'Toy Story 4' Rounds Up Comedy Legends Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Betty White, And Carol Burnett As Forgotten Toys
Pixar has always been able to lure in impressive casts for its films, and now the studio has roped a classic comedy foursome into its Toy Story 4 cast. Legendary comedians Betty White, Carol Burnett, Carl Reiner, and Mel Brooks have been added to the mix of toys and given pun-tastic character names to boot.
USA Today brings this news that will bring a smile to your parents' faces, even if you may not be quite as familiar with these comedians' bodies of work. This group of actors portrays a selection of toys in Bonnie's closest – baby toys she's long forgotten about. Burnett plays a chair named "Chairol Burnett," Brooks plays an elephant called "Melephant Brooks," White plays a tiger named "Bitey White," and Reiner plays a rhino named "Carl Reineroceros." As far as I know, this is the first time Toy Story characters have been named so blatantly for the actors portraying them, but I imagine these characters will only have a couple of lines in the film at most.
Toy Story 4 begins with Woody and his pals living with Bonnie, and Woody has to come to grips with the fact that he's no longer the favorite toy in the bunch. Pretty soon, he finds these discarded toys in a closet. According to director Josh Cooley:
"They've done their job and are just kind of waiting around for what happens next. And now that Woody's in there, they're accepting him into their circle and he's already pushing against that...Sometimes toys fall in and out of favor. I look at my own kid and stuff that was the favorite toy yesterday is now in the closet. We wanted to show that Woody's new life in this bedroom is not exactly what he thought it was going to be."
For those who are still scratching their heads about who these actors are, here's an incredibly brief (and woefully incomplete) reminder:
Burnett, who was the first woman to host a major variety/sketch series on network television with The Carol Burnett Show, was just honored at this year's Golden Globes ceremony with a loving video tribute. Betty White is an actor/producer with a show business career that's spanned 80 years, appearing in shows like The Golden Girls and Community. Carl Reiner acted in the Ocean's trilogy and directed several movies, including the Steve Martin comedy The Jerk. Brooks is an actor/director best known for films like Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and The Producers. If you don't know these people and their work, please consider seeking out some of their most acclaimed stuff and discovering on your own why every last one of them is a beloved comedy icon.
It's a shame the late Don Rickles, Brooks' good friend who voiced Mr. Potato Head in the first three Toy Story films, isn't around to join his contemporaries on a press tour, because they would have had a blast dunking on each other at every conceivable opportunity (all in good fun, of course). But even though Rickles died in 2017, Cooley previously confirmed that the actor's voice will be used to bring Mr. Potato Head to life once again in this sequel.
Toy Story 4 arrives in theaters on June 21, 2019.