Tom Hanks Begins Work on 'Toy Story 4'

Work on the next installment in Pixar's Toy Story saga is well underway as actor Tom Hanks, who has been the voice of Sheriff Woody for twenty years now, returned to Pixar early this month to begin recording for Toy Story 4.

On December 2, Hanks posted a time lapse video of his drive to the Emeryville animation powerhouse on Twitter.

Back to Oakland! Pixar! Working on #ToyStory4, partners! Hanx https://t.co/JdzZA1Esli

— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) December 2, 2015

Though the cast for the film has yet to be officially unveiled, it's probably safe to assume that the rest of the original cast members will reprise their roles. The Toy Story franchise has one of the most diverse and talented ensembles in any animated film series, ranging from big stars like Hanks to legendary comedians like Don Rickles. If you've ever seen behind-the-scenes footage of the actors recording their dialogue, you'll know how much fun the actors seem to have doing their job. If you haven't, well, have a look:

Toy Story 4 is slated for release on June 15, 2018.

First Look at 'Small Fry'

Mini Buzz meets Woody in 'Small Fry'

Ironically, today I was thinking to myself, 'Hmm, Pixar hasn't released any clips or stills from Small Fry yet'. Then, I go on my computer a few hours later and I find two never-before-seen images from the upcoming short film, along with some new facts about the plot.

Small Fry revolves around Buzz being left behind at a fast food restaurant, while an irritating miniature version of himself takes his place in Bonnie's bedroom. Our favorite space ranger then has to deal with a gang of "Happy Meal" like toys, including a mermaid voiced by Glee's Jane Lynch.

The mermaid's name has been announced to the public; Neptuna. Judging by the picture seen below, she may be the leader of the rejected toys at the restaurant.

Angus MacLane, director of the short, talked with USA Today about Small Fry.

MacLane describes the short as "the Prince and the Pauper tale for toys" only that "one of them happens to be 3 inches tall".

He tells how Small Fry is about how these miniature fast food meal toys feel unloved after always being discarded right after all the food has vanished from the table.

"These toys' existence is about being really popular before the meal and then being totally forgotten about. And sometimes they don't even get played with."

Most of the cast from the short has been confirmed. Tim Allen and Tom Hanks are set to return as Buzz and Woody, respectively, Joan Cusack reprises her role as Jessie the cowgirl, and John Ratzenberger is back as the voice of Hamm the piggy bank. Neptuna the mermaid is voiced by Jane Lynch, and guess who has been cast as the cheeky Mini Buzz...

Teddy Newton, director of Day & Night and voice of the Chatter Telephone in Toy Story 3. Now that I think of it, he does sound like the perfect voice for a naughty little 3-inch Buzz. His voice work should be hilarious! Also, Angus MacLane, the director of the short, will voice several of the fast food restaurant toys, including T-Bone and Super Pirate.

Pixar wants audiences to remember to just "give these guys a little bit of love", 'these guys' being the little toys you get with your burger and fries.

Small Fry hits theaters November 23 with Disney's The Muppets. The new film starring Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Kermit the Frog, and all the other awesome characters looks incredible all on its own already, so the latest Toy Story Toon is just another bonus! Plus, there are rumours that the next Brave trailer will also play with the film, so it's even better!

Toy Story 4 Actually Headed Our Way?

A few weeks ago, Tom Hanks commented about a Toy Story 4 being in production. Of course, it wasn't close to being an official announcement, but a couple more things have been popping up here and there indicating that we might actually see Andy's (or should I say, Bonnie's) toys in another adventure some day.

First off, IMDb (Internet Movie Database) says that Toy Story 4 is currently in the works, and is scheduled for release in 2015. Even though IMDb has listed some films (including Monsters, Inc. 2, now titled Monsters University) several months before being officially announced, it has also been wrong many times. What I think happened is that the people of IMDb are taking what Tom Hanks said seriously, so they listed it on the website for release in 2015. Why 2015 you ask? Well, Pixar has stated themselves that their typical film takes usually around four years to complete. Four years from now it will be 2015. So I wouldn't really take this seriously, it's probably all just a big mix-up.

Now, John Lasseter was recently on BBC Breakfast to talk about the release of Cars 2. He was asked about Tom Hanks' comments regarding a fourth installment in the Toy Story series, and he said, smiling:

"Yeah. I found that very interesting too!" followed by, "We haven't announced anything yet so I can't tell you." The presenters asked him if he would like to tell them more about it, but he simply said "No."

He then quickly, but humorously, changed the subject back to Cars 2. Watch for yourself here.

Also, if you wish to see when Tom Hanks told BBC that there would be a TS4, click here and skip to 2:28.

Could this mean that we might actually see a fourth Toy Story film? Is IMDb right? Was John Lasseter just messing with our minds? Is it all just a misunderstanding? When will all these questions be answered???

I honestly would not mind another Toy Story. Many people are getting all upset that there might be a TS4 because they think that Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending to the series, which it was. But not only was it a flawless ending, but you can also look at it as the beginning of a new chapter. After all, Andy's toys are now with Bonnie and her toys, so there are many possibilities with all these characters waiting to be explored. Of course, the Toy Story Toons are already doing that, but a feature film could mean an even bigger and more thrilling story with the characters, both old and new. So if there ever is a Toy Story 4, don't worry about it, Pixar will not let us down. And if there isn't, well, that's perfectly fine too.

Will We See a Toy Story 4?

Last year, Pixar's beloved Toy Story series ended with Toy Story 3, and the studio did an excellent job ending the saga, and is probably one of the best endings to a film series ever! However, Tom Hanks, voice of Woody, recently stated in an interview that there is currently a fourth installment in the works. The exact words he used when asked if there would be a TS4 were:

"I think there will be, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I think they're working on it now."

This on one hand, could be some pretty bad news, but in another hand, could be very awesome news! I really don't think that another Toy Story is necessary at all, since they ended it so perfectly with '3', plus they're doing the 'Toons' to keep the characters alive, but whatever Pixar decides to do, I'm cool with it. After all, if they are doing a '4', they must've come up with a really really wicked idea that MUST be told. Pixar has even stated that they will only make sequels if they have a story that's worth telling.

I'm not too sure why Tom said they are working on a Toy Story 4, but there are a lot of reasons why he might've said it. He could've been joking, he could've been expressing his desire for a fourth film, or he might have just gotten mixed up with upcoming Toy Story Toons.

Only time will tell if we will see the toys in another feature film sometime in the future. For now, if you want more of Woody and Buzz, catch Hawaiian Vacation, now in theaters with Cars 2, and the next Toy Story Toon arrives in theaters this November alongside Disney's The Muppets.

The 83rd Academy Awards (UPDATED LIVE)

The night began as Anne Hathaway and James Franco gave a brief introduction to the 83rd Academy Awards. Tom Hanks, voice of Woody, presented the awards of Best Art Direction (which went to Disney's Alice and Wonderland), and Cinematography (which Inception won).

Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis presented the awards for Best Animated Short AND Best Animated Feature. Day & Night unfortunately lost to The Lost Thing. But, it is already a victory to be nominated. Congrats to Teddy Newton! The Best Animated Feature Film award went to...

TOY STORY 3!!!!!!!!!!

Director Lee Unkrich came up to recieve the award, and thanked everyone at Pixar, and stated that Pixar is the 'most AWESOME place on the planet to make movies!!!", and I totally agree with him!

Best Adapted Screenplay went to The Social Network, but congratulations to TS3 and Pixar for being nominated!

Best Sound Editing was one of the other awards for which TS3 was nominated, and did not win, but as I have stated, it's already a victory to be nominated. The award went to Inception.

Randy Newman did an AMAZING job performing his song from Toy Story 3, 'We Belong Together'!

Billy Crystal, voice of Mike Wasowski from Monsters, Inc., came up to talk for a few minutes.

Randy Newman won the the award for Best Original Song for his amazing song from TS3, 'We Belong Together'! Congratulations!

And the winner for Best Motion Picture at the 83rd Academy Awards is...

The King's Speech

Today was not the day that an animated film won the big one at the Oscars, but, as all the films which were nominated for an Oscar this year, Toy Story 3 was truely a masterpiece. The night concludes with a lovely performance by the PS22 Chorus. Good night everybody, and congratulations to Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson, John Lasseter, Randy Newman, everyone else at Pixar, and all the other great people who were nominated for an Oscar.

Cool Pixar Pic: Tom Hanks Doing Voicework for 'TS' Shorts

This picture has been online for a week now, I just haven't gotten the chance to write a post on it. Seen above is picture which Tom Hanks, known by Pixar fans as the voice of Woody, tweeted last week.

He simply said:

3 directors boss "Woody" around for Toy Story shorts. Come on, guys! Hanx

The three directors appear to be Bobby Podesta, Mark Walsh, and Angus MacLane. Could they be working on the previously announced 'Hawaii' short? Or possibly another one of the anticipated short films? After all, 'Hanx' did say 'Toy Story shorts', with an 's'. Plural.

The first of the ought-to-be-fantastic Toy Story shorts hits theatres alongside Cars 2 on June 24th, 2011!

Are you excited for the upcoming Toy Story Toons?

Pixar News Lineup

There's been a lot of Pixar news going around lately, but I haven't been able to get on to the computer much with all the homework I've had. I don't like homework. At all.

-First up, it has been announced that composer Randy Newman will not return to score Cars 2. However, Up composer Michael Giacchino will be scoring the film. This should be great. Randy Newman would've done a great job, but Micheal Giacchino is just as talented.

-You may remember the "Chatter Telephone Tipline" video I posted not so long ago. It was about Pixar's secret code, A113. Well, a few more "Chatter Telephone Tiplines" have debuted on the Internet. One is about Lee Unkrich's one and only line in TS3. Lee voiced the Jack-in-the-Box that proclaims, "New toys!" when Andy's toys arrive at Sunnyside. There is also another "Chatter Telephone Tipline" about Sid's cameo in TS3. You may remember Sid as Andy's evil neighbor who tortures toys in the first Toy Story. Well, in TS3 he is a little older, and appears to have gotten a job in the garbage truck business.

-A few more sneak peeks of the bonus features which will be on the TS3 DVD/Blu-Ray have been released. One is a touching video featuring director Lee Unkrich and John Morris, voice of Andy in Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and Toy Story 3. Another one features interviews with Lee Unkrich, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Estelle Harris, and Jodi Benson. Only two days and two weeks until we bring all the action, heart, and humor of TS3 home!

Well, that's it for today, but keep coming back here for everything Pixar, the company that makes the best films in the world!

Note: My post about the Pixar cereal bar will be my next post. ;)

Toy Story 3 World Premiere!

The stars (or toys) of the show at the Toy Story 3 "Fun Zone"

Most exciting thing I've posted on this website EVER. Yesterday, (June 13, 2010) the world premiere of Toy Story 3 was held at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. Everyone was there! John Lasseter, Darla K. Anderson, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Michael Keaton, Jodi Benson, Joan Cusack, and of course, Mr. Lee Unkrich himself. Even Chelsea Staub and Cole Sprouse were there! This is SUPER exciting. Only 4 days until TS3 hits theaters. This will be a super-duper ultra mega supreme extremely awesome movie for sure! You can check out some pictures of the exciting premiere here and here. You can also watch some videos of the premiere here.

Lee Unkrich (director) and Darla K. Anderson (producer) pose at the World Premiere of "Toy Story 3"

The one, the only, Mr. John Lasseter himself along with his buddies Woody and Buzz at the World Premiere of "Toy Story 3"