Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger recently surprised everyone with a significant announcement about the slate of upcoming Disney movies, which includes three forthcoming sequels to fan-favorite franchises. According to the head honcho, the House of Mouse is developing three new follow-ups to beloved properties Frozen, Zootopia and Toy Story. While the exciting news was met with positivity by some fans, I’m honestly shocked at so many people’s negative thoughts about the greenlighting of Toy Story 5.
The exec made the exciting sequel announcements during the company’s quarterly earnings call. As news broke of a forthcoming fifth movie in the beloved sentient child playthings franchise, those less than thrilled took to Twitter to make themselves heard. One user named was all game for Zootopia 2 and Frozen 3 but was not up for Toy Story 5:
Zootopia 2: Sure why not there's plenty more stories to tell in this universeFrozen 3: Surprisingly I don't mind this idea. If they take their time instead of rushing it out like 2, there's a lot of potential. I just won't look forward to itToy Story 5: Absolutely fucking not https://t.co/BqPHL7ZjOvFebruary 9, 2023
Another person on the social media platform agreed. They opined that the gang of toys had already been put through enough and that a fifth outing was less than called for:
There does not need to be a Toy Story 5. Them toys have been through ENOUGH!! pic.twitter.com/C6kevbcwfaFebruary 9, 2023
Another account made a pretty good argument for the series ending with the third film, though. The commentator says that Toy Story 3 had the "perfect ending" and was the high note the franchise should have gone out on:
Kinda wish they weren't making a Toy Story 5They should've ended the franchise after Toy Story 3, it had the perfect ending 🥺pic.twitter.com/KavvGgaRJXFebruary 9, 2023
However, someone else pointed out the double standard held by some animation fans. When DreamWorks announced a fifth installment to Shrek, the Internet seemed all about it, but when it comes to another installment in Pixar's franchise, they’re not having it:
DreamWorks Animation: We’re making Shrek 5!Twitter: LET’S FUCKING GO!Pixar: We’re making Toy Story 5!Twitter: NO! pic.twitter.com/PWHnbEcHdNFebruary 9, 2023
Internet personality Thomas Sanders said what we are all possibly thinking: how many endings for the Toys characters can our hearts take? I don’t know if any of us are up for another emotional goodbye like we saw in the last two installments:
There is going to be a Toy Story 5, I don't know how many endings to these toys I can emotionally handle.February 8, 2023
A fifth movie might seem unnecessary to some, but that was a similar sentiment shared upon the announcement of the fourth movie. And ultimately, Toy Story 4 was a box office hit. Not only that, but the Pixar flick was critically lauded, particularly for a story that, while maybe some moviegoers didn’t think they needed, was worth telling and a worthy successor to previous installments. So perhaps the internet’s opinion will change whenever they finally see the next flick in the series.
No plot details are currently known about the upcoming flick. But even though we've already seen a send-off for Woody and Buzz twice, it would appear that the very least, Tim Allen will return to voice Lightyear. Of course, the series has introduced a plethora of new characters and could explore their adventures as well but, for the moment, all we can do is speculate.
Where do you fall on the discussion of Toy Story 5? Are you excited, or do you think it’s an extraneous sequel? We'll have to wait and see how the movie shakes out and whether or not it’s a worthy follow-up to the series. Until then, maybe it’s time to give the first four movies a rewatch. All you need is a Disney+ subscription to do so.
