore

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Michael Ardnt is writing Toy Story 5. This wasn't announced, I just have a hunch. My Toy Story senses are tingling.

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Yes, I am excited for Toy Story 5. I do not think that Toy Story 5 is an inherently bad idea. I do feverishly check for Toy Story 5 updates on a daily basis. I do believe that Toy Story 5 can be great. I am going to combust when we finally get substantive Toy Story 5 news.

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it's criminal Pixar never released Tom Hanks's "You've got a Friend in me" from Toy Story 2.

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Why People Think Toy Story Should’ve Ended with Toy Story 3 + Will Fan Expectation Affect Toy Story 5?

I genuinely think part of the reason a lot of people think Toy Story should’ve ended with 3 is because they only really identify with Andy. They loved the movies as kids, and then saw the third one when they were older. Andy letting them go felt like they were also vicariously letting go of the series. So the fact that Toy Story 4 expanded the themes of the franchise on a deeper level doesn’t matter to them. Andy’s gone, so they’re checked out.

Part of the reason I think this is because when you bring up Toy Story 5 to any random person, one of the first things they talk about is Andy and if he’ll be in the movie - despite the fact he’s basically just a plot device without any fleshed out character. Like, if anything, Sid is more fleshed out than Andy.

Now that these same people are getting older and nostalgic, there’s this sense that some of these people want to see Andy reunite with the toys, or something along those lines. And especially after COVID, I think people have delved deep into their Feelings. I really think what would make the average audience member happy - who isn’t particularly analytical - would be Woody and Buzz finding Andy again and going home to play with his kids or something. I can’t help but wonder if Pixar will fall into that “Rise of Skywalker” mindset that’s permeated more and more in the film industry - of just making something the creators perceive as a crowd pleaser. I really do think these people only start to get interested in the concept of Toy Story 5 when you put Andy in there.

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The Narrative Potential of Toy Story 5

For Toy Story 5, I imagine a scenario where Woody and the other toys have not seen each other in years, and for whatever reason, they reconnect. Buzz feels astonished at how much Woody has changed over the years in his tenure as a lost toy. In a role reversal of the first film, Buzz now feels inadequate to Woody’s far more exciting and adventurous persona/lifestyle. It could be a movie about friends re-connecting after many years of not seeing each other, and navigating how to rekindle their bond after they’ve changed so much. And for Woody to learn how to wrestle with the guilt he feels knowing Buzz is still somewhat hurt (albeit happy for Woody). Buzz could learn to accept himself for who he is, to not compare himself to Woody, and value his more mundane, but just-as-valid lifestyle.

Woody’s character arc was seemingly complete in Toy Story 4. He overcame that fear of abandonment. But how does he grapple with the fact he’s become the person to leave? Woody realizing that he’s become, figuratively speaking, Andy. Woody always feared Andy leaving him, and feared what he would become after Andy left. Now Woody has left behind his friends/family. And they didn’t have much time to say goodbye. Less than a minute, if you count. They didn’t even get to actually say anything to each other. This wasn’t pre-planned, this came out of nowhere for everyone involved. There is no reason for any of the toys to think they’ll see Woody again. One of their closest confidants is leaving them, and they had no time to process this. They don’t even really know why he’s leaving, outside of the fact they know Bo Peep is involved. 

In real life, when people move away from their friends, there’s still the acknowledgement that they can communicate via text or see each other every now and again. With the toys, this is not an inference. The bond these toys share is more intimate than the bond that humans have. They live in fear and uncertainty. Never knowing when they’re not going to be played with. When they’ll break or be donated. They have to stick together in a way that’s closer than that of humans. The implications of this situation have vast storytelling potential.

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I wish there was a good place for discussion on the Toy Story series, because the Toy Story subreddit is a dumpster fire. Just constant juvenile whining about Toy Story 4.

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Made a video asking a bunch of questions in regards to the upcoming Toy Story films. Lots of speculation and personal hopes.

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I've never heard of this game until now and have no idea what this entails, but I love hearing some form of Toy Story media actually explain this lol

Shoutout to Disney Dreamlight Valley for their explanation as to why the toys in Toy Story can’t let humans know they’re alive

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I dunno whether to apologise for almost forgetting to finish this, or apologise for remembering

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There’s one underrated thing about Woody and Buzz as a duo, especially in the first movie that I really want to point out.

So we all know Buzz’s whole deal in the first is that he’s a toy that thinks he is an actual space ranger, right ? He thinks is the real Buzz Lightyear, and act like heroic space cop would : stern, altruistic,dare-devil, etc. Even after he realizes he’s a toy, he still keeps to the space hero persona, using sci-fi lingo and such.

Meanwhile, Woody has the opposite problem : he knows he’s a toy, but he doesn’t react like a cowboy would.

I grew up watching Steve McQueen movies and reading Lucky-Luke and Blueberry  comics, so i think got a rather clear-ideaof how a coyboy hero acts : a Cowboy Hero is brave, an one-army, quiet but quick-witted, calm under pressure, rough-and-thumble but still a bit classy, doesn’t show a whole of emotion. Cowboy heroes of old are like the Epitome of American Masculinity.

And oh boy Woody doesnt fit the description at allt. He’s wimpy, he yells, he whines, he cries, and he’s a motor-mouth.

Part of it might be that behind the scenes, Woody was thought up as random ventriloquist dummy first and the cowboy persona came much later in the process. He first role is to be the Everyman. Another explanation would be that unlike Buzz, who came up with his own backstory and univers written on his toybox, Woody was just seen and saw himself as a random cowboy doll. In the first movie, Woody being a cowboy is a cosmetic thing, he could have looked like a Mayor, or a Fireman or anything else, what mattered is that he was Andy’s favourite toy.

There is something really funny about Pixar putting the role of Manly Man Cowpoke into an insecure ragdoll (a type of toy mostly  destined to little girls btw) who can’t even stand on its own.

And even when Woody becomes braver and adventurous at the end of Toy Story 1, it’s only during 2 that he starts to really lean into his cowboy persona, mainly because this time, we meet the Roundup’s gang and got a clearer look at Woody’s history. This is the movie where Woody starts acting a cowboy of old, riding his stead, lassoing objects and saving the girl.

All culiminates in 3 where Woody keeps in the role of Cowboy Hero -while still true to his own self, qualities and flaws-

So when Andy describes him as “brave, smart, like a cowboy should be” we believe him.

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What?! And they thought it'd be better to have a TV fall on him that makes him conveniently go back to normal? The sequels didn't get to focus on Woody and Buzz's friendships with the plots they had, and this would've been a perfect opportunity.

Reminder that drafts of Toy Story 3 had Woody snapping Buzz out his demo mode with the power of Friendship and I am not normal about this and I am never not thinking about this ever-

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People assume that because I'm a Toy Story stan I care about Lightyear. It doesn't carry over the same themes or overarching story. It's a tangentially related spinoff. It's not even the same Buzz Lightyear character, because the toy is his own individual with separate thoughts and feelings. I'm wildly indifferent to that movie lol