By Michaela Gordoni
Andrew Stanton has helmed TOY STORY for three decades, and it’s come full circle now as the toys battle tech in TOY STORY 5 on June 19.
“This is probably the last one I’m gonna do,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
Tim Allen, who plays Buzz Lightyear, told him, “I don’t like that. Now you’ve depressed me.”
Tom Hanks, who voices Woody, added that he understands how demanding making animated movies is. A typical animated movie takes three to seven years to create.
“It takes quite a bite out of somebody’s…not life, time-wise, but also the creative energy that must go into keeping all of these things together,” he said.
Stanton isn’t leaving Pixar and doesn’t know when he’ll retire.
He said, “I really thought [FINDING] DORY was it. So I’ve got a lot of egg on my face. I’m not saying never, but the math doesn’t add up.”
Related: TOY STORY 5 Tackles Today’s Biggest Problem—Plus Upcoming Pixar Projects
“Four years goes so much faster the older you get, and I want my four years to last so long,” he explained. “I don’t wanna blink one more movie and be close to 70. So for me, personally, it’s just about my desire to milk the most out of a day and out of a week and out of a month.”
In 2022, Stanton drafted a story that begins with 50 Buzz Lightyears who awaken on a deserted island after their shipping crate falls off of a boat.
“I knew I wanted them to be there for a bigger reason,” Stanton said, “but I didn’t know why.”
Allen voiced all 50 Buzzes in one session.
“I thought, Finally, I get more screen time than Woody,” he joked.
Stanton said, “I thought, Is this gonna drive him mad?…He just, like a Robin Williams, was doing one guy talking to another, talking to another. He started having conversations with himself and just kept going.”
Co-director Kenna Harris came up with the toy’s bigger story.
She “brought to light the idea of friendship and the socialization aspect that connects both the modern devices and what toys are trying to do,” Stanton said.
Joan Cusack, who plays Jessie, said, “I know every parent in the United States worries about their kids. When do you get them involved in tech? What does that do to their brains?”
“And that’s what this movie’s about. It’s about humanity and playing and loyalty — and it makes me cry,” she said.
Stanton feels like there’s enough room to have two more TOY STORY movies after number five.
In the meantime, he will be “in a rocking chair somewhere.”
“And I will always have a strong opinion about this,” he said. “This is probably the best way I can leave my stamp at Pixar — teaching others how this is done.”
Recently, Taylor Swift had a countdown to TOY STORY 5 on her socials and website, which was quickly removed. Fans speculate that she will have a song in a movie — possibly her own take on Jessie’s signature background-story song, “When She Loved Me,” since the new story focuses around Jessie.
Per Collider, the MPA assigned the movie a PG rating, which is a first for the franchise. All of the other movies are rated G. We’ll find out the reasons for the new rating when it releases in theaters on June 19.
Read Next: Here’s What Tim Allen Has to Say About TOY STORY 5
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