Toy Story 4

In 2010, filmmaker Lee Unkrich said that Pixar was not planning another Toy Story film after Toy Story 3, "It was really important to me with this film that we not just create another sequel, that it not just be another appendage coming off of the other two... there may be opportunities for Woody and Buzz in the future, but we don't have any plans for anything right now."[37] Tom Hanks and Tim Allen had tentatively signed on to reprise their roles of Woody and Buzz; Hanks stated the following year that he believed Pixar was working on a sequel.[13][38] Rumors arose that Toy Story 4 was in production and slated for release for 2015, but Disney denied these rumors in February 2013.[39]

Disney officially announced Toy Story 4 during an investor's call on November 6, 2014.[40] Then-studio head of Pixar John Lasseter, who directed the first two films and executive-produced the third, was scheduled to direct after writing a film treatment with Andrew Stanton, with input from Pete Docter and Unkrich. Rashida Jones and Will McCormack joined as writers, with Galyn Susman returning as a producer from Ratatouille.[41] Lasseter explained that Pixar decided to produce the sequel because of their "pure passion" for the series, and that the film would be a love story.[42] He felt that "Toy Story 3 ended Woody and Buzz's story with Andy so perfectly that for a long time, [Pixar] never even talked about doing another Toy Story movie. But when Andrew, Pete, Lee and I came up with this new idea, I just could not stop thinking about it."[43]

In March 2015, Pixar president Jim Morris described the film as a romantic comedy and said it would not be a continuation of the third film.[44][45] The same month, Variety reported that Cooley was named co-director with Lasseter, having previously been head of story on Inside Out.[46] According to Lasseter, the film was kept so secret that even Morris and his boss Edwin Catmull had no knowledge of it until the treatment was finished. He stressed that "we do not do any sequel because we want to print money" but rather to tell a new story.[47] Cooley later revealed that development of a fourth movie had actually begun shortly before the release of the third movie.[48]

At D23 Expo in July 2017, Lasseter announced he was stepping down and leaving Cooley as sole director, saying he could no longer commit to directing the film between his positions at Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Disneytoon Studios.[49][50] Jones and McCormack withdrew in November 2017, citing "philosophical differences."[51]

By January 2018, Disney had confirmed that the screenplay had been written by Stephany Folsom, who rewrote three quarters of Jones and McCormack's original script, according to Annie Potts.[52][53] Folsom had collaborated on the screenplay with Stanton, who co-wrote the first two films.[54] According to Cooley, the center of the film's updated screenplay was around the relationship of Woody and Bo Peep. Bo Peep had been absent in Toy Story 3, explained narratively as Bo Peep having been given away. This had set the stage for the conclusion of the third film, with Woody getting the idea to give Andy's toys to Bonnie. Cooley said that when they thought about bringing Bo Peep back in the fourth film, it was not only to rekindle the romantic interest between Woody and Bo Peep. Bo Peep's becoming a lost toy also reflects a fear Woody has had through the series, and challenges his world view.[55][56] By September 28, 2018, recording for the film had begun. Allen said that the film's story was "so emotional" that he "couldn't even get through the last scene."[57] Similarly, Tom Hanks said that the film's ending scene was a "moment in history."[58] On January 30, 2019, Hanks and Allen finished recording their characters' voices.[59]

Most of the previous voice actors, including Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, signed on to reprise their roles. Hanks stated in May 2016 that he had recorded his first lines for Woody.[12][60] Annie Potts was confirmed to return as Bo Peep, after being absent from Toy Story 3.[14] Potts was told by Pixar’s then chief creative officer John Lasseter that her character's absence in the third movie was attributed to them saving her for the fourth.[53] Don Rickles intended to reprise his role as Mr. Potato Head, but died in April 2017,[61] before any lines were recorded as the script was still being rewritten.[62] According to Cooley, Rickles' family contacted Pixar and asked if there was any way to include him in the film. Pixar reviewed 25 years of archival material that Rickles had participated in, including unused lines from the first three Toy Story films, video games and other related media for the franchise, and other works, and re-purposed them for use within the film.[28]

Tony Hale was cast as Forky, a homemade toy suffering an existential crisis. Hale has performed roles before with similar panicked characters, including Buster Bluth on Arrested Development and Gary Walsh on Veep. When asked to voice Forky, Hale said, "A utensil's existential crisis? I'm in!"[63] Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele were cast as a pair of carnival prize plush toys named Ducky and Bunny. Cooley said that while they brought them on to provide some improvised comedy to the film, "they were story motivated which elevated Ducky and Bunny and the film to a level I never could have expected."[64] Additionally, Keanu Reeves was announced to be voicing a character in the film[21] named Duke Caboom.[22] Reeves said he was contacted out of the blue by Pixar, seeking him to voice the part and letting him develop his own riffs on the character.[65] On March 22, 2019, Madeleine McGraw, who had previously voiced Maddy McGear in Pixar's Cars 3, was revealed to be voicing Bonnie, who was voiced by Emily Hahn in the previous film and other works.[19] Comedians Carol Burnett, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and Betty White were added to the cast to voice a set of four toys that Bonnie played with as a toddler but had since outgrown, acting as "veteran" toys to help Woody prepare for when the same happens to him.[34]

Randy Newman, who composed and wrote songs for the previous three films, was confirmed to be returning at D23 Expo 2015.[3][66] Director Josh Cooley said that he hired Newman to return because "[he] can't imagine making a fourth one without Randy Newman."[8] Newman wrote new themes for Bonnie, Gabby Gabby, and Duke Caboom, with the latter's featuring accordions and mandolins to represent the character's memories of rejection.[8] He also wrote a "subordinate theme" for Forky.[8] Newman also reused his previous orchestral themes from the first three films. He wrote two new songs for the film, titled "The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy" and "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away", with Newman also performing the latter.[8] On June 5, 2019, Chris Stapleton's version of "Cowboy" was released as a single.[67] The film's soundtrack, featuring Newman's score, Stapleton's and Newman's versions of the two new songs, and Newman's "You've Got a Friend in Me", was released on June 21, 2019, with the film.[8][67]

All tracks are written by Randy Newman[3][8].

The first teaser poster was revealed at D23 Expo 2015 alongside the first posters for Cars 3 and Incredibles 2.[74] Pixar screened early footage of the film at CineEurope 2018.[75] The first teaser trailer, which introduced Forky, as well as his voice actor Tony Hale, along with the official teaser poster, were released on November 12, 2018.[76] The teaser features Judy Collins's recording of "Both Sides Now" (originally written by Joni Mitchell). A "teaser reaction" video, introducing the characters of Ducky and Bunny, voiced by Key and Peele in a parody of their recurring Key & Peele skit "The Valets," was released the following day.[17] On November 28, 2018, a new international teaser poster was released.[77] On February 3, 2019, shortly after the conclusion of Super Bowl LIII, a new sneak peek was released, which re-introduced Bo Peep who had been absent from Toy Story 3.[78] On February 15, 2019, a clip of the movie was shown during Annie Potts' interview on Good Morning America.[79]

The official trailer for the film was released on March 19, 2019.[80] On March 27 an international trailer was released, showing more footage.[81] On April 3, the film's first 17 minutes were shown at CinemaCon, to a positive reception.[82] A series of TV spots, known as "Old Friends & New Faces," was introduced on April 18, 2019, with the first one featuring the re-designed Bo Peep.[83] On May 21, 2019, a final trailer was released.[84]

Toy Story 4 was released digitally on October 1, 2019, and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 8, 2019.[85]

Toy Story 4 grossed $434 million in the United States and Canada, and $639.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.073 billion.[6][7] The film had a worldwide opening of $244.5 million, the 46th highest ever, and 3rd biggest for an animated film.[86] It crossed the billion dollar mark on August 13, 2019, becoming the 43rd film as well as the fourth Pixar film to ever do so.[87] It was also the fifth film released by Disney in 2019, and sixth overall, to cross the milestone, both records for a single year.[88] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $368 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[89]

Beginning on May 28, 2019, in its first 24 hours of pre-sales, Toy Story 4 set the records on Fandango for most tickets sold by an animated film in that frame (besting Incredibles 2), while Atom Tickets reported it sold nearly 50% more than the previous three highest-selling animated films combined did in their first day (Incredibles 2, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation).[90] The film opened alongside Child's Play and Anna, and was projected to gross $140–160 million in its opening weekend, with some predicting it could debut as high as $200 million. It played in 4,575 theaters, the second-most all-time behind Avengers: Endgame.[91][92] Toy Story 4 made $47.4 million on its first day, including $12 million from Thursday night previews, the second-highest amount for an animated film, behind Incredibles 2.[93] The film went on to debut to $120.9 million over the weekend, finishing first at the box office.[94][95][96] Although below projections, executives at Disney were satisfied with the debut, since it continued Pixar's "remarkable consistency" at the box office and showed "proof of audiences' long-time love for the Toy Story franchise."[97][98] Additionally, it was the best opening of the series, the biggest for a G-rated film and the fourth-highest of all-time for an animated film.[86][96][99][100] In its second weekend, Toy Story 4 made $59.7 million and retained the top spot at the box office.[101][102][103] It grossed $33.9 million in its third weekend, by which time it had been dethroned by newcomer Spider-Man: Far From Home.[104][105][106] In August 2019, the film surpassed The Lion King (1994, $422 million including re-releases), which held the title for the last 25 years (1994-2003 and 2011-2019) to become the highest-grossing G-rated film of all-time domestically.[107]

The film opened day-in-date with the U.S. in 37 countries (64% of its total market), and was projected to gross around $100 million abroad for a global debut of $260 million.[91] In China, where the film opened alongside a re-release of Spirited Away (2001), it was expected to debut to $15–20 million.[5] Through September 2, 2019, the film's largest markets were Japan ($90.1 million), the United Kingdom ($79.9 million, third highest all-time for an animated film), Mexico ($72 million), Brazil ($32.5 million), France ($29.2 million), China ($29.1 million), Argentina ($28.9 million), Australia ($28.9 million), and South Korea ($24.7 million).[88][108]

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 425 reviews, with an average rating of 8.37/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Heartwarming, funny, and beautifully animated, Toy Story 4 manages the unlikely feat of extending – and perhaps concluding – a practically perfect animated saga."[109] It ranked as the third-best film of the year and the fourth-best reviewed film of all time on Rotten Tomatoes.[110] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100 based on 57 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."[111] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 89% and a 75% "definite recommend."[86]

The film received a four-star rating from Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com, who wrote, "This franchise has demonstrated an impressive ability to beat the odds and reinvent itself, over a span of time long enough for two generations to grow up in. It's a toy store of ideas, with new wonders in every aisle."[112] The Washington Post's Ann Hornaday also gave the film 4 out of 4 stars and praised its, "visually dazzling concoction of wily schemes and daring adventures", as well as achieving, "a near-perfect balance between familiarity and novelty, action and emotion, and joyful hellos and more bittersweet goodbyes."[113] Peter DeBruge of Variety wrote, "Toy Story ushered in the era of computer-animated cartoon features, and the fourth movie wraps up the saga beautifully. At least, for now."[35] The Daily Telegraph's Robbie Collin wrote, "Toy Story 4 reaffirms that Pixar, at their best, are like no other animation studio around."[114]

Writing for IndieWire, David Ehrlich gave the film a grade of B+ and wrote, "Clever, breathless, and never manic just for the sake of keeping your kids' eyes busy, the action in Toy Story 4 is character-driven and paced to perfection."[115] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, who gave the film four-and-a-half stars out of five stars, praised its, "visual pow, pinwheeling fun and soulful feeling" and lauded the voice performance of Tony Hale as Forky.[116] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal said, "the new film isn't flawless, but it's hugely enjoyable and speaks, with bewitching buoyancy, to nothing less than the purpose of living and the mystery of life."[117] While Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor wrote that the film did not put him, "through the emotional wringer the way its predecessor did," he still gave it a grade of A- and said, "it's consistently inventive, funny, witty, and heartfelt. In other words, it's a lot better than it has any right to be. It's more than good enough to justify its existence."[118]

Conversely, Kyle Smith of National Review called the film "the weakest effort in the series so far", finding its subject matter was unclear and the motives of the characters opposed and undermined the series' previous instalments. He further critiqued the film for prioritizing its comedy while the story's underlying themes were "tossed out haphazardly without much follow-through", saying, "It may be an essential element of Disney’s corporate strategy, but as a film it’s forgettable.[119]

In May 2019, producer Mark Nielsen confirmed that Pixar will return its focus to making original films instead of sequels after Toy Story 4 for a while.[2] On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Tom Hanks stated that the film would be the final film in the series. He said to Ellen DeGeneres that Tim Allen had "warned him about the emotional final goodbye between their characters Woody and Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 4."[147] However, Nielsen did not rule out a possibility of a fifth film, stating, "Every film we make, we treat it like it's the first and the last film we're ever going to make, so you force yourself to make it hold up. You don't get in over your skis. Whether there's another one? I don't know. If there is, it's tomorrow's problem."[148]

A short film titled Lamp Life reveals Bo Peep's whereabouts between leaving and reuniting with Woody.[149] The short was released on Disney+ on January 31, 2020.[150]

A 10-episode short-form educational series, Forky Asks a Question, debuted exclusively on the Disney+ streaming service upon its launch on November 12, 2019.[151] It focuses mainly on Forky, but other Toy Story characters such as Rex, Hamm, Trixie, Buttercup, and Mr. Pricklepants also make appearances.