Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3
File:TS3 logo 4.JPG
Directed by	Lee Unkrich
Written by	Michael Arndt
Produced by	Darla K. Anderson John Lasseter
Starring	Tom Hanks Tim Allen
Music by	Randy Newman
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date	2010
Language	English
Budget	TBA

Toy Story 3 is the tenth computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, slated for release in 2010. It will be a sequel to the films Toy Story and Toy Story 2. It is set to be directed by Lee Unkrich and feature the return of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen to the cast.

History

According to the terms of Pixar's original deal with Disney, all characters created by Pixar for their films were owned by Disney. Furthermore, Disney retained the rights to make sequels to any Pixar film, regardless of whether Pixar chose to work on the films or not. However, there had been a gentlemen's agreement between Disney and Pixar that Disney would not go ahead with sequels to films without Pixar's involvement. But in 2004, when the contentious negotiations between the two companies made it look like a split was likely, Disney Chairman Michael Eisner put in motion plans to produce Toy Story 3 at a new Disney studio, Circle 7 Animation. A basic plot was hashed out and pre-production was underway. This turn of events was not greeted with enthusiasm by all, with Pixar regular John Ratzenberger going so far as to say he would not be involved without Pixar. Others, such as Tim Allen, the voice of Buzz Lightyear, indicated a willingness to return even if Pixar was not on board.

All this changed once Eisner stepped down as head of Disney in the Fall of 2005. Negotiations between the two companies resumed and a deal for Disney to purchase Pixar was reached fairly quickly and announced in January 2006. Part of the deal was that John Lasseter and Ed Catmull of Pixar would take over control of Disney Animation. One of Lasseter's first moves was to end production on Toy Story 3 and shut down Circle 7. According to a message posted in a forum at Animation Nation, Lasseter and Pixar President Edwin Catmull "said that sequels should only be made if there is a really great story that demands it, and should be the domain of those who created the original film." An AP article confirmed the news: "One immediate sign of Lasseter's influence is that plans for Disney to make the long rumored sequel Toy Story 3 on its own have been scrapped. If the film is made, it will be done by Lasseter and the other creators of the original film, the companies said."

Reuters, through unnamed sources, later reported that Disney was in the process of transferring the production to Pixar. This news was then confirmed by Disney CEO Robert Iger when Disney announced its 2006 first-quarter earnings in February 2006. In May 2006, Disney announced that the film was in full production. The script is currently being rewritten.

On February 8, 2007, Ed Catmull announced that Toy Story 3 was targeting a 2009 release, and Lee Unkrich, who co-directed Toy Story 2, will be the sole director of the film – John Lasseter is presumably too busy as chief creative officer to direct a film. Michael Arndt, whose screenplay for Little Miss Sunshine won an Oscar, will be penning the script. . Entertainment Weekly corrected the initial reports on February 16, 2007 and confirmed with Lee Unkrich that the film will be released in 2010.

Voice cast

Confirmed

Character	Voice actor
Woody	Tom Hanks
Buzz Lightyear	Tim Allen

Previous plots

Previous promotional poster for Toy Story 3.

The plot for the aborted Circle 7 version of the film focused on a recall of Buzz Lightyear toys, which includes Andy's. This led to a group of toys venturing to Taiwan to rescue Buzz, who has been malfunctioning. As previously indicated, this version has now been scrapped.

There are hints as to what the new plot will be, although they remain unconfirmed. In the bonus material of the first two films' "Ultimate Toy Box" DVD set, Lassetter mentioned that an intended story line for Toy Story 3 was to follow Andy's toys after Andy had grown up and abandoned them. Buzz, Woody and the rest of Andy's old toys would end up in an orphanage at the conclusion of the story, where the constant arrival of new children would mean that they would never be outgrown. This idea originated in an early draft of the original Toy Story, where Tinny (from Tin Toy) and a ventriloquist's dummy are hauled away by a junk man and are left at a preschool.