Fans had gone nine years without a Toy Story movie, but Toy Story 4 finally came out this year. The gang’s fourth outing shows the toys traveling with Bonnie as her family goes on a road trip, where Woody stumbles upon Bo Peep. The film was well-received by fans and critics, while also making Disney a pretty penny at the box office.
The film just came out on 4K UHD and Blu-ray this month, but despite the film being out for a while, there are some things you still probably don’t know about the film. Here are 10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Toy Story 4.
Bo Peep Went Through Multiple Design Changes
After the near-perfect ending of Toy Story 3, fans weren’t too sure about getting a fourth Toy Story. Fans started to come around however after it was revealed that part of the film would be a love story between Bo Peep and Woody. Bo appeared in the first two Toy Story movies, but was absent from the third.
Bo got a complete redesign for Toy Story 4, but she almost looked even more different than she did in the final cut of the movie. In the featurette “Bo Rebooted”, it was revealed that there were several different ideas for Bo Peep’s costume including a classic Hollywood dress, a spacesuit, and even one that made her look like Rosie the Riveter.
The Animators Filled Their Workplace With Toys
There are dozens of different toys that make it onto the screen in Toy Story 4 and the animators had plenty of ideas to inspire them. In the Blu-ray featurette “Toy Stories”, it was revealed that the animators surrounded themselves with toys during the film’s development and production for inspiration. Several of the animators talked about their favorite toys from their childhood, as did some of the cast members.
Gabby Gabby actress Christina Hendricks always liked Barbies growing up, while Keanu Reeves (Duke Caboom) was fascinated with LEGOs. Tom Hanks also revealed that his favorite toy growing up was Major Matt Mason, and Tony Hale (Forky) explained he like toys of the Muppets character Beaker.
There Were Multiple Unused Ideas For The Opening
Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 both opened with an elaborate action sequence and the same thing almost happened with Toy Story 4. The film opens with the gang trying to save RC from a storm outside, before Bo and Woody have their tear-jerking goodbye.
One of the original endings according to the featurette “Anatomy of a Scene: Prologue” would have began with a playtime sequence of Woody in a grocery store. Bonnie then entered the playtime world on a unicorn in order to help save the gang from evil pterodactyl books. There was also an idea for a zombie musical that never made it into the film.
There Was A Dispute With PETA
A few months after the re-design of Bo Peep came out, PETA reached out to Pixar. Bo Peep was completely redesigned for Toy Story 4, but her crook was one thing that was kept in place. PETA felt as if Pixar should remove the crook from the movie due to it being “outdated and cruel”.
Pixar didn’t even bother to respond, but even if they wanted to remove the crook, it would have been too late. By the time PETA made their statement, the film was already well into production. If Pixar would have taken out the crook, they would have had to start fresh and re-animate several of the scenes with Bo Peep.
Giggle McDimples Almost Had A Backstory
One of the many new toys in Toy Story 4 was a character named Giggle McDimples. McDimples was a Polly Pocket from the 1980s Giggle McDimples toy line that is Bo Peep’s best friend. She is the smallest character in the Toy Story universe to date, but her storyline was almost much bigger according to the featurette “Anatomy of a Scene: Playground”.
Originally Giggle McDimples had a backstory that would have shown her police dog partner go missing in the field. If you look close enough, when the character is first introduced in her miniature Pet Patrol station in Miniopolis, you can see a little missing poster of her partner and a bucket of bones next to her box of donuts.
Incredible Detail Went Into The Toys’ Designs
The original Toy Story in 1995 made history as it was the first fully computer-animated feature film. Over the years the technology in the films have gotten more and more advanced since the release dates are widely spread out. The animators went to incredible detail with the toys, even if you can’t see it in every scene.
Sometimes these effects are small such as bubbles in stickers or scratches from wear and tear. The changes may be subtle, but it just goes to show how in-depth the animators on the Toy Story films are willing to go to make the film look as good as possible.
They Made Around 100 Versions Of Forky
Forky was one of the new characters in Toy Story 4 who comes to life after Bonnie builds him at school. That being said, Bonnie wasn’t the only person to build Forky. In the real world, there were around 100 different versions of Forky that were made when Pixar was choosing the character’s design.
In the end they went with a relatively simple look, with items that Woody would be able to pull out of a trash can. The Blu-ray special features showed some of these alternate designs, which were all created in a “sporkshop” room.
Bo And Woody Almost Didn’t End Up Together
Many people thought the ending to Toy Story 3 was perfect, with Andy passing his toys onto a new kid who will play with them and show them love. Toy Story 4 heavily focuses on Woody, who is struggling to find his purpose since he isn’t Bonnie’s favorite toy. By the end of the film, Woody decides to leave the gang and venture off with Bo Peep to help other toys find homes. However, the ending was almost completely different.
Originally, when Bo Peep saw the girl from the antique shop, she decided that she wanted to have a kid again, meaning Woody had to once again say goodbye. Some people prefer Toy Story 3’s ending over Toy Story 4, but with the narrative the fourth film set up, this would have been a very dissatisfying ending.
They Used Archived Audio To Bring Back Mr. Potato Head
Most of the voices actors for the Toy Story characters have been in all four films, with a few exceptions. Blake Clark replaced Jim Varney as the voice of Slinky for Toy Story 3, after Varney passed away in 2000 from lung cancer.
Don Rickles, the voice of Mr. Potato Head, also passed away in 2017 due to kidney failure before he could record any lines for Toy Story 4. That being said, instead of replacing him with another voice actor, Pixar used archive recordings to create Mr. Potato Head’s lines.
The Door For Toy Story 5 Isn’t Closed, Yet
With Buzz and Woody separating at the end of Toy Story 4, it seems like the Toy Story franchise could be at its end. After all, who wants to watch a Toy Story movie without Woody or without Buzz. Pixar is focusing more on original projects versus sequels now that Toy Story 4 is out and Toy Story 5 has not yet been discussed. That being said, Toy Story 5 isn’t completely dead.
Producer Jonas Riviera said in the Toy Story 4 featurette titled “Toy Story Rewind” that “Everybody loves these characters. We love these characters. Woody's story is not over. We're not done yet. There's more story to tell". Whether this means Woody will return in a Toy Story short or full-length movie remains to be seen just yet.