TOY STORY 4: LIFE AFTER ANDY

Last night, Pixar announced that the world's favourite toys will be back on our screens. June 2017 will see Toy Story 4 arrive at cinemas, 22 years after the first outing of Messrs Woody, Lightyear, Jessie and Potato Head.

It is an announcement that has taken the world entirely by surprise. Of course, with the revelation that there will be a sequel to The Incredibles and Finding Nemo, one reasonably suspected that Pixar weren't perhaps finished with a franchise that raised them over $1bn at the box office - not to mention the $10bn it drew in purely from merchandising.

You have to hope - although it would be naïve to think otherwise - that this is a decision not motivated by money; that Pixar feel there is a story left to be told with these characters. It would even be nice to hear that, perhaps, their affection for these characters is so strong that they do not wish to put them in a box in the attic and leave them to gather dust. However, reasoning dictates otherwise.

Toy Story 3 was a masterpiece in climactic story-telling. It took the characters that a generation had grown up with and brought them back to life just as that same generation stared 'growing up' in the face, mirroring Andy's problems in the narrative. Aside from the classy script writing that has become a ubiquitous feature of all Pixar productions, the final scene in which Andy offers up his collection of childhood friends to Bonnie is crushingly moving. It is also, without doubt, the perfect ending to a trilogy that had resonated with a generation of children-cum-young adults.

The announcement of Toy Story 4 filled me with pure and unadulterated excitement in the first instance; a knee-jerk reaction to the thought of catching up with old friends. Slowly, however, the dawning realisation that the perfectly wrapped trilogy will now be torn apart in an attempt to squeeze more life, and money, out of these characters is somewhat distressing.

Andy, surely, cannot feature any longer: his story arc is complete. Does this mean there will be a new story arc with Bonnie? Should we expect Toy Story 5 and 6 to wrap up any plotlines they set in motion? It is unlikely, of course, but who can say it is not possible, now?

One of the major selling points of this announcement seems to be the return of John Lasseter to the director's chair. Director of both Toy Story and Toy Story 2, and winner of two Academy Awards, Lasseter now sits as Chief Creative Officer at Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. He is a genius and his return to directing is both wonderful and a monumental pointer to how important it is that they get this film right.

So, do not for one second think that I am not excited to enjoy another Pixar masterpiece. John Lasseter made it very clear that their fondness for the characters will result in a film that can be nothing short of spectacular -

“We don’t want to do anything with them unless it lives up to or surpasses what’s gone before. Toy Story 3 ended Woody and Buzz’s story with Andy so perfectly that for a long time, we never even talked about doing another Toy Story movie. But when Andrew [Stanton], Pete [Doctor], Lee [Unkrich] and I came up with this new idea, I just could not stop thinking about it. It was so exciting to me, I knew we had to make this movie—and I wanted to direct it myself.”

- however, I think this re-addressing of a perfectly packaged trilogy is something to be mourned.