Toy Story 4 Ever is an upcoming American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the fifth installment in Pixar's Toy Story series and the sequel to Toy Story 4 (2019). It was directed by Bradley Raymond, and written by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, Jim Herzfeld, Bob Hilgenberg, Rob Muir, Andrew Stanton, and Josh Cooley and Angus MacLane, directors of Toy Story 4 and Lightyear, respectively.
In the film's ensemble voice cast, several actors reprise their roles from previous films and media, including Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Annie Potts, Joan Cusack, Tony Hale, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, Blake Clark, Don Rickles (via archival recordings), Estelle Harris (in her final film role before her death), Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Pat Fraley, Ned Beatty, Corey Burton, Kelsey Grammer, Mike MacRae, Timothy Dalton, Bonnie Hunt, Kristen Schaal, Jeff Garlin, Keanu Reeves, Patrick Warburton, Dale Soules, Taika Waititi, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Teddy Newton, Uzo Aduba, Isiah Whitlock Jr., James Brolin, and Chris Evans.
Toy Story 4 Ever is scheduled to be released direct-to-streaming on Disney+. Like its predecessors, the film received critical acclaim, with praise for its animation, screenplay, musical score, and the vocal performances (particularly Allen, Hanks, and Evans).
Synopsis[]
Set sometime after the events of Toy Story 4, Bonnie's toys ship a malfunctioning Buzz to the factory in Taiwan where he was built, only to discover that many more Buzz Lightyear toys are malfunctioning around the world and the company has issued a massive recall.
Voice cast[]
- Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear
- Tom Hanks as Woody
- Annie Potts as Bo Peep
- Joan Cusack as Jessie
- Tony Hale as Forky
- James Brolin as Buzz Lightyear / Emperor Zurg
- Chris Evans as Ultra Buzz Lightyear
- Keke Palmer as Izzy Hawthorne
- Dale Soules as Darby Steel
- Taika Waititi as Mo Morrison
- Peter Sohn as Sox
- Uzo Aduba as Alisha Hawthorne
- Pat Fraley as Cyber-Sonic Buzz Lightyear
- Corey Burton as Battle Scar Buzz Lightyear
- Mike MacRae as Sky Runner Buzz Lightyear
- Patrick Warburton as Evil Buzz Lightyear
- Teddy Newton as Mini Buzz Lightyear
- Wallace Shawn as Rex
- John Ratzenberger as Hamm
- Blake Clark as Slinky Dog
- Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head
- Estelle Harris as Mrs. Potato Head
- Jeff Pidgeon as Little Green Men
- Frank Welker as Bullseye
- Timothy Dalton as Mr. Pricklepants
- Bonnie Hunt as Dolly
- Jeff Garlin as Buttercup
- Kristen Schaal as Trixie
- Keegan-Michael Key as Ducky
- Jordan Peele as Bunny
- Keanu Reeves as Duke Caboom
- Carl Weathers as Combat Carl
- Ryan Gosling as Ken
- Margot Robbie as Barbie
- Ned Beatty as Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear
- Kelsey Grammer as Stinky Pete
- Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Commander Burnside
- Madeleine McGraw as Bonnie
- John Morris as Andy Davis
- R. Lee Ermey as Sargent
- Jerome Ranft as Wheezy
- Laurie Metcalf as Mrs. Davis
- Lori Alan as Bonnie's mother
- Ally Maki as Giggle McDimples
- Jane Lynch as Neptuna
- Diedrich Bader as Transitron
- Kevin McKidd as Reptillus Maximus
- Emily Hahn as Angel Kitty
- Jay Hernandez as Bonnie's father
- Jack McGraw as Mason
Production[]
Development[]
In February 2019, Tim Allen expressed interest in doing another film as he "did not see any reason why they would not do it". That May, producer Mark Nielsen confirmed that after Toy Story 4, Pixar would return its focus to making original films instead of sequels for a while. On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Tom Hanks said that Toy Story 4 would be the final installment in the franchise, but Nielsen disclosed a possibility of a fifth film, as Pixar was not ruling out that possibility.
Casting[]
Chris Evans voices Ultra Buzz Lightyear after playing the Lightyear incarnation of the character.
In July 2022, Allen and Hanks were confirmed to reprise their roles of Buzz Lightyear and Woody respectively, alongside Annie Potts as Bo Peep, Joan Cusack as Jessie, Tony Hale as Forky, and Chris Evans returning from the spin-off film, Lightyear, to voice Utility Belt Buzz, a duplicate of Buzz introduced in Toy Story 2.
Also in July, Disney released information about the other voice talent, including James Brolin, Wallace Shawn, Blake Clark, John Ratzenberger, Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi, Peter Sohn, Dale Soules, Uzo Aduba, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Keanu Reeves, Kelsey Grammer, Jodi Benson, and Michael Keaton. Archival recordings of Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, Ned Beatty, and R. Lee Ermey were used for their portrayals of Mr. Potato Head, Mrs. Potato Head, Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear, and Sargent.
In May 2023, Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie were added as the voices of Ken and Barbie, replacing potential appearances by Keaton and Benson.
Writing[]
The screenplay of Toy Story 4 Ever was inspired by Circle Seven Animation's original script of Toy Story 3, displaying the storyline of the recalled Buzz Lightyears. THX's mascot, Tex, was added in a cameo appearance; Tex originally appeared in some THX trailers shown on the DVDs for Toy Story and Toy Story 2.
Music[]
Randy Newman, who composed music for the Toy Story tetralogy, returned to score for Toy Story 4 Ever. Michael Giacchino also contributed music to the score, reprising his orchestral themes from Lightyear.
Release[]
Toy Story 4 Ever will be released direct-to-streaming on Disney+ in late 2022.
Reception[]
Critical response[]
Toy Story 4 Ever has an approval rating of 100% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 9.5/10. Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assigned Toy Story 4 Ever a score of 100 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".