A couple of months ago, John Lasseter made a huge announcement…in 2017, Disney and Pixar fans can expect Toy Story 4.
“Expect” is an understatement. The social media reports have already begun to roll in with opinions coming from all directions. Some people are excited for the toys to return to the big screen. Others think that three films, plus last year’s short Toy Story of Terror and Toy Story that Time Forgot, are enough.
The biggest issue people have with rolling out a fourth film is that the third Toy Story closed so beautifully. Woody and Buzz and the gang have found a new home with Bonnie, Sunnyside is now a happy place for toys, Andy is headed off to college with the confidence that his toys are in responsible hands, and all is well in the world again.
So why make another one? In this day and age, sequels run amok and are often result in beating a dead horse.
So why am I terrified?
It’s not because I am afraid of Ed Catmull and John Lasseter ruining some of the best characters and plot lines in all cinema history. No, that is further from the truth and I have the utmost faith that they will do just that.
Is it because I have nailed the Toy Story coffin shut and am ready to say goodbye? Of course not. The toys live forever, and so does my faith in Disney-Pixar.
Why am I terrified? Two words: the feels.
Tell me this didn’t get to you….LIAR!
I hate crying at the movies. I almost dread going and feeling my eyes well up with salty tears, having my mascara and eyeliner drip onto my nose and creating an awful morning-after look simply from watching anthropomorphic children’s toys share life and death situations with each other while finding the true meaning of friendship.
Whew.
The first two movies were excellent, fun and fresh, while holding the suspense and bringing happy feelings to everyone young and old. The third film took so long in getting here that I was terrified as the years approached, then months, weeks and finally just days. I thought,
“How are they going to top what they’ve already created here? How will they bring it to fruition?”
As I left the theater that night, there was not a dry eye in the audience.
On one hand, I was embarrassed that an animated film can stir such emotion. Disney often gets overlooked in this sense for appearing, at face value, to be child-oriented. But any one who has an appreciation for Disney films understands that this is not accurate. Pixar excels at making us feel. For that reason, I applaud them. And that is what terrifies me.
The toys were almost incinerated. And then rescued. And then rescued a second time by Bonnie. And we felt what Andy felt as he was leaving them. And we felt what the toys were feeling even as they laid there stationary. Wowza.
So what of Toy Story 4? What will Lasseter make us feel when the time comes?
If you look at the advancements in technology between the first film and the third film, the changes are stunning. Sure, the first one pulled at our emotions and we were in awe with the computer technology at the time, but the advancements in lighting, texture, camera movement, characters’ emotions, and environment all play a role in tugging at our heartstrings too.
Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!
That ending scene in Toy Story 3 when Andy gives the toys to Bonnie would just not have been able to be done in the first film, as the technology for all of those details would’ve simply made the scene feel boxy, void and plain in a physical sense. You must understand that I’m not saying that it would not have had any emotional impact on us, but the textural details engage our senses and definitely play a role in our feelings.
No…no…no….no!
So yes, I am terrified of Toy Story 4. But by all means, John Lasseter, bring it on.
Will my emotions be rattled? Probably. Will I still love it? Probably.
Will my makeup be able to handle it? Probably not.
This animated story, about children’s toys, made grown men cry. And that is something to be terrified of.
Are you ready?
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