Tom Hanks on legacy of Woody and Pixar’s Toy Story films

There’s a lot to love about Pixar’s Toy Story 4, but top of our list is the reunion of Woody with Bo Peep. What Peep was doing during her unexplained absence in Toy Story 3 becomes the catalyst for a whole new adventure as a toy for Woody. Tom Hanks, who provides the voice of Sheriff Woody, and is generally acknowledged as the nicest guy in Hollywood, was on hand at the Press Junket for Toy Story 4 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and we’ve collected his answers in the video below.

It’s all true. Hanks was very nice to everyone assembled, even when he felt a bit too ‘handled’ by Disney’s voracious movie synergy team. The result was a unique insight into his affinity for Woody and the Pixar films and how he feels about his and Woody’s legacy at Disney.

Note: If you’ve not yet seen the film, there are some mild spoilers below

Hanks answered a range of questions covering his 25 year partnership with Pixar. There were many touching moments, but perhaps the most touching was when he talked about that moment in the recording studio where he realized he was likely reading his last ever lines as Woody in the Toy Story films.

Q&A with Tom Hanks at Pixar Toy Story 4 press junket

Normally voice actors go into the both to record the lines with just the director and producer, but on Toy Story 4, Pixar’s producers made the decision to put Tom Hanks and Annie Potts together in the studio for the scenes they’re together in. I think you can feel the extra chemistry that resulted on screen.

You can also see it in this brief clip where Hanks is talking about what a pleasure it is to work with the great Annie Potts.

We’ve been to a couple movie press junkets over the years and for the most part it’s a business relationship. The actors give you a juicy bit or two in exchange for your promotion of the film. With the Toy Story 4 group, it felt more like a community that shared a common love of Pixar’s great Toy Story films. It also didn’t hurt that Tom Hanks is always the nicest guy in the room.