This writer has been waiting to type these words for a very, very long time, so here they are: Toy Story 5 is finally in the works at PIXAR.
One more time for our friends in the nosebleed section: this is not a test. Repeat. Not a Test. PIXAR is finally working on the fifth installment of the Toy Story film franchise, and kudos to actor Tim Allen for sharing the undeniably exciting news with fans around the globe via social media!
Well, ok, so we also have to give props to Bob Iger. During The Walt Disney Company’s 2023 fiscal first quarter earnings call, Iger shared a virtual cornucopia of news and updates related to the company’s revenue, restructuring, and efforts in cost reduction across the company.
While the company exceeded even Wall Street’s predictions between October 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, Disney’s revenue growth wasn’t enough to stave off a major shakedown at the House of Mouse, effective immediately, which includes the slashing of approximately 7,000 jobs–or about 4% of Disney’s global workforce–as well as cost cuts of more than $5 billion, and a reorganization that divides the company into three distinct parts.
Another piece of Iger’s plan to right the proverbial ship at Disney, following the “various missteps” of Bob Chapek, is to get back to the basic–to the oldies but goodies, so to speak–from Disney and PIXAR, to draw from their successes, if you’ll pardon the pun.
“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,” Iger said.
He specifically named Toy Story, Frozen, and Zootopia, saying only that the company would be “leaning into [its] unrivaled brands and franchises” and that more information would be divulged soon.
Thanks, Bob, but we’ll stick with Tim Allen for our “Toy Story” news, please and thank you.
On Wednesday evening, actor Tim Allen took things one step further on Facebook, posting an announcement specifically about Toy Story. Though it would be an exaggeration to say that Allen’s post was cryptic, the post did leave fans with a few nanoseconds between reading and realizing:
“See ya soon, Woody,” Allen posted on Facebook. “You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity. And off we go to number 5! To infinity and beyond! #ToyStory5
Only an hour after Allen posted the announcement, more than 20,000 fans had reacted to the post, and nearly 7,000 fans had shared the post on Facebook.
Even before Toy Story 4 hit the box office in June 2016, fans were praying for–and speculating about–a fifth film. But with pin-drop silence about a fifth installment from PIXAR and the announcement of PIXAR’s Lightyear during Disney’s Investor Day in December 2020, even the most diehard Woody and Buzz fans began donning sackcloth and wearing ashes on their heads, as the hope of such a film seemed unworthy of the faintest hope.
But Lightyear is the last thing Toy Story fans wanted: the backstory of the man who inspired the Buzz Lightyear action figure. Creative? Sure. Necessary? No way. Fan-approved? Absolutely not. And that mess about Zurg being Lightyear’s father? Star Wars much? We aren’t buying, and neither were the majority of those who saw the film, as it was one of the biggest flops in PIXAR’s 36-year history.
Right now, there’s no word on a release date for Toy Story 5, and based on the traumatic ending to Toy Story 4–along with Allen’s farewell post to Woody–there’s reason to wonder whether Woody will be a part of the fifth Toy Story movie.
There’s such a palpable excitement over the news that a fifth take on the beloved story about Andy’s toys is in the works. It began in 1995 with the original Toy Story, a masterpiece in computer animation that introduced us to Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) and the starry-eyed space ranger from Star Command, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and their adventures with Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Bo Peep (Annie Potts), Slink (Jim Varney), and the rest of the gang who lived inside Andy’s magical, cloudy-sky wallpapered bedroom. And such an answered anticipation across Andy’s backyard of fandom will keep complaints and demands about the new film at bay. For now, anyway.
But it’s generally safe to say that with news of a long-pined-for fifth film on its path to fruition at the PIXAR studios, Toy Story franchise superfans will quickly find themselves (if they haven’t been already) hoping in earnest yet again–this time, however, for the ultimate, rightly-deserved Woody and Buzz reunion.
This writer included.
As the story about our favorite Story is just being told, we will share further updates as they become available.
