‘Toy Story 4′: Andy’s Voice Actor John Morris Talks Life After Woody and Buzz – TheWrap

By Shivam Sharma On Jul 3, 2019

Though Woody and Buzz’s original owner, Andy Davis, is mostly missing from “Toy Story 4,” his legacy looms large over the plot of the new Pixar movie. It’s not hard to see why. Even nine years after the release of “Toy Story 3,” Andy’s voice actor, John Morris, says people still bring up that film’s tear-inducing ending where Andy hands off his beloved cowboy to little Bonnie.

“A lot of people tell me ‘Oh my gosh, I just broke down and cried!’” Morris told TheWrap. “I think that ending just taps into a universal milestone of childhood ending and entering adulthood. While recording that scene I went back to how I felt when I left for college and left childhood, and because it became so emotional for me, I think it became emotional for the audience.”

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Now 34, Morris said that memories of standing in Pixar’s recording studio as a boy nearly 25 years ago came to mind as he watched “Toy Story 4” at its Hollywood premiere. While there was much skepticism about whether “Toy Story” needed a fourth installment after such an acclaimed trilogy capper, Morris was impressed by how the latest film explored how Woody’s devotion to Andy and Bonnie is challenged by his discovery of a new world with more kids that need a toy to play with.

“The scene that stuck with me most is where Forky and Woody are walking back to the trailer and Forky asks, ‘Who’s Andy?’ because even though he’s just come into existence even he can tell that Andy is important because of how Woody’s talking about him. And that contrasts well with Harmony and Bonnie and what those kids need growing up. It’s nice seeing that message that there are all kinds of different kids out there.”

While his “Toy Story” days have come to an end, Morris wants to take the passion for voice acting that came with a childhood behind the microphone and instill it in a new generation. He’s currently working on a series of projects, including a one-man play and documentary, that reflect on his time as Andy and exploring the unique challenges and quirks of voice acting.

Also Read: Milton Quon, Disney Animator on ‘Dumbo’ and ‘Fantasia,’ Dies at 105

“I think what I love most about it is that when you just have your voice and no physical set or costume, you have to completely rely on your imagination,” he explained. “I was a lot like Andy, completely imagining new worlds and stories with his toys. Sometimes I would be given some character design to work with, but I didn’t always have that, and I got to just imagine how the scene would go and the animators would build around it.”

And to Morris, one of the most imaginative voice actors he’s ever heard is John Ratzenberger, the “Cheers” star who followed up his decade as Cliff Clavin with a voice career that has made him a Pixar icon. Along with playing Hamm in the “Toy Story” series, he’s also had a role in many other Pixar films that have been made, a consistency that was lampooned in “Cars” when his talking truck character, Mack, watched car-infused spoofs of all the roles Ratzenberger had played through time.

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“I think it’s so impressive that he’s been able to show such an incredible range with Pixar over the years,” Morris said. “And another person I really love is Nancy Cartwright, who plays Bart Simpson. It’s always something I love when an actor plays someone who is a different age and gender than you.”

Such a profound difference between character and actor can knock a lot of fans for a loop, something that Morris often experiences with kids who do a double take when he tells them he played the kid in “Toy Story.” But with his new project, Morris hopes he can demystify voice acting for kids and show them a little bit about how their favorite animated TV shows and movies are made.

“They always see the final product, but not a lot of kids and families see the process,” he said. “I’m hoping I can bring that process and the medium to the stage through my personal experiences growing up as Andy.”

4th Franchise Movies Ranked From Worst to Best, Including ‘Toy Story 4’ (Photos)

Not many franchises make it four entries, but this month has seen not one but two reach the milestone with “Toy Story 4” and “Men in Black: International.” Where do they rank among other fourth installments? With another 4th of July holiday coming up, we’re counting down the worst and best “fourth” films in their franchises.
33. “Jaws IV: The Revenge” (1987)

“I have never seen it (‘Jaws 4’) but by all accounts it is terrible,” star Michael Caine said about the movie. “However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.”

Universal
32. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)

Thank the heavens that “Logan” and “Deadpool” happened.

20th Century Fox
31. “Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol” (1987)

Did you know the Razzies had a “Worst Original Song” category? The one from this film was Brian Wilson’s “Let’s Go to Heaven in My Car.”

Wikimedia Commons
30. “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master” (1988)

This sequel is easily confused with the third, far superior film, “Dream Warriors.”

New Line Cineams
29. “Superman IV: The Quest For Peace” (1987)

“Uh, No pain, no gain?” is our kryptonite.

Warner Bros.
28. “Batman & Robin” (1997)

Not to sound cold, but between bat nipples, Mr. Freeze’s puns, and that whole Poison Ivy-Bane thing, they should’ve put this movie… on ice.

Warner Bros.
27. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008)

This is the movie that got “Jump the Shark” replaced with “Nuke the Fridge.”

Paramount
26. “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” (1984)

“The Final Chapter.” That’s hilarious.

Paramount
25. “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers” (1988)

Skip this and watch the excellent 2018 sequel instead.

Fox
24. “Sudden Impact” (1983)

This movie is, uh, not great. No, not even “Go ahead, make my day.”

Warner Bros.
23. “Transformers: Age of Extinction” (2014)

This is the “Transformers” movie with dinosaurs/dinofours.

Paramount
22. “Alien Resurrection” (1997)

It’s probably aged better than a lot of the other fourth films, but “Resurrection” suffers from a thin plot and an obvious attempt to keep a franchise alive.

20th Century Fox
Warner Bros.
20. “Vegas Vacation” (1997)

Why would we watch “Vegas Vacation” when “Christmas” and the original exist?

Warner Bros.
19. “Shrek Forever After” (2010)

It’s “Shrek FORever After.” Like “FOURever.” Get it? GET IT?

Dreamworks
18. “Saw IV” (2007)

Might as well have been “Saw IV: The Final Chapter.”

Lionsgate
17. “Live Free or Die Hard” (2007)

A PG-13 John McClane film with boring, blood-free action was bad, but the real cardinal sin was censoring the f-word out of McClane’s iconic catch phrase. That really happened! Yippie-ki-boooo.

20th Century Fox
16. “Bourne Legacy” (2012)

Remember when Jeremy Renner starred in a Bourne film? No? Then I guess you can’t tell us where they keep the chems.

Universal Pictures
15. “Lethal Weapon IV” (1998)

Fun yes, and Jet Li is awesome. But, by this point, the franchise was getting too old for this sh–.
14. “Bride of Chucky” (1998)

One of Jennifer Tilly’s best roles, without a doubt.

Universal Pictures
13. Men in Black International (2019)

The soft-reboot starring Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth basically James-Bonds the franchise. The film is actually delightful, if also kinda forgettable. (No, that’s not a neuralizer joke.)
12. “Thunderball” (1965)

But what if James Bond went underwater?

Eon Productions
11. “Scream 4” (2011)

It’s easily a cash grab, but it’s one of the most fun horror movies to come out in recent years and is way better than it has any right to be.

Dimension Films
10. “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” (2011)

We thought we’d get bored of watching Tom Cruise jump out of things. We were wrong.

Paramount
9. “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” (1972)

The chilling, highly topical final speech by Roddy McDowell’s Caesar alone qualifies this underrated gem for cinematic immortality. Especially the unrated version.

20th Century Fox
8. “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” (1986)

They made us really care about those whales in this fish out of water sci-fi.

YouTube
7. “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005)

The third and last films in the franchise are probably the best in terms of quality and how successfully it adapted the source material… but “Goblet of Fire” killed off Robert Pattinson and broke our hearts.

Universal Pictures
6. “The First Purge” (2008)

The series went prequel to show how the “murder is legal once a year” dystopia came to be, but that doesn’t mean it was out of ideas.

Come for the extremely unambiguous politics, stay for the franchise’s hands-down best action scenes.

A nation reborn!
5. “Fast & Furious” (2009)

You have this film to thank for turning a disjointed (but still awesome) series of car-based action films into what is arguably a superhero franchise. NOT a complaint. (Also, as always, R.I.P. Paul Walker.)

Warner Bros.
4. “Rocky IV” (1985)

Say what you will, but more than 30 years later, Rocky vs. the Russians might be the most quintessentially ’80s concept ever put to film, and it hasn’t been topped since.

MGM
3. “Toy Story 4” (2019)

We’ll let TheWrap’s review speak for itself:

“There’s adventure and growth and the subtlest brands of messaging and metaphors that current family films can offer… ‘Toy Story 4’ is, in its way, as much of a game-changer as ‘Avengers: Endgame.'”
2. “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” (1977)

Technically, this is the first “Star Wars” movie made, so it can’t possibly be number one on our “fourth movies” list. But because George Lucas gave us a sequential order that we have to stick by, it gets the number 2 spot.

Lucasfilm
1. “Mad Max Fury Road” (2015)

George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” managed to reboot a dead franchise, making it explosively modern and fresh, and it stands as one of the best action movies of the 21st Century. It lives. It dies. It lives again. Shiny and chrome.

Warner Bros.

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From “Men in Black: International” to “Mad Max: Fury Road,” we celebrate the best (and worst) fourth installments

Not many franchises make it four entries, but this month has seen not one but two reach the milestone with “Toy Story 4” and “Men in Black: International.” Where do they rank among other fourth installments? With another 4th of July holiday coming up, we’re counting down the worst and best “fourth” films in their franchises.

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