Though Disney's Toy Story 4 is busy delighting audiences, a plush Forky toy is being recalled due to the choking threat it poses to young children. Pixar's latest (and possibly final) venture into the Toy Story universe has so far been met with widespread praise and acclaim, proving yet again that the franchise seems infallible.
This time around, Disney has expanded their iconic cast of onscreen toys to include the likes of Ducky (Keegan-Michael Key), Bunny (Jordan Peele), Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves), and arguably the most intriguing new addition to the series since it began, Forky (Tony Hale). A rather accidental addition to the Toy Story crew, Forky is simply not content with his newfound role as a toy, and takes every opportunity he can to get back to the trash that he feels he’s best suited for. Fortunately for him, not everyone agrees with his grim assessment of his existence, and in classic Toy Story style, new friends help to make his world a better place.
As much as audiences have really taken to the character of Forky, however, Disney has briefly found itself in a bit of a troubling situation. As per a report from EW, new plush Forky toys have now been recalled by Disney, after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission revealed that the toy’s plastic googly eyes can become detached, posing a choking hazard for young children. The report from the CPSC went on to state:
Consumers should immediately take the recalled toy away from children and return it to any Disney Store retail location, Walt Disney World, or Disneyland Resort theme park retail store location for a full refund.
To date, Disney has sold about 80,650 of the toys throughout the United States as well as Canada. It’s unclear at this point if Disney plans on making a new version of the toy once the recall has finished, but given the popularity of Toy Story 4 as well as Forky, the odds likely favor a new toy being produced at some point. Surely not every Forky toy sold went to a young child, as Toy Story fans come in all ages, so it'll be interesting to see how many of the 80,650 toys will find their way back to Disney and how many will become collector’s items.
It does seem a bit preemptive to recall a toy that's already sold in such large numbers and which, to date, not a single injury has resulted from. However, from Disney’s point of view, the last thing they want is for one of the most popular characters from their newly released film to be tied up in anything remotely harmful to children. It’s better to be safe than sorry in this case, and allow Toy Story 4 to continue to be surrounded by the positive attention it rightly deserves.
Source: EW