Fifteen years have passed since the release of the original animated film that showed what toys get up to when their owners aren’t looking and what animation fantasias can be conjured up by computers.
It’s been more than a decade since Toy Story 2, which was initially intended for video release only and ultimately was a bigger hit than the first film.
It looks as if Toy Story 3 will be worth the wait - experts believe it could be the biggest hit of 2010.
Tom Hanks (Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear) and most of the other voices who helped create the Toy Story phenomenon are back. The star-studded cast includes interesting new characters and star voices.
Disney’s Pixar team, which worked on Toy Story 3 for more than four years, came up with new 3D innovations to improve computer animation, which they pioneered.
Everything is more breathtaking than before judging by the trailers released by the Toy Story marketing giant, which is releasing new action figures, clothes, books, comic strips and video games this month.
Several new characters are introduced in Toy Story 3. Apart from Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear, also called Lotsa (voice of Ned Beatty), who shows Andy’s toys around the daycare centre, there’s dandy Ken (Barbie’s boyfriend, voiced by Michael Keaton), Mr Pricklepants, a melodramatic hedgehog (Timothy Dalton of 007 fame), the octopus Stretch (Whoopi Goldberg), the unicorn Buttercup (Jeff Garlin), Chuckles the Clown (Bud Lucky) and “Lifer” (Teddy Newton), a toy telephone that has spent all his life in a toy box.
Thanks to an unusual South African deal with Disney, in the local version Lifer will speak with Jeremy Mansfield’s voice. “It’s really exciting. I’m a great fan of Disney-Pixar,” the radio personality says.
In Toy Story 3 Andy is 17 and on his way to college. The toys are uncertain about their future and after a misunderstanding about whether he wants to keep them they end up in a donation box headed for the Sunnyside Daycare Centre.
Toy Story amazed the movie world when it beat Batman Forever and Apollo 13 to become 1995’s biggest box-office hit. The second movie proved even more popular. Disney has earned more than R60 billion from the Toy Story goodies.