Disney's decision to make a fifth Toy Story film has been defended by its director, who has said that fans of Pixar's original trilogy can simply "have that and never watch another if they don't want to."
Due out next year, Toy Story 5 will see its beloved gang of toys brought out of retirement to face what director Andrew Stanton has described as their greatest "existential problem" so far: an iPad-like tablet.
Speaking to Empire, Stanton said that the idea of traditional toys dealing with the modern world was simply too good to pass up. That said, he also acknowleged those who believe 2010's Toy Story 3 wrapped up the franchise perfectly, at the end of the characters' "Andy years."
"So '3' was the end... of the Andy years," Stanton stated. "Nobody's being robbed of their trilogy. They can have that and never watch another if they don't want to. But I've always loved how this world allows us to embrace time and change. There's no promise that it stays in amber."
Toy Story 3's hugely emotional finale saw Woody, Buzz and friends passed down from their original owner, Andy, to the younger Bonnie. It was the end of an era, with Andy's age designed to match the number of years that had passed since the launch of Pixar's classic first film back in 1995.
But, nine years later, Disney launched Toy Story 4, a fresh chapter largely set in a kids day care center. The end of that film was also designed to tug on viewers' heartstrings, with Woody parting from his best pal Buzz (something the first Toy Story 5 trailer, above, shows has now been reversed.)
"Nobody's really playing with toys anymore," Stanton continued, discussing the plot for Toy Story 5. "Technology has changed everybody's lives, but we're asking what that means for us — and to our kids. We can't just get away with making tech the villain."
It's a story idea that some fans feel Disney has already touched on, in movies such as Wreck-It Ralph sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet, and something that others have said they just aren't interested seeing the fan-favorite Toy Story cast have to struggle again to deal with. The elephant in the room here, of course, is the money Disney clearly hopes to make by going back to the Toy Story well once more. Toy Story 4 made $1 billion back in 2019 — a total that Pixar has only beaten once since, with Inside Out 2, amid a series of original movies such as Elemental and this year's flop Elio that have performed markedly less well.
It's a topic that Pixar veteran Pete Docter addressed earlier this year, while acknowledging Elio's box office performance. Stressing that Pixar needed to "find out what people want before they know it," Docter said that the alternative was just feeding audiences "more of what they know" — leading to endless sequels and more of the same. "We'd be making Toy Story 27," Docter admitted. Well, we're not quite there yet.
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