Filmmakers become attached to their work, especially when it runs over the course of many years or even decades in some cases.
One great example of this recently was how all of the “Game of Thrones” actors and crew claimed they had become family over the near-decade long venture of making eight seasons together. It happens particularly in the television world but even in the film franchises like Marvel’s “Avengers” and “Toy Story” experience a similar camaraderie and attachment to the characters they have to eventually say goodbye to.
And Tom Hanks just recalled a rather sad story about parting ways with his iconic Woody in “Toy Story 4.”
Tom Hanks is often referred to as America’s Dad and it’s even more appropriate he’ll play Mr. Rogers in the upcoming “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” later this year.
Hanks has played some iconic characters in his filmography like the titular character in “Forrest Gump,” Jim Lovell in “Apollo 13,” Jimmy Dugan in “A League of Their Own,” Chuck Noland in “Cast Away” and Michael Sullivan in “Road to Perdition.”
But his most iconic character might just surprisingly be playing Woody in the “Toy Story “ franchise – four installments over just a shade under twenty-five years.
Sure, it’s nowhere near at the top of the list of his best performances – he won back-to-back Academy Awards for Best Actor in “Forrest Gump” and “Philadelphia” – but animated children movies reign supreme in Hollywood.
And it’s clear Hanks has built an attachment, an affection, for the beloved Woody character dating back to the first time he played him in 1995.
Hanks is doing the rounds, press junkets and talk shows, promoting “Toy Story 4” and when he appeared on Britain’s “The Graham Norton Show,” the show’s host (Norton) asked him point blank, “This is the last one, so what’s that like? Is it emotional or is it just like another day at the office?”
The “Da Vinci Code” star said, “It was terrible, it was terrible. I started recording Woody in 1991, that’s when we got together to do the first one.”
That shouldn’t be surprising that it sometimes takes four years for animated movies to finally hit theaters when you consider the incredible level of graphics and detail that goes into making these movies. And the “Toy Story” franchise has always been on the cutting edge of animation. Pixar is known to be the best in the business.
Hanks added, “You record these things over about four years, and the last session — I thought it would just be odds and ends — but I was in the same studio with the same microphone, and [at the end] they said ‘OK, great, thanks.’ And just like that, 20 however many years were over.”
But Tom Hanks wasn’t ready to let go in that particular moment.
He chimed in, “No, no, I gotta say, ‘Lookout, Buzz or some line?’ and they said, ‘Nope, you’re done,’ My lip started quivering. You ever do this, when you’re so uncomfortable all you can say is, ‘Well, oh, my my. Oh my, my my my my. Oh, well.’ And the only thing to do was to go and get in my car and drive away.”
The legendary actor concluded the solemn moment by saying, “I heard the music and the sun was going down, the credits were rolling on my life, everything was done.”
Maybe that’s a tad overdramatic but he’s been the voice of animation’s most iconic character since maybe Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny. Anybody would get emotional in that moment.
Pixar hasn’t officially announced this will be the last installment of the franchise but the ending doesn’t leave a whole lot of room open for more movies – definitely not impossible, but it was the perfect way to wrap up four great movies in a row.