Monster Success Doesn't Guarantee “Toy Story 4”

After "Toy Story 3" made $109 million in its opening weekend, it's time to start sifting through the conflicting messages about whether we'll see yet another full edition of the monster Pixar franchise.

Director Lee Unkrich seemed pretty intent on not doing "Toy Story 4," but left plenty of loopholes. It's unlikely he'll ever say never.

"I wanted to end this," Unkrich said at the film's press day. "In my mind this film is the conclusion of Woody and Buzz and the rest of the toys with their relationship with Andy. I feel like we've ended it nicely."

That said, the toys will live on in other projects. Pixar is already working on a short film with the characters. And both Unkrich's words and the film's ending leave the possibility of another chapter.

"People want these characters and love them," said Unkrich. "There will be more of them in the world."

"Whether there's another 'Toy Story,' I have no idea," he added, when pressed.

The folks at Pixar are meticulous about their quality control and don't dilute the brand name in search of the quick extra buck. But they measure the possibilities of a new chapter if the new story passes an intense sniff test. Unkrich said there was even internal resistance to making a "Toy Story 2" after the movie-altering first "Toy Story"

"After we made the first, we had no interest in making a sequel," he said. "We just want to tell an original story."

But if that great story comes in the form of a sequel, as it did then, it's hard to say no. And Pixar has never shown stretch marks on its stories.

"It had nothing to do with an audience wanting a sequel then," Unkrich said of the first. "If you've done your job on the movie they are always going to want to see a sequel. It means they want more of what they love."

"The only reason we did was because we came up with a storyline that we liked.

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