Oscar flashback: ‘Toy Story 3’ director thanks fans for embracing ‘talking toys’ during Best Animated Feature speech [WATCH]
Nine years ago, “Toy Story 3” became the first (and so far only) sequel to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. In his acceptance speech, director Lee Unkrich thanked audiences for embracing Pixar’s film about “talking toys that hopefully had something very human to say.” The movie beat out “How to Train Your Dragon” and “The Illusionist” in the animated category, but lost Best Picture to “The King’s Speech.” At the time, “Toy Story 3” was thought to be the final chapter in the blockbuster film series about Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and the gang — that is, until “Toy Story 4” was announced four years later. Watch the Oscar flashback video above.
The fourth movie in the “Toy Story” product line was released on June 21 and is now Gold Derby’s front-runner to win Best Animated Feature at the 2020 Academy Awards. As of this writing, 12 Experts, 9 Editors, 18 of our Top 24 Users and 15 of our All-Star Users all think it will prevail on Oscar night, giving it leading 82/25 racetrack odds. Its closest competitors are “Frozen II” (4/1 odds), “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” (5/1 odds), “Abominable” (7/1 odds) and “Missing Link” (10/1 odds).
“Toy Story 4” finds our lovable plastics and plushies traveling with new kid Bonnie on a road trip where Woody, who’s still yearning for his time with original kid Andy, soon comes into contact with a toy from his past: Bo Peep (Annie Potts). When the noble sheriff goes missing at a carnival it’s up to his old friends, including spaceman Buzz Lightyear, deputy Jessie (Joan Cusack), dino Rex (Wallace Shawn) and piggie Hamm (John Ratzenberger), to find Woody before time runs out.
SEE Oscar Best Animated Feature Gallery: Every Winner in Academy Awards History
Of course, it wouldn’t be a “Toy Story” adventure without meeting all kinds of new play-things, with the major stand-outs being the made-from-trash Forky (Tony Hale), 1950s doll Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), Canadian stuntman Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves) and carnival toys Ducky (Keegan-Michael Key) and Bunny (Jordan Peele).
Oscar voters went gaga for the first three “Toy Story” movies (released in 1995, 1999 and 2010), even as the Best Animated Feature category wasn’t created until 2001. The original film won a Special Achievement Oscar and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, Best Score and Best Song (“You’ve Got a Friend in Me”). The sequel earned a bid for Best Song (“When She Loved Me”). The third iteration won Best Animated Feature and Best Song (“We Belong Together”) and scored noms for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound Editing.
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