Toy Story 3 Generating Lots of Nostalgia, Buzz (and Not Just the Lightyear Kind)

Sequels to big Hollywood Blockbusters tend to arrive in theaters within a few years of the original. It is extremely rare, therefore, for a film franchise to continue more than a decade later, but that's exactly what happened with "Toy Story 3." Eleven years after "Toy Story 2," Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Hamm and the rest of the toybox gang finally are returning to theaters on June 18.

"Toy Story 2" closes on a note of finality

Director Lee Unkrich, producer Darla K. Anderson and members of the "Toy Story 3" voice cast talked with Associated Content and other members of the press at WonderCon 2010 in San Francisco. Unkrich said that right at the beginning, one of the biggest challenges they faced was that "Toy Story 2" ended on such a note of finality.

"The toys knew that Andy was going to grow up someday, but they had made their peace with that. They knew that was going to happen, and they were just going to enjoy the time they had left," Unkrich said. "The film closes with a sense of finality and that everything's okay."

Unkrich said, however, that they we weren't sure how to continue the story after that. He realized, though, that it's one thing to know the inevitable is going to happen, but another thing to actually reach the end. "We thought that would be a juicy place to start the story-to have the toys right at that crux, having to deal with the inevitability that they might be thrown away, they might be put in the attic," he said.

Nostalgia is supercharging the "Buzz" around "Toy Story 3"

In "Toy Story 3," the toys just aren't ready for that final inevitability. As Andy, their beloved owner, leaves for college, his childhood playthings end up at a Day Care Center in some very sticky fingers. Instead of quietly accepting their fate, Woody, Buzz and the toys plan their escape.

Thanks to the time lapse between sequels, Unkrich said they had a very interesting thing happen. "People who were little kids when 'Toy Story' first came out have now grown up. The youngest of them are now about to graduate from high school and some of the older kids have gone through college, or are just finishing college or even starting their own families," Unkrich said.

"The fact that we set this story when we have, with Andy grown-up, we are finding the interest in the film to be super-charged because there's this huge nostalgia factor for all the kids who grew up on the first two films," he said. "On top of that, these characters are perennial--they are like Winnie-the-Pooh. All the kids know who Woody and Buzz are, and we have generation after generation of kids born who get introduced to these characters. We are looking forward to sharing this with a wide, appreciative audience."

John Ratzenberger is truly the voice of Pixar

Baby boomers know John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin, the know-it-all on "Cheers" who proudly wears his U.S. Postal colors everywhere he goes. As Cheers entered rerun heaven after the series finale, Ratzenberger found a new home at Pixar, the animation studio that continues to set the standard for computer-animated features.

Ratzenberger reprises his role as Hamm the Piggybank in "Toy Story 3," but in the years between sequels, he also has provided voices for other memorable Pixar characters, including the notorious Underminer in "The Incredibles." When asked if Pixar could survive without Ratzenberger, the panel answered with a resounding "No!" "I also do a lot of light gardening and carpentry work for them, too. I don't do the big trees," Ratzenberger said with a grin.

"Toy Story 3," rated G, opens nationwide on Friday, June 18. "Toy Story 3" also will be shown in Disney Digital 3-D in select theaters.