TV Tuesday: Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014)

 

Toy Story That Time Forgot - 2014

Coming up on this edition of TV Tuesday, we have 2014's "Toy Story That Time Forgot", which sees Buzz, Woody, and the gang head to one of Bonnie's friend's houses for an after-Christmas playdate.

The film's voice cast includes Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Don Rickles, Kristen Schaal, Timothy Dalton, Kevin McKidd, and Emma Hudak.

After Christmas, Bonnie is busy playing with her toys.  She has an active imagination, and she casts her toys as characters that are quite different from what they really are.  Trixie has hopes that one day she'll get to be an actual dinosaur in one of Bonnie's adventures.

It looks like her dreams are about to comet true, until Bonnie chooses some sort of Angel Kitty for the role of dinosaur.  Trixie is relegated to the role of reindeer.  Needless to say, Trixie is very disappointed.

Bonnie is invited on a playdate at her friend Mason's house.  She takes some of her toys with her, including the Angel Kitty, who says little maxims like "Limitations are the shackles we bind to ourselves".

While Bonnie and Mason are occupied with a new video game console, the toys are left in Mason's seemingly deserted playroom.

However, it is not deserted.  The room has been overtaken by Mason's new "battlesaurs", which he got for Christmas.  They have never been played with and don't know they are toys.

The leader of these "battlesaurs" is a guy named Reptillus Maximus.  He takes quite a shine to Trixie and pronounces her very different from the females in his tribe.

We cut to a closeup of one of these tribal females, who lets out a terrifying scream.

The battlesaurs are led by a scary guy known as "The Cleric", who wants to keep a tight rein on his forces.  He kidnaps Woody and Buzz when Trixie is not looking.

Trixie is so excited to finally be playing a dinosaur.  The battlesaurs deck her out in the latest military wear for dinosaurs.

Rex is overjoyed, too.  He gets a pair of fancy new arms, and he ecstatically flexes his new "muscles" for the battlesaurs.

Reptillus takes Trixie to his home and lets her survey the area from that vantage point.  She is dually impressed when the battlesaurs burst into a theme song.

Trixie talks with Reptillus about what it means to be a toy.  However, an alarm sounds before they can finish their conversation.

A terrible battle is waged at an arena, with The Cleric making sure that the other toys in Mason's collection are terrorized as a horrified Trixie watches.

Eventually, Buzz and Woody are brought in to fight against Reptillus.  Trixie tries her best to defend them.

The Cleric has them do battle against a beast known as the "Goliathon".  Buzz and Woody have quite a time trying to evade its jaws.

Bonnie knows that the only way she can save her friends is if she can somehow get Bonnie and Mason away from the video games.  She gives an impassioned speech to Reptillus about the joys of being part of a child's imagination.  He helps her to shut the video gaming system off.

Bonnie and Mason go to the playroom, where everybody has a great time playing together.  Reptillus deems the event "glorious".

After Bonnie and the toys return to their house, Trixie tells everyone that she likes being Bonnie's dinosaur, because that means she can be whatever Bonnie dreams up for her to be.

Cast rundown:

   Tom Hanks...........................................Woody

   Tim Allen..............................................Buzz Lightyear

   Joan Cusack.........................................Jessie

   Wallace Shawn......................................Rex

   Don Rickles..........................................Mr. Potato Head

   Kristen Schaal.......................................Trixie

   Timothy Dalton.....................................Mr. Pricklepants

   Kevin McKidd........................................Reptillus Maximus

   Emma Hudak........................................Angel Kitty

And that's it for Toy Story That Time Forgot.  It was originally conceived as a six-minute short film.  However, producer John Lasseter liked the idea so much that he decided to expand on it and make it into a holiday special.  It took three years to make.

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TV Tuesday: Toy Story Of Terror! (2013)

 

Toy Story Of Terror! - 2013

Coming up next on this edition of TV Tuesday is 2013's "Toy Story Of Terror!", a TV special which sees our favorite Toy Story friends as they endure a night of mayhem at a roadside motel.

The voice cast includes Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Don Rickles, Kristen Schaal, Timothy Dalton, Carl Weathers, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Kate McKinnon.

Bonnie and her mother are on a road trip.  A few of Bonnie's most treasured toys are along for the ride in the trunk.  To keep themselves occupied, they are watching a horror film on a portable DVD player.  Pricklepants is an expert on the horror genre.  Mr. Potato Head can't stand it, so he takes out his ears so he doesn't have to listen.

When a flat tire forces Bonnie's mother to pull into a roadside motel, Pricklepants mentions that it's the most classic locale for a horror film.  None of the other toys want to hear it.  The manager is sufficiently creepy.  "You know, we have a little saying around here," he quips.  "At the Sleep Well Motel, you're gonna sleep...well."

Once the humans are asleep, the toys come out to explore.  But there night of checking out free amenities turns sour when they start disappearing one by one.

Woody, Buzz, and Jessie are left to search for their missing friends.  They have to look in some pretty unsavory places.

Pretty soon it's only Jessie that is left.  She meets up with another lone survivor of the motel, Combat Carl.  "Remember your training!" he urges.  "I don't have any training!" Jessie worries.

Eventually, Jessie is on her own.  We find out that it's the motel manager's pet iguana, Mr. Jones, who is stealing toys on behalf of his owner.

He keeps them under lock and key until he can sell them on eBid (the No. 2 Auction Site).

Ultimately, it's up to Jessie to rescue everybody.  But first she's got to get past Mr. Jones.

Things get a little scary for Jessie.  But she saves the day and alerts Bonnie and her mother to the fact that the other toys are nearby.

Naturally, Bonnie's mother isn't happy at all with the motel manager.  Once the car is fixed, they all get in and resume their road trip.

Cast rundown:

   Tom Hanks..................................Woody

   Tim Allen.....................................Buzz Lightyear

   Joan Cusack................................Jessie

   Wallace Shawn.............................Rex

   Don Rickles.................................Mr. Potato Head

   Kristen Schaal.............................Trixie

   Timothy Dalton............................Mr. Pricklepants

   Carl Weathers..............................Combat Carl

   Stephen Tobolowsky......................Ron

   Kate McKinnon.............................PEZ Cat

And that's it for Toy Story Of Terror!.  Events here take place shortly after Toy Story 3.  This was the first Toy Story film of any kind that did not feature John Ratzenburger as Hamm.  The director explained that Bonnie had limited space for toys in her backpack and "who takes a piggy bank on vacation?"

A mid-credits scene occurs when two police officers arrive to arrest the motel manager for his toy stealing ways.  He makes a run for it and steals their patrol car.  He backs into the motel sign and it flattens the car.  The manager makes a break for it.  One of the officers makes a call on his walkie-talkie that they've got a runner.

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