It’s been almost twenty-four years since Pixar captured our hearts with the endearing story of two toys, Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), who go from rivals to best friends, in the film that put the animation studio on the map, Toy Story. Since its release in 1995, there have been two sequels (Toy Story 2 and 3), two TV movies (Toy Story of Terror! and Toy Story That Time Forgot), several Disney theme park lands, and at least two generations of kids who have grown up with Woody, Buzz and the rest of the toys in Andy’s toy box. And though the last film had this feeling of finality to it, as everyone who has been a Toy Story fan knows, toys never rest as long as there is a child to be loved by and when Toy Story 3 ended, the crew had a new child to love when Andy gifted his beloved toys to a young girl named Bonnie as he left for college.

 

Now, Toy Story 4 is set to arrive in theaters in June and along with all your faves like Buzz, Woody, Jessie, Mr Potato Head, and the rest of the gang, a new cast of characters arrives to bring joy, and maybe a little scare or two, to a new generation of Toy Story fans across the globe. During an early press day at Pixar Studios, Atom Tickets learned about a few of the new characters, who they are, who voices them, and more.

 

Forky

Forky in 'Toy Story 4'

Forky in ‘Toy Story 4’

 

When Pixar released the teaser trailer for the film back in November, everyone became obsessed with odd, seemingly out of place spork with an existential crisis. Voiced by Tony Hale (“VEEP”), Forky is a toy made by Bonnie when she was feeling anxious and a bit out of place on her first day at school. Although he is technically a one-time-use utensil, the fact that Bonnie made and loves him brings him to life as a toy. When Twitter first got a look at Forky, the memes were flowing and the biggest question was, why is this utensil having an existential crisis (I mean, considering that TOYS faced their own mortality in Toy Story 3…anything is possible, right?). When asked during a roundtable by press if Forky remembers his time before being ‘alive’, director Josh Cooley responded, “He instinctively knows what he is. We never thought of it like it was… he wanted to die. For example, this cup’s purpose is to hold water, and it would kinda know that [if it came to life] and that’s what it meant to him and it’s like home. So, I think it’s just his purpose. His gut.”

Producer Mark Nielsen expanded a little further and stated “that’s what Toy Story is actually built upon, that everything has a purpose. A toy’s purpose is to be there for their child. The cups purpose is to hold water. So he, being that he is a spork, its like soup, salad, chili…single use. Now he has a whole new purpose and so that’s how it goes down. Everybody kinda reflects that theme of change [in the film].”

 

Duke Caboom

Duke Caboom in Toy Story 4 (Credit: Pixar/Disney)

Duke Caboom in Toy Story 4 (Credit: Pixar/Disney)

 

Just as in prior films, the toys don’t exactly stay in their kid’s rooms, and that can lead to some misadventures, but also meeting a whole lot of other toys they never dreamed existed. Woody meets Duke Caboom, a toy based on a Canada’s greatest daredevil and stuntman, in a creepy, antique toy store – basically, a place where toys are forgotten. Duke has a sad story but nonetheless a hero mentality and plays a key role in helping Woody navigate this new territory. The creative team immediately knew who they wanted to play the Canadian hero: none other than John Wick star Keanu Reeves, said Nielsen.

“We always create the character first, then we see what’s the right actor to portray this. We went after Canadian actors and he was the first one on our list. I’m so thrilled that he said yes. He came here first just to meet with us before even signing and we were down in the atrium and he’s like, you know, ‘what do you think he sounds like’ and I’m like, ‘uh huh.’ We didn’t know when we brought him here that he owned his own motorcycle company and like his connection with motorcycles was not clear to us until we sat with him.”

“He completely won me over,” Nielsen continued. “And every time we recorded with him, he just had the biggest smile on his face and it was just so much fun and he is. I can’t speak enough about how awesome he is.

Cooley added, “He’s everything you’d hoped Keanu Reeves would be. We love him.”

 

Gabby Gabby And The Dummies

Gabby Gabby in Toy Story 4 (Credit: Pixar/Disney)

Gabby Gabby in Toy Story 4 (Credit: Pixar/Disney)

 

A pull string doll from the 1950s with a broken voice box, Gabby Gabby isn’t exactly the kind of doll you want to take home to your child. And yet, when you have Christina Hendricks (Good Girls, Mad Men) voicing her, you just want to know more about this doll with a villainous turn and her gang of dummies. Gabby Gabby is definitely one of the antagonists of the film, posing a big threat to Woody and his quest to get he and Forky back to Bonnie. She and Woody have the same type of voice box, and she isn’t willing to let him leave the antique store without taking it for herself, explained Nielsen.

“We went to a lot of antique stores for reference in this film. And there’s always a creepy doll in the corner, and it never fails, at least two ventriloquist dummies spread around inside these stores. So, we were like, ‘That’s a perfect place. A perfect villain.’ We have never done a female villain before. We have never done a baby doll, that I can remember, in the Toy Story films, so it was kind of perfect. Then we heard Christina’s voice and were like, ‘That’s even more perfect’ and we met with her. In her first recording session, she said, ‘This is really great. I actually didn’t want Barbie dolls when I was a kid, I used to play with ventriloquist dummies. I was like, ‘what?’ She said, ‘yeah, I did’ and then she said, ‘I also have a lot of doll heads in my house right now.’ Just the heads! Yeah, she is perfect.”

 

Duck And Bunny

Ducky and Bunny, Woody and Buzz Lightyear in 'Toy Story 4'

Ducky and Bunny, Woody and Buzz Lightyear in ‘Toy Story 4’

 

Toy Story 4 has actually been in some way, shape or form, in production since 2015. Though there have been script, creator, and story changes, two characters have remained the same for much of the production, Duck and Bunny, two carnival game prize stuffed animal toys voiced by none other than the hilarious duo, Keenan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele. While at Pixar, we got to see a small clip of the two characters, and they really take on the personalities of a more modern day Statler and Waldorf of The Muppets.

Peele and Michael-Key have remained on the project for over four years now, even through all the story changes and as both their careers took on lives of their own with Peele becoming one of the most acclaimed genre directors and Key branching out with a more serious look at adulthood in his Netflix series Friends from College.

“We recorded them early, they might have been one of the first. They were on really early and as the story evolved and changed they were always apart of it, always there. Watching them perform is one of the highlights of working here that I’ve ever had. It’s just, those two guys, they know each other so well. We always recorded them together, in the same room, because they just bounce off each other so well. They’re hilarious, as we all know, but the thing that blew me away was how they’re able to improv and but stay on point in the moment and feel like it’s not just being funny for funny sake, but it’s like they’re supporting the story. Every take was supporting the story. And they were a joy to work with.”

 

Giggle McDimples

We didn’t get too much information on Giggles quite yet, but here is what we do know. She’s Bo’s best friend, in a way, literally the little voice that sits on her shoulder. She resembles a bit of a Polly Pocket, but she is a miniature police officer who has been out of children’s toy boxes longer than Bo has. Voiced by Ally Maki (Cloak and Dagger), she is the smallest toy in the Toy Story universe, but is fierce and mighty, something some of us short people will deeply relate to (yay for short, fierce women!).

Toy Story 4 hits theaters on June 21, 2019.

 

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