Its official, Pixar has struck again.
Toy Story 4 has owned the box office since debuting last weekend, scoring the biggest opening numbers in the franchise along the way. I have to admit, that while it didn’t have the charm of the first or the gravitas of the third, to was an entertaining entry in the Pixar pantheon and I liked it more than I thought I would.
But while there’s already whispers of a potential Toy Story 5, a look beneath the surface of the numbers reveals that Pixar and their corporate masters at Disney may want to investigate another avenue.
While Toy Story was easily the box office winner the last two weekends and scored yet another nine figure debut for Disney this year, audience appetite for Woody and the gang could be on the wane. Despite a ten year absence, the increased prevalence of 3-D and IMAX screens and a decade of inflation, Toy Story 4 exceeded Toy Story 3’s opening box office by less than ten percent. TS4’s opening weekend also underperformed both industry insiders’ projections and Disney’s more conservative ones as well (by up to thirty million no less).
Perhaps more telling was the online chatter around the film. Or more appropriately, the lack thereof. Make no mistake, there was plenty of virtual talk around the movie, but it definitely didn’t enjoy the same kind of buzz (pardon the pun) previous Pixar releases did (or even some recent Disney animation ones for that matter). As much as I love Pixar, I have to admit I wasn’t that hyped for it either. This was the first time in years that a Pixar title didn’t grab a spot on my ten most anticipated summer movies list. Don’t get me wrong, I was looking forward to it but it just didn’t get my nerd-heart racing like last year’s Incredibles 2 (or the way next spring’s Onward is starting to).
But it’s apparent from TS4’s ending that there’s still plenty of storytelling life left in the gang (thanks to a few new faces as well as a twist or two on some of the golden oldies). But is it enough to justify another 300 million dollar investment by the House of the Mouse? Or does a summer where sequels seem to be underperforming left, right and centre reveal that the shine is starting to wear off Pixar’s flagship title?
Enter DisneyPlus.
Disney has been busy mining all the shingles beneath its considerable umbrella for original content for their new streaming service. It was the primary motivation behind buying 20th Century Fox (regaining the rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four were a side benefit). And Pixar is already contributing to DisneyPlus’ menu with a Monsters, Inc show.
But the ending of Toy Story 4 screams out for a show of its own.
Everything that follows is SPOILER HEAVY, so if you haven’t seen Toy Story 4 yet consider yourself duly warned.
Now that Woody has been re-united with Bo Peep and they run their own gang of “lost toys,” the stories kind of write themselves. And they wouldn’t be without an excellent supporting cast. Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key as the constantly squabbling yet inseparable stuffies and Ally Maki as the diminutive yet brimming with attitude Dimples McGiggles would make a fantastic toy posse. They’re brilliant foils for the straight laced Woody and rebellious, free spirited Bo.
But the piece de resistance would be Keanu Reeves’ stunt man Duke Kaboom. I was actually pondering whether Duke might be able to pull off his own movie while watching TS4, but after seeing him play off Woody, Bo and the others I realized he was an integral part of a new gang of toy heroes who could steal our hearts and imaginations (just not necessarily on the big screen).
And honestly, who wouldn’t want to see more videos of Reeves’ voice acting? That could be an entire show just by itself.
The great thing about animated series is that you don’t need to assemble the entire voice cast together at the same time. Tom Hanks, Keanu Reeves, Key and Peele, they all have pretty busy schedules and no shortage of other projects on the go. Even Annie Potts (who voices Bo) will need to set aside plenty of time to star in next year’s Ghostbusters movie. You can wrangle up the necessary parties a little at a time-a day here a day there-to record their contributions and mix it all together when everything else is set. The only time a cartoon’s entire voice casts usually get together is at comic book conventions.
Both Billy Crystal and John Goodman are on board to voice their respective characters for Monsters At Work, so it isn’t impossible. Plus it’s happened before. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and other members of the original cast have voiced Toy Story Halloween and Christmas specials that went straight to Blu-Ray and DVD. It would take some logistical somersaults to be sure, but it is possible. And this is Disney we’re talking about.
A Woody and Bo show would satisfy a number of business interests as well. A Toy Story show would keep the Toy Story franchise and its current characters relevant on the pop culture landscape. Woody, Bo and Duke toys would be a fixture on store shelves all year round instead of just making appearances every few years. Toy Story already figures prominently in the Disney theme parks and a show would promote (high paid) attendance. Simply put, a Toy Story show would help a number of the branches in Disney’s corporate super-tree.
It would also allow Disney to gauge audience interest in a fifth Toy Story movie. If they determine interest is high enough and they have a story big enough in scope they could justify the sizeable investment in both money and manpower. A show could also help promote a future movie and support it story wise.
Truth be told, Buzz, Rex and the rest were beginning to feel a bit stale. They’ll always have an important place in Toy Story canon, but it just felt like it was time for them to retire. Or take a well deserved leave of absence at the very least. They could always be polished up the way Woody and Bo were, but the truth is they were relegated to the background during this outing. Even Buzz wound up a supporting character while Woody and his new friends took centre stage.
This could all be a moot point. With Canada Day and the Fourth of July on the horizon and summer vacation beginning for millions of kids across North America, Toy Story 4 is still a pretty safe bet to hit the billion dollar mark (which would be the third title for Disney this year, with The Lion King, Frozen 2 and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker still to come). If that’s the case, Toy Story 5 would be inevitable (and would you blame them?).
Still, it would be a blast binge watching a bunch of different adventures starring Woody and his new gang without having to wait four or five years in between (and let’s be honest, none of the aforementioned voice cast are getting any younger). There would also be a nice bit of karmic irony if DisneyPlus offered a show based on the franchise that launched Pixar and became a pillar of Disney’s modern entertainment empire.
But one can always dream. Even in 3-D animation.
