Toy Story 5

Summary

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Blank Check with Griffin & David

Episode: Toy Story 5

Release Date: August 2, 2026
Hosts: Griffin Newman, David Sims
Guests/Panel: Ben Hosley, Dana, Marie, Eiko

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Overview

In this special episode, Griffin, David, Ben, Dana, Marie, and Eiko convene to discuss the much-anticipated Toy Story 5—the newest entry in Pixar’s beloved franchise. The hosts break down the film’s unique position as a fifth sequel under new director Andrew Stanton, unpack its approach to contemporary themes like technology and childhood, and share their personal reactions alongside a flurry of signature Blank Check bits, tangents, and playful debate.

The episode is both a celebration and a deep dive, emphasizing Toy Story 5’s balancing act: nostalgic magic and emotional intelligence, but with a modern twist—examining connection, play, tech, and legacy.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Toy Story 5's Place in Franchise History (00:45–04:00, 19:46–22:31)

• Consistency and "Franchise Championships":
  • Griffin opens with the idea that Toy Story may be the greatest five-film run in Hollywood franchises.
  • "Toy Story won the movie franchise championship and only five entries." (Griffin, 01:03)
  • David and Ben debate comparable runs (e.g., Mission: Impossible series) and the challenge in measuring sustained quality.
• Creative Control & Authorship:
  • The unusual choice: Andrew Stanton directs Toy Story 5 after co-writing previous entries but not helming the originals.
  • “Andrew Stanton, which is a fascinating case of a fifth film in a franchise directed by someone who's directed none of the previous, but has quietly kind of been the author of this whole franchise.” (Griffin, 19:46)
• The Franchise’s Evolution:
  • David and Griffin reflect on the thematic expansion across each film, negotiating endings, and the franchise’s resistance to finality.

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2. Personal Connections, Toy Merch, and Toy Culture (03:01–11:10)

• Griffin's Toy Story Fandom:
  • “How many pieces of Toy Story apparel are you wearing right now?” (Ben, 03:01)
  • “Currently three. I buzz like your shoes. I got the Adidas before they sold out.” (Griffin, 03:05)
• Collectibles and Social Media Bit:
  • Griffin describes his various Toy Story-themed gadgets, including a Lilly Pad iPad case and Snappy, a camera-shaped toy from the new film.
• The Internet’s Toy Story Fandom:
  • Surreal Reddit discourse escalates into debates over which human child in the franchise “deserves” adoration—Andy vs. Bonnie—reflecting the intense personal connections fans bring to the series.
  • “People...on the Toy Story Reddit recently and deranged place. It's a really, it's a really sad place.” (Griffin, 16:44)

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3. Themes & Social Commentary: Tech, Parenting, and Play (06:11–07:06, 12:22–15:15, 23:32–35:10, 41:36–54:56)

• Modern Childhood & Tech Anxiety:
  • The Lily Pad (a tablet for kids) symbolizes the creeping force of technology in play and socialization.
  • “She says illegal for 8 and a half year olds to text.” (Ben, 06:11)
  • “Do you have any ideas for five?... How do they react to tech? And what if there was an island of 50 buzz lightyears?” (Griffin on Stanton’s writing process, 42:52)
• Parental Worries (On and Off Screen):
  • Ben and David, as parents, discuss the challenge of moderating tech and screen time, both with comic anxiety and real concern.
  • "My daughter watches TV on an iPad. She doesn't really know how to use the iPad..." (David, 29:26)
• Nuanced Take on Technology:
  • Toy Story 5’s message is less anti-tech, more about seeking balance and recognizing the inevitability of change, with nods to generational adaptation and the limitations of tech as a replacement for real play.
  • “You're not beating tech. It's here to stay. There are good that can come from it.” (Griffin, 45:29)
  • “I was happy this movie...did not just charge at this as like, well, tech's evil and kids should never.” (David, 46:28)
• Changes in Play & Social Life:
  • The group discusses how kids both in the film and real life are maturing faster and letting go of toys sooner, re-framing Toy Story as a generational story.

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4. The Film Critique: Structure, Plot, and New Ideas (41:36–50:21, 66:01–70:00, 118:14–122:12)

• Film Structure and Stakes:
  • Toy Story 5 introduces a new kind of tech villain (Lily Pad) and swarms of Wi-Fi-enabled Buzz Lightyears, paralleling contemporary childhood’s digital onslaught.
  • "It opens with a desert island...a cargo ship that's turned over. The beach is littered with Buzz Lightyears, and they all start to turn on and activate." (Griffin, 66:04)
• Character Focus:
  • Jesse is the protagonist, leading Bonnie's toys, dealing with obsolescence, and wrestling with personal legacy.
  • “I think what Jesse is working through...is more of a breakup thing...That's what the tree moment is about for me.” (Griffin, 84:56)
• New Minor Characters and Tech Toys:
  • Introduction of supporting tech toy characters: Smarty Pants (Conan O'Brien), Snappy, and Atlas.
  • Use of these characters reflects changes in what kids play with and how they connect.
• Visual Innovations & Animation:
  • The team praises Stanton's attention to virtual cinematography, handheld camera mimicry, and vibrant environments.
  • “...the camera struggling to keep the characters in frame. Like, the camera sort of like moves quickly to readjust as if the performance is planned.” (Griffin, 120:19)

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5. Metaphor, Existentialism, and “Mapping” of Themes (51:45–55:12)

• The group digs into how each Toy Story film reinterprets its core metaphor:
  • 1: About being a child
  • 2: About being a parent
  • 3: About religion (reckoning with “a God who has abandoned you”)
  • 4: Retirement; autonomy
  • 5: The meaning and impact of connection as technology becomes omnipresent
• Inside Out Comparisons:
  • Contrasts Inside Out 2’s more literal take on anxiety and adolescence with Toy Story 5’s subtler blend of humor and existentialism.
  • “I think the problem that Toy Story franchise is always fighting against is that two...reaches such a satisfying dramatic point...that we all have to accept that.” (Griffin, 49:31)

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6. Humor, Tangents & Notable Bits (Throughout; samples below)

• Ben Hosley’s Legendary Tweets: Recurring cold readings punctuate the episode, e.g.:
  • “I've been to Little Italy. It's small.” (Ben’s 2015 tweet, 128:53)
• Samurai Woody & Japanese Translation Segment (57:39–64:54):
  • Eiko and her tutor dissect the dialogue from a Japanese Samurai Woody toy, revealing a mixture of literal translations and unintended humor ("He said: 'You used a dirty hand.'").
  • “Don't seem to be in character for Woody and frankly, don't make a lot of sense. Seem to mostly be scolding children for playing with a toy improperly.” (Eiko, 63:09)
• Bad Bunny, Pizza, and Food Bits:
  • Toy Story 5 tie-in meals prompt enthusiasm over “Space Ranger Rooney” pizza and the ongoing joke about Rootin Tootin Ranch (36:42–37:53).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Consistency & Franchise Legacy:

• "Is there a more consistent 5 movie run?" (Griffin, 01:36)
• "Toy Story won the movie franchise championship and only five entries." (Griffin, 01:03)

On Tech and Play:

• “She says illegal for 8 and a half year olds to text.” (Ben, 06:11)
• “You're not beating tech. It's here to stay.” (Griffin, 45:29)
• “Now, I want to clarify. There are two main Lily Pad toys. There's this, which is just an iPad case that you put your own tablet into... The other one is like a super nerf. Down dumb like. Learn your ABC's LED tablet." (Griffin, 04:20)

On Screen Time & Parenting:

• “Screen time is really something that, like, terrifies me, is like, same. I'm like, do I become Ted Kaczynski the minute I have children in the woods?” (Ben, 32:16)
• "Parental controls..." (David, 46:48)

On Toy Story Fandom & Reddit Discourse:

• "What the hell is wrong with people?" (David, on Reddit users calling Bonnie a C-word, 16:32)
• “Andy is a cuck loser and Bonnie rocks.” (David, 19:01)
• “With every increasing film, Andy is found dead in a ditch. Bonnie is such a champion.” (Griffin, 19:04)

On Toy Story Themes:

• “These movies continue to struggle with how expansive 2 was thematically,...there's not as much left for them to explore. But I thought this movie had, like, many new ideas. It had many new concepts.” (Griffin, 143:37)
• "One is sort of about being a child. Two is sort of about being a parent. I think three is more about religion. Four is about retirement." (Griffin, 51:29)

On Jesse and Romance:

• “I think what Jesse is working through in her, like, past owners and this fear of losing it is more of a breakup thing...That's what the tree moment's about for me.” (Griffin, 84:56)
• “Do you not just think, like, the topic of romance in these movies between toys is just... It's a naughty topic.” (David, 84:35)
• “Buzz and Jesse kiss.” (Ben, 137:03)

On the Ending and What’s Next:

• “...the NT's of course, is that the high tech Buzzes have droned their way down to a playground to find themselves a bunch of kids. And then high tech Zurgy is revealed.” (Griffin, 149:38)
• “Do they go back to the Buzz? Well, is there...What is the next character to get their own [movie]?” (Ben, 149:29)

On Ranking Stanton’s Films:

• “WALL-E, Finding Nemo, Toy Story 5, Finding Dory, John Carter, In the Blink of an Eye.” (David, 145:34)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:45–04:00: Franchise “championship” banter; Toy Story consistency vs. Mission: Impossible
• 06:11–07:15: Jokes about parental screen bans; “illegal for 8 and a half year olds to text”
• 13:26–15:49: Box office context; Incredibles 2 comparison; post-pandemic theatrical rebound
• 19:46–22:03: Stanton’s role; authorship, Lasseter debate, and the legacy of creative hands at Pixar
• 23:32–35:10: Parenting, screen time, empathy for kids; measured vs. alarmist tech takes
• 41:36–54:56: In-depth breakdown on themes, metaphors, and emotional resonance across all Toy Story films
• 57:39–64:54: Eiko’s translation segment—Samurai Woody in Japan
• 66:01–70:00: Movie plot detail—opening with Buzz Lightyear “hive mind” and the tech twist
• 84:56–85:37: Jesse's arc; romantic metaphor and emotional stakes
• 118:14–122:12: The structure of the final act, marriage, and the Taylor Swift song
• 143:37–146:05: Final film assessments, online reactions, and the tech theme’s effectiveness
• 149:38–150:12: Sequel teases; high tech Buzzes; next steps for the franchise

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Tone and Style

The conversation oscillates between scholarly and absurd, characterized by Blank Check’s irreverent humor, deep film knowledge, and the hosts’ camaraderie. Quotes and asides are peppered with sharp pop culture references, self-deprecation, and playful teasing. Segments on toy culture, Reddit fandoms, and parenting offer both hearty laughs and genuinely thoughtful commentary.

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Final Takeaways

• Toy Story 5 holds up: The hosts find it a worthy, if not revolutionary, entry—better than some feared, and perhaps not essential but very welcome, deftly balancing old and new.
• Stanton delivers: Praised for tight plotting, innovative visuals, and honest engagement with modern anxieties.
• Theme execution: The movie impresses by addressing tech’s inevitability without falling into easy moral panic, instead searching for balance.
• Future installments: The franchise shows no sign of slowing, with speculation on what’s left to explore and who could take center stage in Toy Story 6 or beyond.
• Fandom remains as passionate—and bonkers—as ever.

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In their own words:

“It's about the journey, not the destination...and I'm like, right. That's the lesson of two. I do feel like we're out of ideas on that front. So I was kind of like, there's a ceiling on this movie for me, quality-wise. But, yeah, it's just well done and I had a good time watching it. I can't really be too mad at it.”
— David (142:57)

“Every time one of these movies is good, I feel a tremendous sense of relief now.”
— Griffin (142:10)

“With every increasing film, Andy is found dead in a ditch. Bonnie is such a champion.”
— Griffin (19:04)

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[End of summary]

Transcript

[Griffin]

Blank check with Griffin and David. Blank check with Griffin and David. Don't know what to say or to expect. All you need to know is that the name of the shy was Blank Jack. I don't know, Jesse. I mean, toys are for play, but podcasts. Podcasts are for everything. I have to say, I don't like that line, but it's the closest thing to a line in the trailer.

[David]

It feels like a trailer line.

[Marie]

Right?

[Griffin]

It's a real trailer.

[David]

It feels like a sort of mission statement.

[Griffin]

It's a mission statement line. Now here's what I want to say, and I felt like I had to open with a quote.

[David]

He's saying tech is for everything, right? Like, yeah, yeah.

[Griffin]

Here's what I want to say to open the episode. Toy Story in five.

[David]

We did it. Oh, the I emanating from Marie, Barney, Selena.

[Griffin]

Toy Story in five.

[David]

He's. He's referencing the Knicks, Ben.

[Dana]

I got it.

[Griffin]

The nine Knicks. Toy Story won the movie franchise championship and only five entries.

[Eiko]

Marie.

[Dana]

Why. Why so sad?

[Ben]

I just want to say that Woody wears cowboy boots.

[Eiko]

Yes.

[Ben]

With spurs on them.

[David]

Oh, so you're saying he's a San Antonio fan?

[Ben]

Secretly.

[Griffin]

I'm. All I'm saying is that Toy Story one. That's all I'm saying. Not that Toy Story the first movie. I'm saying the Toy Story won the champion.

[David]

It didn't. Just to be clear. But it's interesting that you're saying because you're saying there's a movie franchise championship

[Griffin]

Ben and I have talked about and it's like what?

[David]

We've seen this movie, Right.

[Griffin]

Is there a more consistent 5 movie run?

[Ben]

I would argue Mission Impossible. I know people don't.

[David]

He's going to exclude it because it has more than five.

[Griffin]

No.

[David]

Or it has to be five plus.

[Griffin]

What would you call the five run?

[Ben]

One.

[David]

So you have five.

[Ben]

Like I love two. I'm sorry, I know people like you.

[Griffin]

What about and off the Macquarie.

[David]

What about four through eight, though? Like you kind of go like the true. We're at eight now, isn't it?

[Griffin]

Eight?

[David]

I think it was eight. Yeah, it was eight.

[Ben]

Oh, Jesus. Okay.

[David]

Well then, you know, because you could do four through eight is kind of obviously, Mr. Fossil, three sort of a prologue. But like that's the.

[Ben]

It's a wash. To me that franchise is more impressive maintaining quality.

[David]

Or you could do three to seven and just be like. And then they had a weird cliffhanger and they never made another one. Weird.

[Griffin]

I mean, we do have to live in a world where they botched the ending really badly now, Griffin.

[Eiko]

What?

[David]

Now take it easy. Just because you want Toy Story to win doesn't mean you have to say that they botched it really badly.

[Ben]

They botch it really badly.

[Griffin]

I think that movie's.

[David]

Sorry, who is.

[Griffin]

I find that movie so frustrating.

[David]

He's gonna. Anything we throw at him, he'll be like, actually turns out as bad.

[Griffin]

No, I want to say I'm ready to be normal about this movie. This is not my favorite movie of the year.

[David]

We need, like, a big lot ready to be normal.

[Ben]

How many tote bags of merchandise did you bring today?

[Griffin]

One. I had one already here. We're going to do some social videos on this.

[Ben]

How many pieces of Toy Story apparel are you wearing right now?

[Griffin]

Currently three.

[David]

What's the third? You have a hat, a shirt.

[Griffin]

I buzz like your shoes. I got the Adidas before they sold out. That was a. That was a multiple alarms drop. I'll have you know.

[Dana]

Those are cool shoes.

[Griffin]

Thank you.

[Dana]

You're welcome.

[David]

And Ben's just like, you know what? I'm gonna. I'm going to.

[Dana]

I'm just.

[David]

I'm on board. I'm just on board.

[Griffin]

I'm about to correct what you're about to ask.

[Ben]

Well, no, I'm going to say, Griffin, you have now added a new case to your iPad.

[Griffin]

Well, I've. I've joined the pond. I'm on the pond. I have a Lily Pad case. I have Smarty Pants, and I have Snappy here on my desk.

[David]

I noticed Snappy before I, I. This is the Lily Pad. It's just a case for.

[Griffin]

Case for an actual iPad.

[David]

That's. Is that. That, that makes sense.

[Griffin]

There was a tweet going around that was semi viral of like, why are they producing the evil toy?

[David]

It was basically a version of, you know, the classic, like, at long last, we've created the Torment Nexus famous from the novel. Do not create the Torment. At long last, we've created the. The Lily Pad from the famous movie. Do not create the Lily.

[Griffin]

Well, because.

[Dana]

Right.

[Griffin]

It's like, obviously you make toys of villains, but this is saying we made the device for real. The device that breaks Bonnie's brain says is Right.

[David]

Is a fl.

[Griffin]

Now, I want to clarify. There are two main Lily Pad toys. There's this, which is just an iPad case that you put your own tablet into. Yeah. So in that case, don't. Don't hate the case. Hate the tablet. Right. If the tablet's causing psychological damage, sure. The other one is like a super nerf. Down dumb like. Learn your ABC's LED tablet.

[David]

I assume it does not have social networks.

[Griffin]

They have held off from making anything that dangerous. No, of course, yes. But we will. I will gift these to you on social. Marie the snappy. I have the camera character. Breakout. Breakout star of the new film. It is a functional camera. I have been taking stealth pics the last couple of weeks including a snappy version of Stavi of Tracy. Let's. I have some very goofy pictures on this low quality digital camera.

[Ben]

I can't wait. I can't wait to. How do we get them off?

[Griffin]

Well, much like in this movie, you got hardwire, you got to plug it in.

[Ben]

Wow.

[Griffin]

The Double A gang, they all. They all need cables.

[Ben]

Oh my God. What was I going to ask you? I had another Toy Story related question.

[David]

So overwhelmed.

[Griffin]

Was it do the shoes light up? They don't. You saw a post that the shoes lit up and I want to make it clear those were the child versions and I bought the adult version.

[David]

They don't let the adult versions light up.

[Griffin]

I wonder why. No. Thank God. I am one size over being a child footwise.

[Ben]

What size?

[Griffin]

I think I'm seven and a half. It depends on how much flexibility I want.

[Ben]

I think I'm a men's five.

[Griffin]

Yeah. What were you gonna ask?

[Ben]

I was going to ask how old is Bonnie?

[David]

Bonnie, she's eight and a half in this film.

[Griffin]

And Blaze is supposed to be about nine. Nine and a half.

[David]

They say she's nine. Yeah, you know she's eight and a half in this film. In Toy Story 4, she's starting kindergarten. Someone assumes she's five.

[Ben]

Okay.

[Griffin]

Okay. So three, three years and change.

[Ben]

I think it should be illegal for.

[Griffin]

Illegal.

[Ben]

She says illegal for 8 and a half year olds to text.

[David]

Well, yeah, other people, you know, there's Britain's bringing in a ban. It's the future of the world.

[Ben]

We all saw this film together.

[David]

Basically, like a smartphone ban for any kid under 16 is sort. Seems to be the sort of future.

[Ben]

At one point, David, you screamed. This is a movie about Scream. I whispered it to you, but it was a loud whisper. It was a. This movie's about bad parenting.

[Dana]

I was.

[David]

I was feeling a little judgment.

[Ben]

I was really upset.

[Griffin]

You were getting worked up. You would have done it.

[Ben]

I was really upset by how all the kids just talking to strangers on the Internet.

[David]

Yeah, it's just. It's just one of those things where they're like, I don't know, we got this thing and I'm like, you know Read the manual before you maybe hand your child a smart tablet.

[Griffin]

It's like Club Penguin where you're like, this is a closed loop safe space only for children. And then of course, there have been 15 years of like Club Penguin lawsuits, of course.

[David]

But also Club Penguin was in like the beginning days of this. And this is just, you know, Bonnie's parents. I just have a lot of questions about Bonnie. Love Bonnie.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

Bonnie is great.

[Ben]

Bonnie is a genius.

[Griffin]

She's an incredible kid.

[David]

Look, the. Here's the thing. They. That's working against them. They live in a world ascension toys who are plotting at all times to do all kinds of that they don't know about. So.

[Ben]

That's so true.

[David]

I don't have to deal with that. I have to deal with a lot of stuff as a parent. The toys are not alive. Toys working possibly against me.

[Ben]

Yeah. You don't know.

[David]

I actually do know because I'm a grown up.

[Dana]

Yeah.

[David]

With I will say, rational brain.

[Griffin]

Yeah. This is hubris that is going to bite you in the butt when the

[David]

toys turn out to be alive.

[Dana]

Yeah.

[David]

Okay.

[Griffin]

It is. It is well established that Bonnie's dad is a dope and the toys love fucking with him. In particular in the fourth one, I

[David]

feel like that's a big narrative.

[Griffin]

They find it fun.

[David]

I mean, they get the cops called on.

[Ben]

They almost killed that whole family. Yes.

[Marie]

Yeah.

[David]

They're like a car and all that.

[Ben]

Yeah. Into a crowd of people.

[Griffin]

I think it is the greatest bit this movie has as a sort of like, large global bit across the film. There are four movies where the toys have to be so strategic about what they do to not break the rules of the world. And in this one, they're like, no one's paying attention. No one's paying attention. And if they see something that is their hack a little bit, they'll lie to themselves.

[Ben]

So addicted to computer.

[Dana]

Seems like the rules are that they just kind of automatically shut down when they're seen.

[David]

Well, true. But I would say they break it more and more. And by this point, they're kind of breaking it a lot. Like, you know, the toys are kind of animate unless they are truly in, like the hands of a child.

[Griffin]

The film points a finger at a lingering question from the first movie, which is why does Buzz shut down if he thinks he's not a toy?

[David]

It like, it's a question people have always had in this movie sort of acknowledge. Yeah. Really cool people.

[Griffin]

Smart people in this greatest minds.

[David]

Even though Buzz, for some reason is not blessed with the Knowledge that he's a toy that most toys seem to be blessed with, he still has the subconscious need to go limp.

[Griffin]

And what's the internal logic there? And I don't think they gild the lily pad on that one. I think it's a pretty simple one line solution.

[David]

I think I'm going to go.

[Griffin]

Nope, you're staying.

[David]

Oh, no, wait a second. This is the bed we made. Bindings on my hands.

[Griffin]

This is the bed we made.

[David]

It's not the bed we made. It is you. You said that on a prior tangent, episode one person made the bed. There's one bed maker in the room right now.

[Dana]

Although you don't strike me as a person that makes their bed.

[Griffin]

You know what I do? Like constructing things.

[David]

We mean. We don't mean making a bed out of like wood. We mean like making your bed, like pulling the sheets. The fact that he interpreted that way is all we need to know. Switch telling Griffin.

[Griffin]

Depends. It depends on the day. It depends on the day. It's a big depends on the day.

[Ben]

Can I ask you a question? Because I don't think any of us have ever been to where you live.

[Griffin]

Right.

[Ben]

Do you have like, novelty sheets?

[Griffin]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I have grown up bed sheets.

[David]

Oh, grown up bed sheets.

[Ben]

I gotta say, I'm a little surprised.

[Griffin]

Yeah, Bed Threads. I can call out the company Bed Threads. I was. I was always a Brooklyn guy. And then I feel like they haven't sponsored the podcast in a while.

[David]

Them. Sorry. Come on back, Brooklyn. Please, please.

[Ben]

Brooklinen. I need to get new. New. A new duvet.

[Dana]

Let's not go there with it.

[Griffin]

A very good company called Bed Threads Romley gifted me. And then I've bought some additional stuff from them. Yeah, it's a. It's a mature brown. Brown and cream linen.

[Ben]

Okay. Feels still feels very Woody coated to me.

[Griffin]

Maybe subtly. Maybe very subtly.

[Ben]

Maybe you can add some like red and yellow throw pillows.

[Griffin]

Sure.

[Ben]

Kind of like Disney bound your bed. Yeah, a bit.

[Griffin]

Ben, to answer your question, the other toys choose to shut down so as not to be caught. Right? And obviously in the first movie, they willingly break the rule because Woody reveals himself to be alive to Sid in order to save the day. Right. But it feels like it's more like a moral code kind of thing. And Buzz always would just go into seemingly hypersleep without it being acknowledged. And in this one, there is the moment where the human guard comes when they're by the docks.

[Dana]

The future buzz.

[Griffin]

The tech buzzes, the high tech buzzes. And they go like, why did we just shut down?

[Marie]

Right.

[Griffin]

But they basically say that it's like a defensive protective maneuver in Star Command programming or whatever.

[Ben]

Okay.

[Griffin]

That they enter like a shutdown mode in self defense, and then they start to unpack. What's going on? You know?

[David]

Yeah, I think I should buy some more Nick's gear.

[Griffin]

I'm trying to remember what movie this episode is about. Oh, Toy Story 5.

[David]

So what's the podcast?

[Griffin]

Blank Check with Griffin and David. I'm Griffin.

[David]

I'm David.

[Griffin]

It's a podcast about filmographies. Directors who have massive success early on in their careers and are given a series of blank checks to make whatever crazy passion projects they want. And sometimes in one year, they make the least existent film of 2026, going straight to Hulu.

[David]

This is true. No offense to it. I mean, maybe a smidge of offense to it, but.

[Griffin]

And then within mere months, within the

[David]

blink of an eye, one might say,

[Griffin]

yes, have another movie open over, like, $150 million domestic.

[David]

It sure seems like it might not hit 200, but it's going to do a very solid 150. Plus.

[Griffin]

It did 17.5 Thursday night.

[David]

Very good preview numbers for a movie that is. I don't know if you know this.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

Or children.

[Griffin]

It's for children.

[Ben]

Allegedly.

[Griffin]

The only animated film that has beaten that as a Thursday preview is Incredibles 2, which made 182 opening, is the

[David]

current record holder for animated film.

[Griffin]

And it beat it by 1 million. Yes. Right. That the Inside Out 2 didn't beat it.

[David]

No.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

Inside Out 2 was just this incredible moment.

[Griffin]

The hold.

[David]

Well, the hold wasn't. But no, no. It was this moment where everything had been opening poorly and people were like. For, like, three months.

[Griffin]

The box office is dead.

[David]

People were back to like, movies are over. And then Inside Out 2 was coming out. Everyone was like, no one even cares about this. The trailers have been kind of whatever. And then it opened huge. And everyone's like, oh, well, all right. You know, like. And it was sort of the start of people being like, well, I guess some stuff does work. And then more and more stuff started working.

[Griffin]

And, you know, I mean, this is

[David]

kind of turned around.

[Griffin]

Yeah. Twitch Story 4 had a 12 million preview. They were projecting last night that this was doing 1314. And it came in.

[David]

Came in higher.

[Griffin]

Many millions above that. So it's like it's over performing in a year where the box office is doing great. And not only that, there is a robust variety of different types of movies.

[Ben]

I love the movies.

[David]

I love the movie.

[Ben]

We love the movies.

[Griffin]

There was people pocket watching Disclosure Day because they were like it feels like they're not even trying to advertise this to Gen Z. And then it opened and in the opening weekend which was above estimates or above projections then they were like oh, and look at the exit tracking. It was 75% over 30. And I'm like, what's the problem? One, every movie doesn't have to be for everyone.

[David]

Right.

[Griffin]

Successfully got 50 year olds to go to the movies. Good. I agree.

[David]

I. There was. There's just a really funny post on the Blinkies.

[Eiko]

Right.

[David]

And I wanted to find it but it's, it's. I don't know where it ended up

[Griffin]

but someone talking about the films of Andrew Stan.

[David]

Yes, we have. We have. In the miniseries is of course called Podsi Podsy Podsy. Someone just said that the Star wars the Mandalorian and Grogu Standee had tipped over at their. And someone just posted the Mandalorian and I just haven't really gotten.

[Griffin]

That's what it feels like.

[David]

The movies are back in Mandalorian's just like on the like face down. And everyone's like, who cares?

[Griffin]

There couldn't be a better failure amongst the successes. And it's not even that I have spite for that movie, but it just represents every bad habit of studio filmmaking for the last 15, 20 years.

[David]

Even you're not quite beloved, but you're some, you know, masters of the universe which you sort of enjoyed. I feel like I haven't seen it yet. Yeah, but like that one too. It's just kind of like, nope, this form, this rule book is gonna get tossed.

[Griffin]

Like I don't think it's bad for that movie to flop. I think it's probably beneficial to the movie culture.

[David]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

And in fact everything I dislike about that movie is the stuff is the formula stuff. The formula that is I think causing it to. To fail and that I think we need to wash out of the system.

[David]

I still think obviously, you know, it seems Spider man will do well. Some of these things are gonna well

[Griffin]

and we're stick around today talking about the fifth film in a. And we're talking about Toy Story potentially going to break records for the franchise.

[David]

Is a movie that I think is successful and, and very enjoyable. But obviously, you know, I'm, I'm happy you have it and I'm happy people have it easy. I don't think it really. It does not quite justify its existence. If, if you, you know, if you point A gun at me.

[Griffin]

Sure.

[David]

I'm like, I don't know that it really added enough new that we had to have it, but at least it's good and at least it's doing well and it's well made. And I'm like, I'm kind of basically like, it's all good.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[David]

But I wasn't like, wow. Yeah. They had a whole, you know, sort of room in the Toy Story world that they never explored. I'm like, I feel like we're hitting a lot of the stuff we've thought about before in Toy Story, but that's okay.

[Griffin]

Here's what I'll say. I think I put the other four above it. I rate four much higher than most people.

[David]

I do two.

[Griffin]

You like three?

[David]

I think I put this over three.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

I just don't like three.

[Ben]

I rewatched three and four after we saw five and four grew in my estimation.

[Griffin]

I just love.

[Dana]

Four is great.

[Griffin]

But four is very controversial. Whatever the things on the Reddit, you would not believe.

[David]

I. I would.

[Ben]

The Toy Story Reddit.

[Griffin]

Yeah. Where people call Bonnie A and I the normal zone.

[David]

What?

[Griffin]

Someone did the Anthony, I almost said this to Ben before the record and then I said, I'm. When we were in the theater and I was like, I'm going to save this for the on mic response. And Ben is stunned silent.

[David]

I don't think that's acceptable. I think that person should apologize. Want to say that the cartoon character.

[Ben]

Bonnie, before you got here, I was telling Ben and David that I have spent some time on the Toy Story Reddit recently and deranged place. It's a really, it's a really sad place.

[Griffin]

Sad and scary.

[David]

I used to be on the Bluey Reddit because I just wanted to know like when new episodes were dropping and after a little while I was like, I think I cannot see even just headlines from this thing anymore. These people are out of their mind. Three quarters of them are like childless adult here. But I love Bluey more than I love my own, you know, family. And you're just like, oh my God.

[Ben]

Right? It's a, it's a, you know, it's a special interest or whatever. But like my, I wasn't getting like calling a child the C word vibes from the Reddit. I was getting more like, I'm like, you know, a 30 year old man and I'm trying to decide what. Which of my toys to bring with me to the theater.

[Griffin]

I would say that's half of the Reddit.

[Ben]

Okay.

[Griffin]

I would say that's half. And that's the sweet half.

[David]

And that's the sweet. That's the. That's the emphasis I'd put on that is the innocuous.

[Griffin]

I'm not saying sweet. I'm saying like, that's the, like, oh, that's sweet.

[David]

I understand that it's not at least a malevolent, but it's maybe a little,

[Griffin]

you know, the Anthony Bourdain meme about Henry Kissinger where it's like you read about what he did and you're going to want to attack him with a hammer at a restaurant or whatever. Yes. People, someone recently posted that with Bonnie where when you just.

[David]

It's. Once you've been to Cambodia, you'll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. Is the. Is the Bourdain line.

[Griffin]

And it was. Once you read the full. You know what it was? It wasn't even the full plot breakdown. It was that the Little Golden Book had shipped. So people were breaking down the spoilers from the story from the children's book adaptation. And it was replacement. Once you read the Little Golden Book adaptation of Toy Story 5, you'll never stop wanting to beat Bonnie to death with a hammer. Right?

[Ben]

What?

[Dana]

They die.

[Griffin]

They don't like. They're like, Bonnie is disrespectful to the toys.

[Dana]

What?

[Griffin]

She's a child who doesn't know they're alive.

[David]

Okay.

[Marie]

All right.

[David]

I think we gotta. I'm like, we gotta. We gotta pivot away from.

[Ben]

No, I'm like, actually really upset by all.

[Griffin]

But we said Bonnie's maniacs on the Internet. They're maniacs on the Internet.

[David]

And what they don't understand, of course, is that Andy is a cuck loser and Bonnie rocks.

[Ben]

Andy is absolutely a cuck loser.

[Griffin]

With every increasing film, Andy is found dead in a ditch. Bonnie is such a champion.

[David]

Especially because, like, the plots of the, you know, like the first, you know, the Andy movies, you know, the way he plays.

[Griffin]

Pretty uninspired.

[Dana]

The way they portray Bonnie playing her imagination now.

[David]

I mean, I think they also realize as they made these movies, like. Oh, right, that's interesting. We should have more and more fun with that, you know, like depicting the play or whatever.

[Griffin]

But the first two, you only see it from the outside.

[David]

There's a bad guy and then Woody and Buzz kill him.

[Griffin]

Evil Dr. Pork Chop.

[Ben]

Yeah, one I bought one of the baddest guys of all time, Evil doctor Terrible Man. I mean, once you read Terrible Bank.

[Griffin]

Once you read about what evil Dr. Pork Chop did. You'll never want to beat him to death with a hammer. And if you beat him to death with a hammer, you'll get a bunch of coins inside of him. Today we're Talking Toy Story 5, directed by Andrew Stan, which is a fascinating case of a fifth film in a franchise directed by someone who's directed none of the previous, but has quietly kind of been the author of this whole franchise.

[David]

He's always had a hand.

[Griffin]

Yes, there is the one. He's involved the author in so many ways. He was. I mean, he's certainly been dominant.

[David]

Trying to erase the participation of one hugging fella.

[Griffin]

Yeah, here's my thing with lots of hugging, Lassiter. You look at the movies he made where he didn't have everyone working with him, and you're like, huh, where is the juice?

[Ben]

Is that Cars? Is that what we're talking about? Or does Cars not even count there?

[Griffin]

But. But also like the fudgeing sky dance. An animated films that he's now over.

[David]

Yeah, but he's not. He's not even directing. Master was quite vital to the original Toy Stories, I assume.

[Griffin]

No question.

[David]

But Stanton was always involved, you're saying. Yeah, in threes.

[Griffin]

And with three, three is the one he's least involved.

[David]

That's the worst one.

[Ben]

You know what? That was my take. Re watching. It's so nasty.

[David]

I mean, I've. I've ranted about it before. Like, I just. Yeah, I think it's a movie that's just like, about grown ups feeling guilty or what about growing up? Whatever. And I'm like, you need to take a pill and relax. Like, calm down. I also think the moment where they're all going to die in the furnace sucks and is ruined by a stupid deus ex machina. That makes sense.

[Ben]

It makes no sense.

[David]

The whole thing sucks. That movie is stupid. And now Tarantino is out here being like, that's the best movie ever made. Why'd they ever make more? Please come on our podcast. Quentin, I respect a lot of the movies you've made, but you're too busy

[Ben]

hanging out in Tel Aviv.

[Griffin]

Yeah, that's right. Maybe someday we'll tell you what movie he almost did on this podcast.

[Ben]

Let's keep.

[Griffin]

But we're not going to talk about it today. It is this weird thing, though. We're right. There's a portion of people who also were just like, that is the best ending the franchise will ever have. And it is a disgusting. David is putting a middle finger up to that person, and then he's Successfully

[David]

committed to a strong man.

[Griffin]

Here's the thing I like about this movie. And this is sort of the. The internal battle of what you're saying. This is the first one to not even attempt to be an ending since.

[Dana]

Totally. Right.

[David]

Yes, exactly. Four still had that responsibility, it seemed where they were like, well, I guess we'll make it a goodbye to Woody.

[Griffin]

People are so upset at the idea that we're ruining the sanctity of the three ending, that we need to have an ending that's similarly kind of emotional and built around closure. And this one is like, who are we kidding?

[David]

You know, I. I'll probably keep making these as long as they're right.

[Griffin]

Dana Walden said recently that this is the most streamed franchise on Disney.

[David]

Can confirm from my house, right above

[Griffin]

any other Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star wars thing. This is so infinitely valuable to them. These characters are so beyond evergreen that this movie does feel in certain ways a little bit more like the Toy Story shorts and Toy Story of Terror, which I love. Where it's just like, let's just have another adventure, right?

[David]

Yeah. Basically it's got a defined angle. I think it's smart. And it's cleaning up some nerd business.

[Griffin]

It does some good cleanup for you nerds out there.

[David]

I'm taking my daughter to it on Sunday.

[Ben]

Wait, what screening are you going to?

[David]

Nighthawk.

[Ben]

When?

[David]

I think noon.

[Griffin]

Cause we're going with the earliest at 11.

[David]

I thought you were leaving that night.

[Griffin]

Red eye.

[David]

No, I'm taking her Sunday.

[Griffin]

Yeah, we're going Sunday.

[David]

Okay, well. And no, I won't be at that one. I think it's noon.

[Griffin]

Sorry.

[David]

But I wonder what she will make of.

[Ben]

I'm constantly questioning what kids like get out of. Especially this.

[David]

What should she make of the big tech message of the kind of like kids should play like this, not like this. Because it's like this is a little old for like, you know, like that. I don't know that my daughter has thought too hard so far about like socializing.

[Ben]

Right.

[David]

You know, which is a big part

[Griffin]

of the very Bonnie coded. In a lot of ways your daughter reminds me of. Bonus.

[Marie]

That.

[David]

That, that's totally fair. I know what you mean about how she plays, but you know, this is heady for a five year old. I'm not sure it'll translate and I'm almost certain. And again, she's five, so like, you know, she's not the only viewer of this movie that she will not understand the Jesse, the. The big Jesse plot. I think that's going to go completely over her head to the point of confusion.

[Griffin]

Interesting. But she's seen too.

[David]

Yeah. She's not gonna get it. She's not gonna get the. That, like, Jesse named her daughter after a toy. Like, that's just not gonna make sense.

[Griffin]

I love that so much.

[David]

That's. That's the one thing in this movie that I didn't like.

[Eiko]

But.

[David]

But we. We could talk about it.

[Griffin]

That emotionally devastated me. And I thought in a way that was not overstated, which I appreciate that they didn't make too much of a meal out of the moment and that it's not the ending point.

[David]

Yeah.

[Ben]

That.

[Griffin]

It is a beat.

[David]

It's a beat.

[Ben]

Are you going to name your potential future child after a toy?

[Griffin]

I had always said I was going to name my kids Brewster after a movie.

[Ben]

Brewster and Ripley.

[Griffin]

Yeah, after Ellen Ripley and Brewster McLeod.

[David]

That's after Ellen Ripley or Ellen DeGeneres. That's so true.

[Griffin]

Yeah. I could name my child little Ellen or David's mom. Yeah, sure.

[David]

An homage to a great woman, if you so choose.

[Griffin]

Wait, I should name my child after David? Why? Consider that.

[David]

I'm not sure that Ripley's. I'm trying to remember when Ripley's first name becomes. Is Ripley's name in the first Alien? I forget.

[Griffin]

Ellen, you mean?

[Ben]

Yes.

[David]

I like. Does Cameron give her. You know what I mean? Like, is in the first movie. Like, everyone's got, like, a last name and like, you don't really know much about the readouts. You might. I don't remember.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

My memory.

[Griffin]

She's. She's Ellen from the beginning.

[David]

Let's find out.

[Griffin]

I'm Ellen.

[Ben]

I mean, I think it's definitely harder for young boys to have toys that have, like, names that you would give your child. Like Bionicle, you know, like.

[David]

Well, if you call your child Bionicle, like, you get put on a little list for the government.

[Ben]

Meanwhile, my favorite toy was named Samantha Parkington, which is a totally normal name for a girl.

[Griffin]

Bionicle is also the name of the property. It's not the name of a character.

[Ben]

Okay. What are the names of the characters?

[David]

I'm looking it up, but I wonder. I wonder what she will make it. I'm very interested to see. I'm very, like, intrigued to know what her. What her take will be if she has one. She also might just kind of be like, you know, that was great. Like, Jesse and Forky and all my friends were in a movie.

[Griffin]

And I think it's always been the magic of these movies, though, is that they move fast enough and they're bright enough, and there is the sort of cheat code they have of, oh, you can, like, explore existential themes because your movie stars a cowboy, a spaceman, and a dinosaur, and they're fine visually, you know, but it's.

[David]

I do think it's why she. She likes three the least, because three is the kind of the slowest and kind of the most about, like, the experience of grownups. Like, so it's a little. It's a little. It's her least favorite. She never asks.

[Griffin]

It's my least favorite. I. I guess I would. I think I do put this above three.

[David]

Wow.

[Griffin]

Wow.

[David]

He changed his rankings.

[Griffin]

I'm like, I'm working on it in real time. I've certainly. I've only seen this movie twice, and it's been a mad rush to see it twice.

[David]

Really?

[Ben]

Griffin's seen this movie twice, and it technically was released last night.

[Eiko]

Yes.

[Griffin]

And I'm. I'm only holding two more sets of tickets.

[Dana]

I also saw it twice.

[David]

Yeah. I went with.

[Dana]

With Griffin to both screenings.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[David]

You sure did. You say this like you're admitting it to the police.

[Griffin]

We walked out of the theater of the preview screening, and you said, is there a way to see that again before we record? Because I would like to.

[David]

Yeah, screening. Because our screening was, you know, we're recording weeks ago. Right. When the movie's coming out.

[Dana]

Really enjoyed it, and I really connected with the. The message of talking about technology.

[Griffin]

Yeah, yeah, totally.

[Dana]

In our contemporary society, what if they

[David]

make a torture about how podcasts are bad? Then we're. Toy Story 6 is like, Bonnie's listening to too much podcast.

[Griffin]

Toy Story 6 should be the toys start doing a podcast and pretend they're humans.

[David]

Right. And then. But they. So they have to, like, hide their identities and hire actors.

[Griffin]

And then people are, like, trying to push them to pivot to video, and

[Ben]

they're like, oh, my God, Griffin. I love this because it's building off what we established in Toy Story 5, which is now the toys can communicate through test.

[David]

They can't. I don't think you learn Ellen's name until the camera one. There's no readout. There's no, like, movement where you, like, see a screen being like, Dallas Ripley. You know what I mean? So, like, I think they came up with that later.

[Griffin]

The other characters all have first names.

[David]

They have later given first names, but, like, they're credited just as in the end credit. Dallas, Ripley, Lambert, Brett Kane, Hash, Parker.

[Griffin]

You're looking at the end credits through that right now.

[David]

And, like, it kind of makes sense because, of course, famously, Ripley was sort of written without a gender.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[David]

You know, and so maybe they, you know, didn't even think about it. I think.

[Griffin]

I think most of the characters were sort of. That was kind of the idea.

[David]

No gender, no race or whatever. And then obviously in Cameron's film, he's like, no, she's a mother. She's, you know, we're going to get into all of this. And she has a first name. But even in the aliens, I mean, how many times does she say, like, I'm Ellen. Like, does she say that to Newt? Like, I think she says, I'm Ripley.

[Griffin]

Every time the DJ drops a track and she does a little dance to welcome her next guest, she goes, I'm Ellen.

[Dana]

Okay, before we lose the threat, this

[David]

is an Ellen centric series. When you think about all the dories, I wonder why. Yes, go ahead.

[Dana]

You were discussing how your daughter's going to react.

[David]

I wonder. Yeah.

[Dana]

And I'm wondering, just like, with her and kids overall, how is the screen time of it all?

[Griffin]

Good question. Like, what is your daughter's relationship to tech?

[David]

She watches TV on an iPad. And she knows that we often are like, that's enough TV on the iPad. I would say that is her only relationship.

[Griffin]

She doesn't do anything else on the iPad.

[Eiko]

No.

[David]

She doesn't even really know how to use the iPad. Like, I know that that happens at a certain point that they kind of like, like start to be like, oh, I get that. If I, you know.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

Scroll over to this and press this. I could.

[Griffin]

I could read politically the most.

[David]

She can. Yeah. Which she loves Pro publica. And I'm just like, no, like, you know, you can't read that stuff. Like Daily Wire. That's where you're gonna get your news. Newsmax, right? No, she doesn't even know. She knows that if she. She knows how to press a button to make the next episode play. That's the most she's learned so far.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

You know, when freaking Peppa Pig is, you know, been spooling up, what is the.

[Griffin]

The angle on Peppa? Why is that stuck around? I don't see the appeal.

[David]

I don't either.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

I'm not a fan. I don't know. Peppa herself.

[Ben]

Yeah, she's all right. She seems like a nice girl.

[David]

She's a bit naughty.

[Ben]

Oh, naughty.

[Griffin]

Interesting. She's a troublemaker.

[David]

Well, she likes jumping in muddy puddles.

[Ben]

Yeah. So there you go.

[Griffin]

I get it now.

[David]

It's Just one of those things in Peppa Pig where it's like, what do you like? And I'm. I'm like, making eggs in the morning, you know, for everyone. And I'm just like, I like my ping and money puddles. I'm like, saying it to myself. I'm like, it's all she does.

[Griffin]

She says it every time she does.

[David]

It's like her catchphrase. It's like, I'm Peppa Pig and I like jumping in muddy puddles.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[Ben]

I just really respect that they're. That the animation style for Peppa Pig is so crude.

[David]

Yeah, it sure is.

[Griffin]

It's an interesting design style.

[Ben]

I love that it's got. As we're getting more and more like, Uncanny Valley, like.

[Eiko]

Well, yeah, that.

[David]

Right. I don't. I don't truck with the.

[Eiko]

Right.

[David]

The weirdly, like, low stakes, like, CGI human people. That sucks.

[Griffin]

Well, my friend Spike often refers to as cartoon shows that look like shampoo bottles.

[David]

Exactly, exactly, exactly. Just human slop.

[Griffin]

Whatever.

[David]

You want to like Peppa Pig. Yes. I'm like, this is artfully made in its way, and it's got its bit, and I find it a little grating, but I'm not like, this is evil, like cocomelon or whatever.

[Griffin]

It's fine.

[David]

Yeah. They're British.

[Griffin]

From what? What kind of region? What's their.

[David]

Sort of live in the countryside.

[Griffin]

Okay.

[David]

I also just find the dad kind of annoying. I don't like that he's kind of a buffoon. I don't like that he has the hairs.

[Ben]

I don't like the hairs either.

[David]

He needs sense because he's a pig.

[Griffin]

On his chinny chin. Chin.

[David]

Exactly. He's got the kind of, like, spiky hair.

[Ben]

Yeah. I don't like it.

[David]

Yeah. Ben likes it. You know, I'm so, you know, I'm a Bluey loyalist, and Bluey is just so much better than Peppa. But Peppa's fine.

[Ben]

You know, she's fine.

[David]

I like Peppa. I like Gabby. Like, I mean, I don't like Gabby. Like, I don't like Gabby's house.

[Ben]

Gabby is in, like, Gabby's dollhouse.

[David]

Yeah, but I mean, like, my daughter likes Gabby, and I'm like, gabby is fine. She's all right.

[Griffin]

Yeah, exactly. It's a little loud when you leave the room. Gabby's like, listen, they're out to get us. The great replacement theory. I guess that wouldn't make sense for Gabby.

[Ben]

Ben, as someone who's going to, you know, start a family in the future, like, Screen time is really something that, like, terrifies me, is like, same. I'm like, do I become Ted Kaczynski the minute I have children in the woods?

[David]

Why not just moderate? Why, why must you, Ted Kaczynski, all of us.

[Dana]

I mean, as a parent, I really am interested. It's not that hard.

[Ben]

No, it's not hard now because she can't read.

[David]

Well, she's getting there, but yeah, sure,

[Ben]

but it's gonna get harder when she's

[David]

like, you just let him have the tablets. Parental controls.

[Dana]

So upset by the group chat.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[David]

It really, Movie guy.

[Dana]

It really, though, affected me. It made me feel like, like so much empathy, especially for younger generations, and that this is just from day one. They're growing up with, dealing with all of this.

[David]

I, I, I will say, just to provide the more measured take, as the only parent in the room, I think that the worst of it kind of already happened when there were parents who had no experience of their own with tech.

[Griffin]

I think you're right.

[David]

And we're kind of just letting kids. Cause it's like, oh, your friends have a cell phone. You can have one too. And now there's a lot more awareness. And like, my parent generation is a lot more kind of like, those things are like cigarettes. Like, you know, we're gonna keep them away as long as you do it right. Not addicted.

[Griffin]

Makes you badass.

[David]

Give up any time.

[Griffin]

Doctors recommend.

[David]

And like, there's just a lot more hyper awareness about that. Your kid. You know, obviously this movie depicts essentially, like, very low stakes but mean bullying. Right. And like, your kid will experience social stuff at school anyway. That sucks. But yeah, obviously nobody should be socially networked. I shouldn't be. None of us should. No one should barely be. So you see how they behave.

[Griffin]

If this movie had been made 10 years ago with this subject matter, it would have been a nightmare. I think this is the right point to make it because of what you're saying, where we are in the cultural bell curve and it's sort of in this. Like, we've all now kind of engaged with the worst of what this can be. It's also not going anywhere.

[David]

I, I always say this to, like, my friends who I made on Twitter, including this loser.

[Griffin]

This is true. The podcast wouldn't exist.

[David]

Like, I'm like, I'm like in the future gonna say to my daughter, like, oh, yeah, you know, I made all these friends on Twitter. And she'll be like, the website that's illegal that elected Donald Trump. That's like, in history Books is like, you know, a low point in society. I'm like, yeah, but you know, sometimes, like, there'd be good memes. Yeah, there's a lot of funny stuff on there.

[Griffin]

Drill was there.

[Marie]

Drill?

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

You don't even know about horses.

[Griffin]

Oh, my God.

[Marie]

Horse.

[Ben]

Oh, my God.

[Griffin]

Oh, my God.

[David]

And she'll. And it'll be like, you know when our parents are like, oh, yeah. Back in the day, you would just leave the house at the age of five with a gun.

[Griffin]

Right.

[David]

You know, you just. You just get on your horse and ride into the woods. And the parents assumed they'd see you later.

[Griffin]

You do a quick stand by me, you learn something from it.

[Ben]

What was everyone's screen names?

[David]

I was a Brother Fallout. I still am in a lot of things. Oh, yeah, that's who you are on Brother Fallout.

[Griffin]

That's funny.

[David]

When I was really young, my first. My Hotmail address was King Dazza 2000.

[Ben]

Yeah, there you go. This is what I'm talking about. King Dazza 2000.

[David]

That's. They let a 13 year old pick his own email. Yeah, right.

[Griffin]

It came up in our recent Patreon episode. But after the release of A Bug's Life, I was briefly flick lover 98. That's a little preview for free. And the full discussion can be found on Patreon.

[Dana]

Please subscribe.

[Griffin]

Please subscribe. But then I very quickly pivoted to I am a fool. Are you one, two. Oh, yes.

[David]

What's that? Is that a song lyric or something?

[Griffin]

It was a bit from a. I think Mad magazine had like a counterfeit money drawing and that was the serial number on it. And I thought it was really funny. I am a fool spelled out and then letter R, letter U, number one, number two, which when I got older read as I'm a fool. Are you 12? And then of course, in high school, I changed it to Fly Brewster. Fly.

[David]

Yeah, right, that's it. And that's.

[Griffin]

Which was my original twit.

[Eiko]

Right.

[Griffin]

Twitter Twit. Twit handle. David's opening five of the loudest bags.

[David]

Yeah, I need some.

[Ben]

Can we get that Papa John's order in?

[David]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

Oh, yeah. So Marie and I are going to record some social videos after this.

[David]

Are terrible.

[Griffin]

What are they. What are you eating?

[Ben]

Cookie dough bite.

[David]

Cookie dough bites cheese.

[Ben]

Thank you.

[Griffin]

Papa John's has three promotional pizzas right now and I will read them. Space Ranger Rooney. An intergalactic pizza mission awaits this out of this world personal pizza. That's what makes it intergalactic. It's out of this world has double pepperoni, cheese and pizza sauce on original crust. Served with root and Tutin Ranch. So the pizza itself sounds pretty normal other than of course that hyper special root and Tootin.

[Ben]

The Rootin Tootin Ranch.

[Dana]

Ranch.

[Ben]

Okay.

[Griffin]

Then we got reach for the pie. This ain't just any.

[David]

Not bad.

[Griffin]

Not bad at all. This ain't just any personal pizza. It's got Italian sausage, banana peppers, cheese and pizza sauce served with. You guessed it, Root and Tootin Ranch. Only in US Markets. And then the third pie is Sheriff's Roundup. This personal pizza's got grilled chicken, onions, cheese and barbecue sauce on original crust. And interestingly enough, it comes with a side of. Let me check my notes here. Rootin Tootin Ranch. Only in the US and Canada. It's replaced with special garbage.

[David]

You guessed it, Frank Stallone.

[Griffin]

Can you guessed it Root and Tootin Ranch. Be my new. You guessed it, Frank Stallone with any cast list.

[Ben]

That's good. I'll have the. The one with the banana peppers, please.

[Griffin]

I'm getting all three.

[Ben]

Okay, great.

[David]

No, we're gonna get them all. I'm just trying to figure out how. How to order.

[Ben]

Okay. So sorry. Just to go back to this. I got this figured out.

[Marie]

My.

[Ben]

My screen. I had several screen names. One of them was clothes lover 13 clothes.

[David]

Like one spot.

[Ben]

Yeah. Cuz I was into fashion.

[David]

Well, there you go.

[Ben]

And then Punky Monkey 090 stuck around for a while. That was. That was like when I got into Green Day. And it was a combination of Green Day and. God. What was the name of the. Paul Frank.

[Griffin]

Paul Frank.

[Ben]

The. The.

[Griffin]

Julius the Monkey.

[Ben]

The monkey, yeah.

[Griffin]

What's his name? Julius.

[Ben]

Yeah. But I just was. I had all of that fucking shit.

[Griffin]

This makes sense. This checks out.

[Ben]

That. Yeah. So it was a combination combining my two interests and Ben Hosley.

[Dana]

I had briefly cyber Ben 85.

[David]

That's. That's great. Off of the Net, straight down the middle.

[Griffin]

Do you remember the net?

[David]

And we will be covering the Net

[Griffin]

one day when we do a John Avnet series.

[David]

I think there's a way to do a fun cyber. Cyber Cyber series.

[Griffin]

Okay.

[David]

Sort of 90s cyber thrillers, hackers, lawnmower.

[Griffin]

Do we put antitrust in there? If you want.

[Ben]

Never seen that virtuosity.

[David]

I'm starting our order. Yeah. Throw me.

[Griffin]

I'm doing the order because I have an account.

[David]

Just tell me what you're getting though because how many are we getting here?

[Griffin]

I'm getting three pies, right?

[David]

No, I get four.

[Griffin]

You get four?

[Ben]

Yeah.

[David]

There's four people in this room.

[Ben]

They're personal.

[Griffin]

There's A Toy Story 5. Create your own personal.

[David]

Oh, interesting. Yeah, let's. All right, now. Can we get the Rootin Tootin Ranch, though? Oh, we can.

[Marie]

Okay.

[Ben]

I think our listeners are gonna love this.

[David]

I'm sorry I haven't had Papa Johnson. God knows how long you can get Alfredo sauce on the side of your pizza. This kind of fucked up individual is like, you know what this thing that has cheese in it really needs a little bit more of.

[Griffin]

What kind of fucked up individual? His name is Popper John Schlotter. We know he's one of the most fucked up men alive.

[David]

He is a Spitfires a day.

[Griffin]

No, you know what, Griff, just get

[David]

2 of the space Ranger ronies.

[Griffin]

Okay?

[David]

Because that one's the most appealing to me anyway.

[Griffin]

Okay. David. Yes, I've had some bad meals in my life.

[David]

I can imagine. Do you know about Huel?

[Griffin]

I know about Huel.

[Eiko]

Okay.

[Griffin]

Beloved sponsor of this show.

[Dana]

Right.

[David]

They're not a supplement. This is complete food. Very easy to make and very easy to assemble. You know, for, you know, 40 grams of protein, you mix it with water or milk in about 30 seconds and it's a complete meal. You have instead of food, not a shake on top of food. It's got 27 essential vitamins and minerals. Got no artificial sweeteners, colors or flavors. You can get an RTD bottle. That's the grab and go version. That's got 35 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber. It's under $5ameal.

[Griffin]

I, I like the RTDs. I, I got the chocolate peanut butter. I keep those in the fridge. You know, we often record in the morning. I don't remember to eat breakfast. I'm watching the movement and then I'm heading out the door. Ugh. I didn't eat anything. I just grab one of those, I chug it down. I feel great. I'm ready to do bits.

[David]

Right.

[Griffin]

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[David]

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[Griffin]

That's H U E-L.com check.

[David]

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[Dana]

Okay, so maybe try and guide us into talking about the movie and like the tech of it all. Like, how did the message hit with you guys?

[Griffin]

It's portraying, like, well, let me, if I may. So Toy Story 4 is very successful,

[David]

very successful of a. I feel like not quite the. The barn born burner they wanted it.

[Griffin]

We've talked about this. It made basically the exact same amount of money as three.

[David]

Yeah.

[Ben]

Right.

[Griffin]

But there had been this.

[David]

Been a long time since three.

[Griffin]

Obviously in between three and four, Finding Dory comes out, has a huge growth from finding Nemo. Incredibles 2 comes out, has a huge growth.

[Marie]

Right.

[David]

It made a good 250mil less than Incredibles 2. And it was sort of like, isn't Toy Story the number one franchise thing?

[Griffin]

It was like, does Toy Story actually have a ceiling? And three established it.

[Ben]

Right.

[Griffin]

And now it's sort of flat here. But these characters endure. They want to make another one.

[David]

They make money.

[Griffin]

I mean. Right. Andrew, Stan has said basically that he. They went to him and said, do you have any ideas for five? Wow. And he said, let me sit in a room and see if I can come up with something. And if something actually excites me, I might noodle with it. And he was like, I wasn't gunning to make a fifth Toy Story movie, but I didn't like the idea of anyone else doing it.

[Ben]

It. Right.

[Griffin]

And he said, I sat down and the two things I thought of immediately were, how do they react to tech? And what if there was an island of 50 buzz lightyears? He had that idea immediately. And this is the thing he's always said, which is. And this is why I'm saying, like, not that I'm taking away John Lasseter's credit as a director on the first two movies, but that he has been the main screenwriter of all but three. Stan is the guy who writes the text of these characters. And most of the big ideas tend to trace back to Stan, including Forky, our greatest friend.

[David]

Right.

[Griffin]

Who Marie has constructed and placed on her desk.

[Ben]

Yeah. So David's wife is sitting on my desk right now.

[Griffin]

She is very, very quietly and respectfully. And so he built from there. And then once he had written the script, he was like, this is what I find interesting. If you guys want to make this, I'd happily direct this. If this is too weird for you, totally understand. He goes ahead and makes it. He appoints Kenna Harris to be his co director, which we've talked about is kind of an apprentice position, but really tried to elevate them on this film.

[David]

And they have a co writing credit on.

[Griffin]

Correct. And said that he felt like, I don't want to just be like a dude in his 50s or 60s, like steamrolling this franchise. I need to get like a younger voice in here. I need someone who grew up with these movies. And now works at Pixar and sort of talked about it as a Woody Jesse dynamic. And the two of them have said that when they started writing it, they were much more kind of binary of, well, tech is bad, and the movie is about them defeating tech. And they said they kept getting to, like, the halfway point of the script and realizing Lily Pad's a really uninteresting character if all of what drives her is get rid of the fucking toys.

[Dana]

Right.

[Griffin]

And so they had the hook of, well, what is what drives Lily Pad? She thinks that she's actually better for Bonnie than the toys are. She thinks they're outmoded, but she's still serving the same function, which is to help her connect.

[David]

It would be different if she was actively like, I want to ruin a kid's life. You would kind of be like, this doesn't. That kind of breaks the sort of universe because, like, the toys are always ostensibly there to serve the child. They know that that's their sort of deep purpose or whatever.

[Griffin]

I think it was more that she's so against the toys that she doesn't even notice that she's harming Bonnie was the kind of thing if. If that ran throughout the entire movie. They found it dramatically flat.

[David]

Of course, I was. As the movie was starting up, I was kind of like, oh, boy. Just them fighting a thing. Because then it's just right.

[Griffin]

That was my greatest concern from the trailers. And I heard them say that in an interview, and I felt a little relieved. And I do think that's the smartest thing the movie does, is like, you're not beating tech. It's here to stay.

[David]

Yes.

[Griffin]

There are good that can come from it.

[Eiko]

Right.

[David]

I would say, as a parent, I've already encountered people who are trying to, like, keep their kid from ever looking at a screen.

[Griffin]

Impossible.

[David]

And it's just sort of like, well, that's silly.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[David]

And in my opinion, I'm not, you know. I know people are very, very Todd Kaczynski.

[Ben]

Yeah. That's what I'm moving to.

[David]

A cabinet about parenting cabinets. Every school has, like, a smart board. My wife's a teacher. She uses a smart board. Smart boards are screens.

[Griffin]

This is like a smart blackboard, basically.

[David]

Exactly. It's like, you know, it's become the default in a school. It's just like, you know, they can put lots of things on it. They can put, you know, just stuff they've written on it. But they could also show you a video once in a while or whatever. And I'm like, we all watched videos in class. Like, this is not.

[Griffin]

This is just wielding.

[David]

Yeah. This is a streamlined way of a thing that's always existed. But there are some parents who are so worried about screens that I, you know, they're just like, well, I really don't want my kid to really ever look at a screen.

[Ben]

And it's kind of like, well, that's ridiculous.

[Griffin]

We live in a society that. Yes.

[David]

And I was happy this movie. Right. Did not just charge at this as like, well, tech's evil and kids should never like. Yeah. You know, like. And like, it's a. Right. It's a war we're gonna fight.

[Dana]

There's absolutely balance. But I, as an adult will say that I have not been participating in social media.

[David]

Even though you were good at it.

[Dana]

I. I don't know when I hit that point.

[Griffin]

As we often would say, maybe the only person who knew how to do social media correctly.

[Dana]

I would just check in from time to time. But at this point, I just. Yeah, I'm profit. It just makes me feel bad.

[David]

It is really funny that your Twitter profile picture is still a picture of your Pierce Deer that.

[Griffin]

See, this is more. He was good at it.

[Dana]

And then I also feel like too, with just like the texting of it all and how that's become so much more prevalent in our lives. Yeah, I struggle with it.

[David]

I really do.

[Griffin]

I do as well.

[Dana]

I find it overwhelming and I find that. That lately I've been really struggling to even just keep up with it. I like, kind of just can't deal with this.

[David]

See, I enjoy texting because it's social, so it kind of like, it feeds my extrovert energy of like, I like to have social contact. I enjoy texting just fine. I mostly use it to bully 8 year olds, obviously. So, like, the movie resonated for me in that regard.

[Griffin]

David's on the pond all the time. He's playing. What's it called? Frog Rush.

[David]

Or I can't say I remember, but Turtle Rush, maybe.

[Ben]

Yeah, Turtle. So it was a tag.

[David]

Something with turtles.

[Griffin]

Turtle Tag, maybe.

[David]

Yeah, but I hear you. I mean, you know, it's what they call, like frictionlessness, right? Like, it is bad. Anything that's frictionless is increasingly just like, this is a big thing in gambling, right. It's like, it's different if you go to a place, you gamble some money. Like, it's not like, we're not saying like that's. That can be harmful and that can make people crazy. But, like, if you can just kind of like bet a Thousand dollars by going like, boop. Like, it's a little too easy. There's no friction. And then suddenly you can get yourself very hooked very quickly. My colleague McKay Coppins, you know, the Atlantic, who is Mormon and thus banned from gambling, wrote a whole article about how basically the Atlantic were like, what if we staked you ten grand to see what happens if you start gambling on your phone, like, just to explore, like, this new thing. And he got fucking addicted. Like, you know, like, oh, my God. I mean, he's fine, but, like, he writes about, like, yeah, man. Like, very quickly. Like, I was, like, going to the bathroom to check my phone to, like, you know, like, look at the days.

[Dana]

Because serotonin hit, of course.

[David]

And it's too easy. Too easy.

[Griffin]

It doesn't feel real, obviously.

[David]

Right. So especially with your kids, you worry about, you know, exposing it.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

Yeah. I think this movie has kind of the right balance of those things. And I think a problem that the Toy Story franchise is always fighting against is that two, which I like as much as any movie ever made, is. Reaches such a satisfying dramatic point, which is Woody and Buzz have come to an understanding of their own inevitability.

[David]

Yes. It's why. It's why three irritates me.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

Two and five, I think you will agree, basically has the same ending as two. It's Jesse having the realization or whatever. But it's the same thing where they're like, right, I'm a toy. Yes, your kid will grow up. It's about the journey, you know, that we all have to accept that. And we're gonna have a great time while we're being played with. And, like, that's what it's all about, baby. Then, of course, three just makes the huge mistake of being, like. In my opinion, the huge mistake of being like, well, so much time has passed. We should explore what happens when Andy is older and has to give away the toys. And I'm like, I don't know. Or you could do what 5 does, where it's just like, I don't know. Bronnie's still a kid. Who cares?

[Griffin]

Well, three. I think the thing I bump on in three is that it feels like A, it's just kind of taking subtext from the first movie, first two movies, and making a text.

[David]

Right.

[Griffin]

And B, it is a lot of. It's a double beat of. Of 1 and 2. It's stuff that the characters have, like, come to understand, but now they're facing it, right? And it's less interesting because they've already expressed their understanding of what's coming for them. And I know they've always said about three where it's like, well, but it's different to say you understand what's happening and then to actually live through this, say, in three.

[Dana]

Right.

[David]

Like, that's like, the line. Right, Right.

[Griffin]

I think what's different in this and what I liked about it and I thought was a good distinction is Jesse's kind of crisis is, does it even matter? It's not like, is it coming to an end? Because she has this thing of, like, I've been through two kids already. I know that this ends. What I'm questioning now is, it's less about, are we gonna be thrown away? And does that make me feel useless? It's more about whatever they sort of serve as an idea. And this gets into the sort of stretchiness of the Toy Story metaphor of, like, how are toys supposed to help a kid? She's like, are we oblivious? And is this kid suffering? And am I gonna be forgotten? And there's just, like, no impact. And I think to a certain degree, I was saying to Ben, I think, you know, the Toy Story movies change what they map onto. Like, what I like about Toy Story is that they're always 50%. Literally just about, what if you were a toy? Like, exploring the internal logic of that and the comedic and the dramatic possibilities, and then the other 50%. And Jane Nicholson did a great video about this when Toy Story 4 came out, is they don't all ascribe to the same kind of mapped metaphor. One is sort of about being a child. Two is sort of about being a parent. I think three is more about religion. Four is about retirement.

[David]

I'm lost. But, yeah, religion.

[Griffin]

Well, I think it's about, like, the idea of reckoning with a God who has abandoned you, but it's also about reincarnation and new ownership.

[Ben]

I thought it was.

[Griffin]

And Lotso is like, a cult.

[Ben]

Sure.

[David]

Okay.

[Ben]

I mean, I thought it was like, it'd be cool if we did, like, a prison escape movie with toys, you know?

[Griffin]

Yeah, that's the best stuff in the movie.

[David]

My problem with Pixar, as I say in my review, and it's not just Toy Story, it's inside out. It's the inside out and Toy Story are the biggest culprits. There's other ones that I'll Is they're like, well, this inanimate thing is alive, and you should feel guilty that you're killing them by ignoring them. And, like, it's something I struggle with very much in the Toy Story movies. And it's why I don't like the Jessie plot in two, where she's like, I was abandoned by my owner. And I'm like, no, your owner grew up like a normal person and stopped using toys. And Jesse's like, I was killed.

[Griffin]

That can still hurt. Not saying she's killed. There's a difference between saying I'm traumatized because that hurt me and saying I was killed. She's not killed.

[David]

The movie presents it as a traumatic, horrible thing that happens to her when toys leave her, like, dresser. And she has normal things. Teenage girls have clothes and makeup and things. And the movie just. I have always. I ranted about this on the Patreon. It irks me. It really drives me crazy.

[Ben]

I think we're just hearing a lot of guilt you have.

[Griffin]

Yeah, I don't have any unprocessed guilt. This is what a guilty man would say.

[David]

Obviously, the most audacious thing they ever did was inside out, where they're like, when you forget about an imaginary friend you had when you were a kid, that's murder. He's dead. He vanished. And you're just like, I'm sorry. I didn't realize he had feelings.

[Griffin]

I have the exact opposite read of these things, which is. I think they're about the sort of existential dread of being in a universe that doesn't consider that you have consciousness. And so these things are not being done to you in a way that is hurtful. These things are being done to you out of, like, obliviousness.

[David]

But this is not real.

[Marie]

Again,

[Dana]

there's a nice sentimentality to it there.

[David]

There's gentle. Well, it should be right. But then, like, Jesse's like, I can't do it. You know, like, when you're like, right. She's like a whole person. And that's why I like four. Because it's kind of about, like, should we reckon with that? These are conscious beings. Yeah, Like. But that's, I assume, also why fans got mad at it, where it's like, well, now we're just sort of breaking the convention because it's like, what? Now Woody can just kind of live where he wants.

[Griffin]

But that's the distinction, to me, isn't even a toy. I feel like what you're describing falls a little more into Velveteen Rabbit territory,

[David]

which is like the ultimate original guilt trick. Right? Like, you're just teaching your child, like, right when you stop loving your toy, like, it's sad.

[Griffin]

You literally killed him. He's thrown on the Fire. Because you infected him with your human sickness. Right. Like, that's. That's what that is.

[David]

And what I'll never read, Mike, in that evil book, I'll tell you that much.

[Griffin]

What I've always loved about Toy Story is right there. That's. That's the metaphorical element, what you were sort of discussing. Right. And how it relates to, like, the human condition. And then the other 50% of it is quietly this sort of bizarre sci fi premise.

[David]

Right. Which I like.

[Griffin]

Why are they alive and what is it?

[David]

What's the outer boundary? Are they immortal, mortal? Like they don't need food or air?

[Griffin]

No.

[David]

But they can be destroyed and then they're dead.

[Ben]

Right?

[David]

I guess, but then they're destroyed.

[Ben]

I think it's.

[David]

And also, if you put them in a box, they're sort of like, they're not quite dead, but they seem to basically kind of coma.

[Ben]

There's also a forky of it all, where.

[David]

Well, then in Forky of the greatest

[Griffin]

character of all become a toy if

[Ben]

you are played with.

[David]

Yes. Like, he's made by a child and he is the child's plaything. So thus he is cursed with consciousness.

[Ben]

Right.

[David]

Like, you know. And you know why I love Forky is he's like, I reject consciousness. I wish to be trash.

[Griffin]

I'm trash.

[David]

Right?

[Ben]

Trash is warm. Trash is safe.

[Griffin]

I'm wearing. I'm wearing a forky T shirt that says love is trash. Which is, of course, against the message of this movie, which is Forky is happily married. Although, of course, there are struggles in a relationship. There are.

[David]

Although forky trash is good. So maybe love is trash is a positive message for him.

[Marie]

You know what?

[Griffin]

You're right. That's a very positive read on my T shirt.

[Eiko]

Right.

[David]

Like, he likes trash.

[Marie]

Trash.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

He's pro. He is trash. He's made of trash.

[Griffin]

He's made of trash. He's pro trash. His wife is trash.

[Ben]

I have a question for you, Griffin,

[David]

because what's his wife's name again?

[Ben]

Karen Beverly.

[Marie]

Duh.

[Griffin]

This is the great bit is that Forky is of course a spork.

[David]

Yes.

[Griffin]

They made him. They designed him. They showed him to the child of a Pixar employee, and they said, what would you name this character? And the child said, forky. And they went, it's funnier that the kid gets the utensil Wrong. Right, of course. And then they similarly designed Karen Beverly and they went, this kid's gonna name her Knifey. And they said, what's her name? And the kid said, karen Beverly. Pretty funny. So and so that's why.

[David]

That is the mind of a kid.

[Griffin]

Go with the logic of what an actual kid would do. Don't explain it.

[Ben]

Absolutely forky. So you had, like, a list of topics you wanted to address on this episode, one of which was forky status as a gay, iconic queer icon.

[Griffin]

There's a lot of. There's a lot of forky pride.

[David]

Is that so?

[Griffin]

Which I've been fascinated.

[Ben]

That says love is trash has a big rainbow on it.

[Griffin]

So he's got a rainbow on his foot.

[Ben]

Oh, you're right.

[Griffin]

There's a rainbow sticker on his foot.

[Ben]

That's why.

[Griffin]

This is what I'm trying to figure out.

[Ben]

LGBTQ fork icon.

[Griffin]

There is so much forky pride merch, and it's not just forky with a rainbow on its foot. It's like forky holding a pride flag. This is what I'm trying to figure out.

[David]

Because it, like, it's just the Babadook where they were just kind of like, I don't know. We just decided he's our reclaim him.

[Griffin]

He's speaking to the culture in some way and speaking of cultures and. And respectful relationships to cultures through the Toy Story franchise.

[Marie]

Yes.

[Griffin]

Marie, of course, on her trip to Japan, got for me one of my grails. Samurai Woody the cowboy, which Ben has on his desk.

[David]

You've been added to.

[Griffin]

And we're going to pull the string, which I promised them is not offensive.

[David]

Yeah, okay. He said something in Japanese.

[Griffin]

He did.

[David]

Do we know that? Is he saying, like, that had a samurai effect? Is he sounds sort of out of breath on that one?

[Griffin]

That's very Tom Hanks.

[David]

Is he saying the classic Woody phrases, or is he saying something completely different? I guess that's my question.

[Griffin]

Reach for the sky Samurai sword.

[David]

Right.

[Griffin]

I don't know if anyone.

[David]

If any of our listeners saying, there's a snake in my boot.

[Griffin]

You know what? I should. I should record these and send them to Weiger and get him to translate.

[David]

And we're speaking.

[Griffin]

We found this out recently.

[Ben]

Wait, what?

[Griffin]

When wer went to Japan, he's like, of course I'm bilingual. Yeah,

[David]

you're my favorite deputy.

[Eiko]

Hey, buddy, it's Weiger. Thanks to Griffin for the shout out. I don't want to overstate my proficiency with the Japanese language, but I have been learning, and I. A big part of that has been my studies with my tutor. So because my tutor is also a professional translator, I figured we just throw her into the mix and see if she can help us puzzle these Out. Konnichiwa, Tanaka Sensei.

[Marie]

Konnichiwa.

[Eiko]

So are you familiar with the Toy Story franchise?

[Marie]

Oh, yeah, I've seen it. Yes.

[Eiko]

Did you see Toy Story 5, the most recent entry?

[Marie]

Not yet.

[Eiko]

You, of course, know Woody the cowboy, the protagonist of this series.

[Marie]

Yes.

[Eiko]

There is a samurai Woody toy, and it has some lines of dialogue. And so I'm going to play these for you one at a time, and then if you can just talk them through what your translation might be. Okay, so here we go.

[Marie]

He said is little mata. Wait, stop it. So he say, wait a little. Stop.

[Eiko]

Got it?

[Marie]

Yes.

[Eiko]

Would you have any idea what the context like, is that a common Japanese phrase, you might say?

[Marie]

I wouldn't say it because it's masculine. Yamero. When do I say that? Can you stop if somebody was, I don't know, pulling my hair or something? I don't know.

[Eiko]

Oh. So I wonder if what's happening is. That's Woody the doll kind of being like, hey, stop pulling my string something.

[Ben]

Do you think.

[Eiko]

Do you think it's maybe. Okay, so that. That's a little bit of fourth wall breaky there. And directly addressing the. The. The. The person playing with the doll as if they are the toy, maybe. Okay. All right, next up, let's. Let's listen to this one. And again is the samurai Woody. So we have that little sword clash at the end.

[Marie]

Yes. He said, hashire kaze no yoni hashira run kazenoyoni, as if your wind.

[Eiko]

So this is.

[Griffin]

This.

[Eiko]

This is like bullseye, run. Like the wind is like. That's. That's like his. He's ride like the wind, I guess, is what. Is what they would. You would say in English.

[Marie]

Yes.

[Eiko]

So this is like the thing he would say to his horse. And this. This is a Woody catchphrase. You know, the horse bullseye. He appears in the second one when Woody has a bunch of additional friends.

[Marie]

Ah, I see.

[Eiko]

That's unnecessary context, but there you go. All right, let's see what this third one is. Okay. What is being said there?

[Marie]

He said, Stop it. Stop it. I'm telling you to stop it.

[Eiko]

So again, scolding the person pulling his string.

[Marie]

Something. Yeah, he's telling somebody to stop something, whatever they're doing there.

[Eiko]

Again, it's directly addressing the kid, which you would not do unless you were trying to scare them.

[Marie]

Yeah. I mean, if you're samurai, I don't know. Yeah, that sounds.

[Eiko]

The point is, it doesn't feel Samurai specific. Right?

[Marie]

Yeah. It doesn't have a samurai spirit in It.

[Eiko]

Okay. All right, we got one more.

[Marie]

He said, you beat me. Dirty hand. You use dirty hand. So he.

[Griffin]

You used a dirty hand.

[Eiko]

Wait, does. Does it mean a literal dirty hand? Like the child is filthy?

[Marie]

No, like, you know, when you compete, you do it right. And sometimes they cheat. Whoever was doing something to Woody was using, like a cheating.

[Eiko]

Like a dirty trick.

[Marie]

Yeah.

[Eiko]

It might say in English. Got it.

[Marie]

Yeah.

[Ben]

This is a kid's toy, though.

[Eiko]

This is a child's toy. I mean, perhaps the samurai theming is meant to age it up a little bit, but I. I don't know. It.

[Ben]

It.

[Eiko]

It seems. It seems like only one of these is at all specific to Woody as we know him, which is his Ride like the Wind line.

[Marie]

Wait, Toy Story 5 was shot in Japan?

[Eiko]

No, it's. There's not really a Japanese connection. It's just this. This toy just happens to exist.

[Marie]

Oh, got it.

[Eiko]

Well, Aiko, thank you so much. Before we. Before we go, I did want to add this is a movie podcast, and you are, in addition to being a translator and an excellent teacher, you are an actor and a comedian. And in fact, you played one of the cowgirls at the starting line in the film the Fast and the Tokyo Drift.

[Marie]

Yes.

[Eiko]

Your line was seto. Is it?

[Marie]

Yeah. So we supposed to start the race. Somebody else says, my friend Kyla says, ready. I says, seto. Another person said, go. Because, as you know, in Japanese, seto, we have to enunciate the vowel. But people are complaining. They're like, she's saying set. Go. She's saying it wrong. I'm like, I don't think Universal Studio would publish the movie with my. You know.

[Eiko]

Right.

[Marie]

Yeah. But I lost the voice. I don't think my voice was right. I think they might have done adr.

[Eiko]

Got it.

[Marie]

Because I lost the voice because so much fume and gas.

[Eiko]

Do you have any. Any. Any specific story you remember from your time? Because you have a. You're. You have a couple of scenes. One of them is with Vin Diesel. I'm not sure if he was actually there.

[Marie]

I was with this rapper actor. Little Bow Wow.

[Eiko]

Yes. Yeah.

[Marie]

And he's my size. But he was so popular. Like, all these women were around him. So I was really shocked by that.

[Eiko]

Like a short king.

[Marie]

He's a short king. And he was just so popular, so I was shocked.

[Eiko]

Like, Toy Story, a franchise that will be around for a long time. Eiko, thank you so much. There you go. Not really very illuminating clips. Don't seem to be in character for Woody and Frankly, don't make a lot of sense. Seem to mostly be scolding children for playing with a toy improperly. Anyway, my review of Toy Story 5. Bonnie's mom. Thicker than a hand spun milkshake. Bye, buddy.

[David]

There's a snake in my boot.

[Griffin]

It's many mysteries to that man.

[David]

The greatest man there ever was.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

Number one person. Tied with Mike Winchell.

[David]

Sure. Of course.

[Griffin]

Let's not forget, he's gonna be Mike. Mitch is gonna be so angry about the three seconds where we said Weiker was number one.

[David]

Luckily, he never.

[Ben]

Does Mitch speak any other languages besides English?

[Griffin]

Boston.

[David]

Boston, Right. Yeah. No, I. I couldn't think of a better joke.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[Ben]

Okay, so this movie, the plot, what is it?

[Griffin]

It opens. I love the opening of this film. It opens with a desert island.

[David]

Yeah, that's right.

[Griffin]

I forgot about that first person POV inside the Buzz Lightyear helmet. A cargo.

[David]

Right. Okay.

[Eiko]

Yes.

[David]

Okay, Here he's you.

[Griffin]

You scan the wreckage. You hear the breathing. It's similar to Buzz's awakening in the first Toy Story, right? But then you see, right, like a cargo ship that's turned over. The beach is littered with Buzz Lightyears, and they all start to turn on and activate. And these are the new high tech Buzzes, right? These are WI fi enabled Buzzes that look very much like the original Buzz, but have kind of a shinier paint job.

[David]

And they've got a device in there.

[Griffin]

Their symbol glows. Yeah, they're the little screen.

[Dana]

Everything's got the Internet kind of screen.

[Griffin]

And they function as, like. I don't know. They are lesion. They are.

[Ben]

It's kind of like a hive mind situation.

[Griffin]

And you just have this thing of all of them, like, waking up and waking each other up, like, very lost, post crash. Like, are you okay? They don't really have language yet.

[David]

No, they don't speak.

[Griffin]

It cuts to them at night. Like, this is already a surprising cut to just be like, where are we in this?

[David]

How much of this were you prepared for? Because I assume we've been. You've been scanning the More than I was. Rumors.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

Yeah. Right. Because I had no idea. I knew the movie had an iPad, say.

[Griffin]

Also, I believe they screened this opening at Cinemacon last year. Like, they had this done. Sure. And so a year ago, there were some stories that were people. Like, the opening of Toy Story 5 is really bizarre. I'm curious to see what this movie is now, because I was not expecting this.

[David]

It's an MMA fight and. Yeah, not mma, sorry. Wrestling.

[Griffin]

It starts with an aw Wrestler kicking. Yeah. I want to say someone in the Reddit, because I may just watching Ben

[Eiko]

fix Samurai Woody Marie caught me.

[Dana]

I just was trying to make sure.

[Ben]

You really are looking at him like he's a little person. And I'm like, you know what?

[Griffin]

Ben's glowing,

[Dana]

sweetie.

[Griffin]

What was the thing I was gonna say? Oh, people were calling out that I said AEW instead of WWE in the Disclosure Day episode.

[David]

Sure. And they were kind of calling it out positively.

[Griffin]

I feel. No, just that I used a different specific, that I didn't go for the most obvious wrestling league. And they said, like, how funny would it be if Griffin got really into wrestling and went to the aew? All or nothing. I want people to know I went.

[David]

You went with a singer, right?

[Griffin]

I went with Matt Singer, Brendan McDonald, friends of the show. They took me to my first ever wrestling event. It was really fun. And I sat next to a blankie who bought me drinks and a T shirt. I just want people to know I had a great fucking time. And I like Orange Cassidy.

[Ben]

Is this going to be your sport now?

[David]

I feel like you've always had a

[Griffin]

little closer to theater, and that's why it's sketch comedy. Let's call it what it is, athletic sketch comedy.

[David]

It's very athletic. They're impressive athletes. They do all kinds of crazy stunts.

[Griffin]

And, you know, Orange Cassidy's bit is that he's a guy who's sort of, like, too cool to wrestle. So he shows up wearing a Canadian tuxedo and sunglasses, his hands in his pockets, and he does crazy moves, refusing to take his hands out of his pockets because he doesn't want to show any effort.

[David]

Right.

[Griffin]

It's a pretty funny bit. Blood Slayers all make a campsite. They make a fire. Then they look up at the night sky, they see stars, and they start remembering Star Command. I think this is such a good bit that the movie finds a way to, like, exploit, like, seven different ways across the runtime.

[David]

I just feel like they could have shouted out lightyear more. You know, it's an important movie. It's part of the canon.

[Griffin]

But, David, these are the toys, not the man that the toys are based on.

[David]

I'm just waiting. Light Year two, do you know? Coming.

[Griffin]

Do you know? I have it on good authority that they had a trilogy planned.

[David]

Of course they. I mean, that makes sense. I'm sure they thought it was going to be a big deal.

[Griffin]

And the second movie, we add the aliens. Great.

[David]

Oh, like the.

[Griffin]

The claw.

[David]

Are the aliens not in this One.

[Griffin]

The first time I saw it, I thought they were not in it at all. And this time I looked. They're in some of the group shots early, but they're like. Like, even when they go to the garage, they're not in the box.

[David]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

It's enough for them. Yeah, they've had their time.

[Dana]

It's cool how the buzzes are able to climb up the crane by, like,

[David]

climbing on each other, like, zombie style.

[Dana]

I love seeing the action of. Of these new buzzes.

[Griffin]

I like that. Yes, they can. They can sort of form, like, larger shapes and things.

[Ben]

I was a little, like, afraid of them. I think they're scary in a good way too. Powerful.

[David]

Yeah, sure. Let's stop though them.

[Ben]

Yeah, I think we need to stop them. I think they can be weaponized. They're drones.

[David]

Well, I think the limitless, like, you can't hurt. You can't. You'll hurt yourself thinking about it. These toys have access to the Internet now. They're sentient beings. They seemingly can do all kinds of things online without us knowing.

[Dana]

Wait, are they on our Reddit commenting?

[David]

Well, this is the thing. I actually. I actually discussed this with someone.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

And I was like, it's something the movie doesn't want to deal with, and that's fine. But I was like, if toys were talking to each other on the Internet, as they basically do in this, that's actually creating a paper trail, which I feel like kind of violates their. We can't be seen being alive. It's like, at a certain point, the government might kind of be like, hey,

[Ben]

like, it's going to become an X File.

[David]

Other beings talking on these apps like, what is this?

[Griffin]

But that's already started in three. I mean, Trixie, the Kristen Schaal character, does have a texting relationship with other toys. She's emailing at least.

[Ben]

Yeah. Trixie, I feel, is the most Marie, like, of all of the characters.

[David]

She doesn't really. She has, like, a line in this.

[Griffin]

Maybe she's got a couple jokes she does. Like, Jeff Garland's character is silenced. Unsurprisingly, he is still silenced for speaking

[David]

the truth on how he wanted to hug people as well, or whatever it is he did.

[Griffin]

He kept saying, ow, my vagina on set. That was his joke.

[Ben]

Who do you relate to the most?

[Marie]

Rex.

[Griffin]

No, no. Well, in the early films, it was Jesse and then Forky. I. I unsurprisingly relay very hard my

[David]

face when I learned Jeff Garland was not gonna voice anyone into this movie. What is it that you're showing the uncanny valley. They made, like, a CGI gift. Jeff Garland for, like, the. The finale of the Goldbergs because they'd already fired him. But, like, they didn't want to, like, kill the dad off.

[Griffin]

I think they did. Am I wrong in thinking they did one season post his death Death. Like, post the character death?

[David]

I don't think.

[Griffin]

But that was to finish off the season they already had shot.

[David]

I'm not even sure that he died, though. Or did they just kind of, like, you know, say, like, he's on vacation.

[Griffin]

My memory is that I'm not in.

[David]

Let me. Yes, he died.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[David]

Off season.

[Ben]

Right.

[David]

Like, yeah. But he was used for a graduation episode in season nine.

[Griffin]

Right.

[David]

And they had fired.

[Griffin]

There was a season 10 where Wendy McLovin Covey got, like, a big pay raise. Deservedly so. So funny because she became the only parent.

[Dana]

But now show us your impression. You're about to go into it, but yeah.

[Griffin]

Marie, can you take a picture of this?

[Ben]

You gotta face me.

[Griffin]

Basically, he was so annoying and would just make hypersexual jokes all the time to the cast and crew that for years they built.

[David]

I'm kidding.

[Griffin]

It's funny. For years, they did a thing where they basically would shoot him out of every episode in one day, isolated from most other actors. And then finally it got like, that's too extreme. But they had a bunch of episodes that already had been written with the assumption they'd get the one day out of him for the end of that season. So they finished it with weird cgi,

[David]

and I think they threw in some outtakes and some whatever, you know, like, they.

[Griffin]

They did what?

[Marie]

They.

[Griffin]

They patched it together. He doesn't talk in this. The Potato Heads have been recast. They also only have a couple lines. I think this is kind of smart. And I heard Stanton and Harris talk about this, where they were like. Like, the cast has gotten too big. It's an embarrassment of riches.

[Dana]

Sure.

[Griffin]

Anytime we cut to the Bonnie's room, we try to put them all in the same frame so you can at least see everyone. But, like, realistically, everyone's getting three lines in this movie outside of our main cast.

[Dana]

Totally. Who do you relate to or who do you feel like you are in this universe?

[Ben]

You are

[Dana]

like, I'm fucking Survivor.

[David]

Griff, you're the Toy Story expert here. Is there a. Is there a David Coded Toy Story character that I'm not thinking too hard about sometimes?

[Griffin]

I have Potato Head.

[Ben]

I was gonna say Potato Head.

[David]

I'm a married spud. I'M a married spud. He's too grumpy. I actually like Potato Head in the early movies. I'm kind of like, can you fucking relax once in a while? He's always so down on his.

[Griffin]

He's a roast comedian.

[David]

He sure is.

[Ben]

He loves his wife.

[Griffin]

He does. He's got three children.

[Ben]

Yes, the monkeys.

[Griffin]

The aliens.

[Ben]

Oh, the aliens.

[Griffin]

Right, the monkeys are in his butt.

[Ben]

Right, the monkeys are in his butt.

[David]

These are all important things to do.

[Ben]

They're also a little bit of ham, I think.

[Griffin]

Just ham. Know it all.

[David]

Ham in those early movies is also kind of just like kind of an ombudsman type. Like, he's always kind of in the mix and organizing and stuff. I don't know.

[Griffin]

Ratzenberger was always, of course, the Pixar good luck charm. He was in every film. And then since Lasseter was ousted, he stopped doing them. And sure, I did notice that his billing is very low on this movie.

[David]

Does he have a line? Him says something.

[Griffin]

He says a couple things and I was like, that's really similar to a joke from three. Or that's really similar to a joke from four. I am wondering if Don Rickles style. They did just use outtakes for him on this one and paid him and he wouldn't come in. It's pure speculation on my part, but I noticed that the. The billing order, the end credits was not alphabetical and he was all the way down at the bottom.

[David]

Yeah, well, he noticed.

[Griffin]

He noticed something sleuth over here. Yes.

[Ben]

Did you make a post on the Toy Story Reddit about this?

[Griffin]

No, I refuse to engage with that place.

[David]

Good for you.

[Griffin]

It's a place for heathens and maniacs.

[Dana]

I'm.

[David]

I'm Duke Caboom.

[Griffin]

You are not.

[Ben]

You're not Duke Caboom. You're not Duke Caboom.

[David]

Why not?

[Ben]

Because Duke Caboom is like a failure with an inflated ego, you know?

[David]

Yeah, but he's, you know, he's come low and he's come. I guess I'm not really.

[Ben]

We love him. But you're not Duke Caboom.

[David]

Okay. I'm just trying to think of characters. I'm the doll from 4. What's her name?

[Griffin]

You are kind of Gabby's girl.

[David]

She's kind of like, like lost in her Right. Like she's never been able to escape high school even a way, you know? I mean, like, she's one of those people who's just kind of like watching

[Griffin]

the Mets on her laptop. Yeah.

[David]

Love the Mets. They won last. Last night, beat the Phillies.

[Griffin]

David's wearing.

[Ben]

I don't care about the Phillies. Yeah, let's go Mets.

[Griffin]

Hey, just to finish this loop, Timothy Dalton not back as Prickle Pants who gets a couple good jokes.

[David]

Was he not in four either? I feel like had he not departed the role already?

[Griffin]

He was in four and in Toy Story of Terror, he. Someone else voiced the character for Fork. He asked a question and it's a different guy who's doing it for this, right? And I looked up this guy and I was like, what do I know this guy from? And the answer is he played Jeffrey Epstein in the Netflix movie about the Prince Andrew interview, which is when I watched that film. It's a non speaking role. I was like, like, this is the worst role you could ever have as an actor. You are just physical double for Jeffrey Epstein in close ups. Non speaking walking through Central park with Prince Andrew.

[David]

Can I just read a great, great Ben Hosley tweet out, please? I've just been scrolling through one of our finest. This is from April 2021. Vanity License Plate that says Fang.

[Griffin]

God, he's so. He never misses. We're so lucky to have him. And he never misses. Ben, can you talk about some of the things you liked about this movie? Because I feel like you. You were surprised by how pro.

[Dana]

You were great jokes. I thought it was really funny. The parents, when Bonnie and Blaze are finally connecting towards the end and the parents are watching and when they start to come in, they're like, get out of here. Act normal.

[Griffin]

This is Ben's favorite moment. He like, he did the Leo point at the screen last night when it happened. Like, it's your favorite part. Well, we should.

[Dana]

I know.

[David]

I know that feeling a little bit when you're like when. When I brought my daughter over to someone's house for a play date and you are kind of doing the, like, it's like we're introducing the fish to a new, you know, tank and we'll see if she can thrive or, you

[Griffin]

know, where you just daughter.

[David]

They kind of just like run off to their room and you're like, good, good, good. Great, great, great, great, great.

[Dana]

Like they're doing it.

[Ben]

They're doing it.

[Dana]

Okay.

[David]

They're fine.

[Griffin]

Your daughter famously says I shy.

[David]

Yeah, Your daughter does say I. My daughter does say, hi.

[Griffin]

My daughter says that too. Yeah, Our daughters have that in common. When we go to Bonnie's room, we open with the. The wedding being staged. I feel like. Or very quickly get to that. Forky and Karen Beverly are getting betrothed. Bonnie's In a phase where she just wants to watch marriages all the time. You're reading another Ben tweet so good.

[David]

I ate too many pasta. And my apartment is small.

[Dana]

I don't know what that means.

[David]

That is March 13, 2020. So it's right before lockdown. Maybe you're just kind of, like, you know, exploring, like, what it felt like to kind of be carb maxing and not being able to go out.

[Griffin]

My apartment is small apartment, I assume.

[David]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dana]

Okay.

[David]

Feathers are bone hair.

[Eiko]

Right?

[David]

That's a. You know that. I mean, that's just.

[Griffin]

Damn it.

[David]

That's just what's bouncing around that knocking of his all the time.

[Griffin]

What a brain. Feathers are bone hair. Bonnie's in the stage where she's really enjoying putting on fake weddings. And so Forky and Kevin Beverly are getting married, which is the thing the movie treats as. If Bonnie gives you a wedding, then that counts. It's legally binding. But also prickle pants. If he's officiating, it's legally binding because there was one playtime where he was a haunted priest, I think, or haunted reverend.

[Ben]

He's ordained.

[Griffin]

He's ordained, right? Yes.

[David]

Yeah, we're in the. Right in the sweet Bonnie vision to the.

[Ben]

You know, it's like, kind of pastel y, a little golden book style, which is really cute.

[David]

I thought it was clever.

[Griffin]

We've never gone into playtime vision in this kind of way.

[David]

No, because in. In two uc Andy's. Is it two or three? No, it's three that begins with the train. A recreation of play from prior Toy Story.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[David]

But it just looks like an epic movie. It doesn't have, like, a style beyond the style we know.

[Griffin]

And I would say that's. That's what we've done. Like, yeah. If you go to the buzz video

[David]

game, too is like, you know, it just looks like Toy Story.

[Griffin]

I think this is, like, a really, really cool visual choice. And I like that it's always a murder mystery, that they imply that there's always a who poisoned blank to these wedding.

[Ben]

So accurate.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[Ben]

To my playtime as a child.

[Griffin]

Oh, I thought you were gonna say to your wedding.

[Ben]

Well, no, but no one died. But it was always, like, soap opera level.

[Griffin]

Sure.

[Ben]

Like, people were having affairs. There were weddings. There were secret children.

[Griffin]

This is a big thing about Bonnie.

[Ben]

There were murderers.

[Griffin]

The problem with Andy, that gets exposed more and more as we're deeper into the Bonnie verse is that Andy is incredibly nonspecific beyond just how creepy he looks as like an early cgi Human. It just.

[David]

It does look awful.

[Griffin]

It is like the Pixar people all had children who weren't yet at this age. Yeah.

[David]

I mean, Andy likes cowboy because he like Woody, so he wears a cowboy hat.

[Griffin]

And then he likes spaceman because he like Buzz, so he wear a helmet.

[David]

I'm going to read another Ben Tweet.

[Griffin]

Okay, good.

[David]

November 2019. I hope the Star wars universe reveals the chocolate planet.

[Griffin]

This is what's incredible.

[David]

They're all good.

[Griffin]

Ben would just sit down and just spit out a thought like that. And he would, you know, every few

[David]

weeks, like, he would, you know, he would take his time. Time, right?

[Marie]

Yeah.

[Dana]

Just kind of check in from time to time.

[Eiko]

Right.

[Griffin]

They always had the tone of imagining Ben just sitting in his study, stroking his chin and then going, huh? And then sharing this missive with the world.

[Ben]

You know that like, gif of like a guy with like a quill.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[Ben]

And it, like, is on fire because

[David]

what he's about to write is so fire.

[Ben]

That's like every one of Ben's tweets.

[Griffin]

All of Ben's tweets feel like they were written in ink with a feather.

[Eiko]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

A hundred percent. Or I'm sorry, bone hair.

[Eiko]

Right, Right. Yeah.

[Griffin]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back.

[David]

So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my biggest idea for the commercial.

[Griffin]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment

[Ben]

of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for a 12 month plan required $15 per month equivalent taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. Me slow when network is busy.

[Griffin]

See terms.

[David]

This episode is supported by FX's the Shards, a seductive drama from executive producer Ryan Murphy. Set in 1980s Los Angeles, the series follows a group of glamorous, deeply entangled high school seniors drawn into a life of wealth, beauty, parties, and excess. At its center is Brett, whose reality begins to unravel when the arrival of a new student coincides with a series of mysterious murders. FX's the Shards premieres August 5th on FX and Hulu. Okay, so, all right, what's happening? Oh, yeah, Forky is married. Forky, you know, I love Forky so much, but, you know, relegated to minor characters.

[Griffin]

It's good jokes. It's a couple guys I have no offense at this. I'm not defensive about. I think he gets good stuff to do.

[David]

He had a movie.

[Griffin]

He had a movie. Exactly. And I think this movie, very smartly, is like, let's really lock in on. On four kind of main characters and then our double A gang, which we'll get to. The thing I was going to say is this is another thing that feels like a nice little corrective cleanup. A thing I don't like in three is the subplot of buzz has spent 10 years trying to build up the courage to hold Jesse's hand. Feels so infantilizing.

[David]

Well, they are toys and they're romance. It's tough to imagine.

[Ben]

I agree with you. I don't like this. I don't like my Buzz being a bitch.

[David]

No, but Buzz, this is sort of addressed in both three and four. Right. Buzz's crush, like, what are the other.

[Griffin]

Buzz crush develops at the end of two. In three, it is. He has spent 10 years in a toy box with her, not saying anything, just being awkward. And at the end, he accidentally holds her hand and they look at each other. In four, they're, like, kind of together, but they don't get that much time. 4 really doesn't. Doesn't know what to do with Jesse.

[Marie]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

Which is my biggest gripe with four. Yeah. And then this one, I like that it's like he's jealous that he hasn't gotten to do the wedding with her. They are clearly in a relationship, and they have a work relationship as well.

[David]

Do you not just think, like, the topic of romance in these movies between toys is just. It's a naughty topic.

[Griffin]

This is my other take that I shared with Ben is I think this is kind of like the romance movie, because I think what Jesse is working through in her, like, past owners and this fear of losing it is more of a breakup thing.

[Ben]

Can I commit?

[David]

Can I? Yeah, sure.

[Ben]

It.

[Dana]

Well, it's been hurt so many times before.

[Griffin]

It's that. And it's also like, if it ended badly, then did it mean anything in the first place? That's what she's looking for. That's what the tree moment's about for me. You know, it's like, can you have something that meant something that didn't last forever?

[Ben]

Would you name your child after an example?

[Griffin]

No, that's insane.

[David]

That seems like a bad idea.

[Ben]

Yeah, I agree.

[Griffin]

That's where the metaphor gets stretchy. I also. We'll get to the tree moment, but there's some other angles I think you need to consider. There for why I think I. I buy it. So Buzz is now her like right hand. Deputy Jesse is leading Bonnie's room.

[Ben]

Right.

[David]

She's got the new Woody, right?

[Griffin]

Which is something Stanton said he wrote into four. Pointedly.

[David]

Yeah. It's four ends with that idea of Jesse giving Woody, giving Jesse this star

[Griffin]

not thinking that he was going to do. I think that is where the franchise should go. I think we've put so much story on Woody's shoulders, the movies are ready to move over to someone else. And Jesse's probably overdue to be the center at one of these. So very quickly, Bonnie's parents notice that she has no friends.

[Dana]

I mean, she says it to them.

[Griffin]

She does.

[Dana]

It's heartbreaking because she sees like neighborhood kids.

[Griffin]

Why does no one want to play with me?

[Dana]

And just doesn't know how to talk to them. She's so tired.

[David]

There are these twins next door and she' trying to build up the courage to play with them. The movie does not address whatever is happening at school, which you know, it can't because it would be like, that's just too much to deal with. But I guess the idea is that Bonnie is struggling to make friends. She's shy.

[Griffin]

You see that in 4:2. You see that the other kids at school are not particularly nice to her.

[David]

Four is.

[Griffin]

That's why she makes four kids.

[Ben]

Because she's right.

[David]

But four is set on the first or even like a preliminary day of kindergarten. So you don't really know what they're.

[Ben]

So it was orientation.

[David]

Exactly.

[Griffin]

Yes. But she's shy.

[David]

She's shy. She's struggling to whatever, socialize or whatever. And her parents, you know, who again are mediocre parents, deal with this by buying her a tablet computer called Lily Pad. Here's they like dump it on her fucking bed. Being like, here you go, this will help you make friends.

[Griffin]

The implication is that this is like

[David]

a very popular device being marketed as like help your kid connect to other kids.

[Griffin]

That's connected to sort of a closed loop for kids social network.

[Ben]

Right.

[David]

The Lily Pad.

[Griffin]

And that's the cell that has successfully worked on the public. I did think watching it a second time. Do her parents oversights make a little more sense if they have a second kid? If in between four and five.

[David]

You mean, if they're just kind of like she's, you know, I, I don't know. We're like, we're stretched thin. It's true. Bonnie is an only child, right?

[Griffin]

I was like, they, they seem hyper focused on Bonnie and also making some Easy mistakes.

[David]

I, I, maybe, I don't know. I mean, maybe one of them has a trap.

[Griffin]

The movie has to happen. Yeah, yeah, maybe one of them.

[Dana]

But I guess, like, it's good they're not taking enough of an active role.

[Griffin]

Correct.

[Dana]

Where they should have. The parents should have made a, like a play date.

[Eiko]

Right.

[Ben]

Like, what are they Versus leaving her

[David]

in a room, waiting for her to

[Dana]

kind of make it happen through, like

[David]

a group chat, I guess. So again, you're, you're, look, I'm analyzing the behavior of cartoon parents in a cartoon movie that has to have, or have an iPad to have the story happen. Obviously, it's hard to make your kid make friends at this age, I'm sure. Because you can't, like, go to school and be like, hey, you, you know, my kid wants to be your friend. Like, you know, that's not gonna work. Yeah, that's not how kids make friends for sure. So, I mean, obviously she goes to dance class, as we know, because that's who she's connected to via Lily pad.

[Griffin]

That's true.

[David]

So she's already going. They have signed her up for classes, but clearly she's struggling to make friends.

[Ben]

Another lesson of this film is that that dance is really cliquey and the girls are mean.

[Griffin]

This is the thing I love and friends of the show. Adam Volrich, Dom Nero host of the Eye of the Duck podcast I was texting with them about the movie and they said a good thing this movie does, in their opinion that I agree with, is it definitively establishes some kids are just shitty.

[David]

Lily gets redeemed somewhat. It makes no effort to be like, oh, and those kids, they didn't mean it. It's just kind of like, yeah, no,

[Griffin]

I guess those kids, some kids suck.

[Dana]

Yep.

[David]

People are just bullied to each other

[Dana]

and it's, it's just the nature of the world.

[Griffin]

Because the Sid argument, you can always say, like, Sid's creative. He doesn't know he's hurting them. He doesn't think they're alive. Like, he's not an ill intention.

[Ben]

Seems like his home life. There's a lot of stuff going on.

[Griffin]

There are a lot of kids with negligent parents who are growing up shitty in the world of Toy Story 5.

[David]

I guess so, yes. But also, kids are mean to each other. Like, you know, again, it's like you can only control so much in the world. Of course kids will be mean to each other. It's how kids explore everything. They don't, you know, they don't have fully Developed senses of empathy or whatever. They're not, you know, you. I. It's. It's, you know, I've. It's happened in pre K. Like, you know, like, you know, of course kids are mean.

[Griffin]

Jesse's very invested, almost like me, a parent in how do I get her to connect? And she can help facilitate.

[David]

You know, like, Woody is like that in 3 and 4. Especially. Especially in 4. Like, the whole idea is he's like,

[Griffin]

I'll go to kindergarten. Yeah.

[David]

To help Bonnie. And it's kind of like bro, you know, well, being too extra.

[Griffin]

This is the dramatic tension where they're

[David]

playing a bit of a. What's the ranch called?

[Ben]

Rooting. Tooting.

[David]

You're being a little root and tootin ranch. A little thing about this.

[Griffin]

You're putting a little too much root and tootin ranch dress on. But yes, she tries to do it and then realizes that she accidentally embarrasses Bonnie that other kids are growing out toys. Now. I remember when the trailer came out. David.

[David]

Yes.

[Griffin]

You were like, I reject this premise. My daughter loves toys more than anything thing. What is a memory of this?

[David]

What do you mean?

[Griffin]

You did text this. The idea that it's like, toys are outmoded. No one cares anymore. She's everything.

[David]

Want to play with her toys because she'll only want to play with the iPad or whatever.

[Ben]

Uhhuh.

[Griffin]

Right.

[David]

Okay.

[Griffin]

What is a sort of like, studied thing is that kids are aging out of toys at an earlier age.

[David]

Sure.

[Griffin]

And tech is often thought of as the sort of, like, that's what's bridging the gap.

[Dana]

And Jesse keeps saying throughout the film that technology is making kids grow up faster.

[Griffin]

I know it's gonna end.

[Dana]

That is true.

[Ben]

I agree.

[Dana]

Yes.

[David]

This is the fear. Fear.

[Eiko]

Right.

[Griffin]

And that Bonnie seems a little bit younger. She seems.

[David]

I like how you said Jesse says that. Like, like, it's like Jesse, who's a professor of toyology.

[Griffin]

Correct.

[David]

With a degree from the university of toy.

[Griffin]

Yep.

[David]

You know, kids are growing up faster. I'm like, Jesse, you live in a closet. Like, you know what the. You're not reading periodicals on this.

[Griffin]

It's a walk in.

[Ben]

Yeah. Where is she getting, like. Where is she getting all of this, like, exposure to others?

[David]

She gets on the walkie talkie and Woody's like, I live in a skunk ro.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

And I'm. I'm hearing a lot of things too.

[Griffin]

You have to remember, Jesse and Woody have been alive for like 60 years.

[David]

Yeah. They've been alive. Right. Like 60 to 70 years. If they're like 50s or 60s toys. Right. That's the idea.

[Ben]

Thing was that Jesse wasn't played. Jesse was. Wasn't played with.

[David]

Abandoned for 30 years. The thing the movies won't touch is who was Woody's owner before Andy? I thought it was his family, but they won't say. He won't talk about it. He talks about Andy like his first owner.

[Ben]

That's true.

[David]

And he's not like, of course I'm a old to. I was played with by Andy Senior before he went off to the war. He died or whatever.

[Griffin]

Thought four was going to do one line.

[David]

Uhhuh.

[Griffin]

And they didn't.

[David]

It's always clearly kind of like it's too complicated. Who cares?

[Ben]

Right?

[Griffin]

And also the short answer, they also

[David]

won't explain, like, why is there a pope car in the car world? Are the cars Catholic?

[Griffin]

Well, because they need guidance. What do you mean?

[David]

No, I'm just saying, like, why Story

[Ben]

three is about religion.

[Griffin]

Some popes are Catholic.

[Ben]

Catholic.

[Griffin]

Some cars are Catholic. The Vanessa Redgrave car is Catholic.

[Ben]

Vanessa Redgrave voices?

[Griffin]

Yeah. Franco Nero. They play Luigi's Italian aunt.

[David]

Uncle Car sounds very not.

[Ben]

Wait, this isn't real.

[Griffin]

This is real. Real.

[David]

This is the movie that makes the other movie look like the other movie.

[Griffin]

Cars 2 is the most demented film ever made. I rewatched it again recently to be

[Ben]

like, Vanessa Redgrave voices an Italian car

[Griffin]

in a small role. I would even say an insignificant role. She maybe only speaks Italian in the movie. In the English dub. Yeah. Her and Franco Nero play Italian relatives who they visit in a small cars town.

[Dana]

Okay, so Bonnie gets the tablet.

[Griffin]

Well, I. No, I was gonna mention in Jesse's failed attempt because this pre. This predates it. In Jesse's failed attempt to try to set Bonnie up to make friends, she ends up behind the house with the toys who are all now traumatized by being abandoned by their owner.

[David]

They're in a kiddie pool or whatever.

[Griffin]

There's the kiddie pool. It' party source. Rex friends. And all these toys are like doomsday. Like tech is coming. You don't understand.

[Dana]

It's over. There's like a. The monkey with the symbol Windup doll. That's pretty funny. Calling out the bunny with the Dr. He's just like. He's like doing the homer kind of. David's just giving me a blank look.

[Griffin]

Yeah, I mean, I remember blank Jack look.

[Ben]

That's.

[Griffin]

That's what he's giving.

[David]

Money in the bank.

[Griffin]

So Jesse's got this warning of be, beware, right?

[David]

They're all iPad addict is coming.

[Griffin]

And then she sees arrive Lily Pad comes out and immediately she's got an attitude.

[Dana]

Attitude. She's also just like addicted zombie.

[David]

But, but she, but Ben's Griffin's saying that Lily the character has an attitude.

[Griffin]

Lily has an attitude.

[David]

Bonnie, she's kind of snarky. She's kind of like, well, I know what's best. You know, like she's got that vibe. Calls Jesse Jessica, which I think is funny because I think that is kind of the vibe of tech of like, well, I've solved all the problems.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

I, as technology. I'm like voiced by Greta Lee in the grand tradition of Pixar. Being like, I don't know who's like kind of been in some good grown up movies recently.

[Griffin]

Yeah. Also who was sort of cresting three years ago when we started developing this movie. At one point it was announced that Anna Faris was in this movie and it's unclear if Greta Lee replaced her. If she was supposed to play a

[David]

different character would make sense as like a kind of chirpy tech. You know, Anna's so good at that, kind of like, you know, making fun of that.

[Griffin]

But it's, it's almost better to have a voice that's a little steelier.

[David]

How's Anna Faris in a scary movie Sex?

[Ben]

She doesn't look well is all I will say.

[Griffin]

I, I, I would agree with that. She is so good in scary movie 6 and it helps that she's doing the jam. Lee Curtis. I've been going crazy in my house waiting for my revenge.

[David]

I haven't seen the film.

[Ben]

Griffin's seen it multiple times.

[Griffin]

I've seen it twice. I think it's very funny. I think it also is like really good at the Legacy. Cool.

[David]

Sure.

[Griffin]

It's making fun of the whole movie is the Lego sequel characters being so angry at the young characters who are like trying to be like, we're the leads now. And they're like, you guys, so hard. This sucks. No one wants to see your movie. And Anna Faris plays the sort of shell shocked PTSD trauma plots survivor character.

[David]

Did you see it?

[Ben]

Did I see scary movie 6?

[Griffin]

How many times did you see it?

[David]

Marie's just, Marie's just looking at me.

[Griffin]

She's going into the sunken.

[David]

People won't even say that whether you saw it. They just look at you like this, this David. Except no, wait, in the whale meme, he's actually doing a different face in that.

[Ben]

Yeah, I mean it's a different face

[Griffin]

in in the whale meme, he's thinking that people are amazing.

[David]

People are amazing.

[Ben]

No, I didn't see. I've never seen a single scary movie.

[David]

I'm not sure that I've ever seen one in full, to be honest.

[Griffin]

This one has a really good K pop Demon Hunters parody that is fully animated.

[Ben]

I think you're the only person, like,

[David]

I will say on the planet, people were generally negative about this film.

[Griffin]

I'm, like, a little surprised. I'm not, like, saying, like, five stars. I'm go see it. I was like, I think this is funny. And I rewatched all the previous ones recently, and they're not better than this.

[David]

But are they worse?

[Griffin]

Several of them are.

[David]

Right.

[Griffin]

And I think.

[David]

But are they. No. Okay. Sorry. But are they good?

[Griffin]

Some of them are. Half of them are not four.

[David]

Five is in my memory. They're kind of all bad.

[Griffin]

Five is one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

[David]

Right. And that's the one Anna Faris isn't even in.

[Griffin]

Correct. That's one of the worst films, like, ever to get a wide release. Truly.

[David]

Maybe you just couldn't handle the truth of all the satire.

[Griffin]

Five was written and shot, directed by Malcolm D. Lee.

[David]

Yes.

[Griffin]

To primarily be a Black Swan parody. And then in January, Mama came out and opened pretty well, and they panicked and went, what if the movie's Mama instead? And they reshot the movie to be 50% mama six weeks before it came out.

[David]

Sounds good.

[Griffin]

With David Zucker taking over. Yeah.

[David]

I was about to say that sounds really.

[Griffin]

Yeah, it feels like that. A movie made in a month.

[David]

December 2019. In the Sopranos pilot, Christopher mentions his cousin went to my high school, then shoots someone.

[Dana]

It's true.

[David]

That's the.

[Dana]

That's just a high school.

[Griffin]

Bonnie gets on the pond, she starts making friends. She gets invited to a sleepover. Jesse and Bullseye sneak into the. The suitcase to accompany her. And she is embarrassed by having toys.

[David]

Yes. So this is the thing, right? Like, Bonnie is now being seen as a baby by other kids because she likes. She wants to play with toys and do goofy voices and pretend and. Right.

[Ben]

And.

[Griffin]

And Lily Pad really takes it as a. Like, see, I'm right.

[David]

I'm right. She just needs to be networked. She needs to be keeping up to date on all the games they play on my. My os.

[Ben]

Every morning before school, she has to be like, you know, checking in with the group chat.

[Dana]

Even the way that they engage with each other is they're all just sitting next to each other but looking At a screen.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[David]

I just have to address this. Ben is basically acting like we just watched like a news hour movie. I know. Can I. A PBS news hour documentary about how kids actually are. It is a movie. I'm not sure they're all actually in their rooms tapping away on tablets. I don't know.

[Dana]

I see teens out.

[David]

Well, the teens. It's different.

[Dana]

Teens.

[David]

It's bad.

[Dana]

They're sitting at the table, you know, at the. Whatever, the fast food place, and they're all just staring at their phone. They're not engaging with.

[Ben]

I'm kind of like that.

[David]

I. Right.

[Marie]

We're all.

[David]

We've all been guilty of this. I mean, Damon, you.

[Dana]

You have.

[Ben]

But I'm trying to get away from every episode. Staring at a screen.

[David]

Well, that's true.

[Griffin]

I mean.

[David]

I mean, how else would I tell you? Ben Hosley, on my birthday in 2019, tweeted, I've decided my new bit is. I'm serious. Which is funny.

[Griffin]

No greater bit.

[David]

Oh, okay.

[Dana]

I was. I was not sure if I was going to do this. We don't have to do it. Screen time challenge, guys.

[Griffin]

Screens down.

[David]

So what do you.

[Dana]

How do time.

[Griffin]

Oh, to literally do the count.

[David]

To, like, look it up. It can't be good.

[Ben]

Okay, I just need to preface this by saying my job is phone.

[Griffin]

Yeah. Unfortunately. I mean, so we're all kind of in job is tech territory.

[Dana]

It's.

[David]

That is the thing I wore. I. I deal with a little bit. It's not so much job. Although I don't like that it's job.

[Ben]

Wait, are we doing daily average?

[David]

Yeah, whatever it says. Every week.

[Dana]

I got five hours, three minutes.

[Ben]

Oh, I'm four hours, seven minutes.

[Dana]

That's great.

[Ben]

But that's because my job is phone. But also my job is computer.

[David]

I was about to say I text

[Ben]

people from computer hurts.

[David]

As do I. And I slack from yes.

[Ben]

Y.

[David]

Mine is 5 hours, 12 minutes.

[Griffin]

I seemingly either turn mine off or never turned it on. So it has no report for me.

[Eiko]

It.

[Griffin]

It says, look here, 18 hours app and website activity. Turn off.

[David]

You broke it. You broke it. I have the problem also of, like, because I'm always like, I should get one of those brick things and I should brick my phone more often. Blah, blah. And then I'm like, But like, it's so irritating how so much of my life is on the phone. My admin, you know, that kind of of like the school shit, the class app, like the fucking shopping I do for the family or whatever at school once.

[Ben]

And I had to Download an app for it.

[David]

That's really Glass Dojo. You had to get.

[Ben]

Yeah. Something. And I'm like, this is fucking nuts. That is there to, like, you know, pick up this child.

[Griffin]

I try to push away, but it is like, the nature of what we do in this being a thing that exists on the Internet, there's just, like, a constant amount of stuff. Stuff that we need to respond to that happens through devices.

[David]

It's annoying.

[Griffin]

In addition to, obviously, watching a lot of stuff and, like, researching a lot of stuff. And then, you know, obviously there's a blitz event right now with Lily Pad and Bonnie, and I'm trying to unlock.

[Ben]

Oh, Jesus.

[Griffin]

Oh, boy.

[Ben]

I bet your Disney Emoji Blitz time is probably bigger than that.

[David]

Might be a scary.

[Griffin]

I will say this. I went to battery usage, and it does say that 20% of my battery usage is emoji Blitz, which I think I got down a little bit.

[David]

What would happen if you stopped playing Disney Emoji Blitz?

[Griffin]

We. We can throw out any sort of wild hypotheticals in this episode.

[David]

What would happen if there was no planes in this pit, took their place and flew. All right, so Bonnie's is. Gets quickly hooked on the pad, and she's just a little zombie, and she doesn't want to play with her toys.

[Ben]

She's getting bullied for playing with toys, which is constantly what we do to Griffin.

[Griffin]

This is true, of course.

[David]

Griffin is not 8 years old.

[Griffin]

I laugh all the way to the back bank.

[Dana]

We should say. Because Jesse and Bullseye. Right, they go off. Yes, Bonnie. And then end up getting sent over to Bonnie's original.

[Griffin]

Yeah, no, no, you're skipping a couple steps here. Because, of course, what happens first is she gets on the walkie talkie with Woody.

[David]

Right.

[Griffin]

This is my hottest take in the movie. I think Tom Hanks remains great at playing this character. I think everything they do with Woody is funny. I do think this movie would kind of work better if Woody was not in it.

[David]

Woody lifts out of the movie. I don't remember feeling like he was actually, like, actively a drag on the movie.

[Griffin]

Anything like.

[David]

But it is certainly the movie is basically like, well, you're here because you have to be. But the joke will essentially be like, we don't really. Yes. You don't really have a purpose.

[Dana]

He's kind of bald now.

[Ben]

No, I mean, the poncho.

[Dana]

His poncho is.

[Ben]

I'm like, okay, buddy.

[Griffin]

Not just his poncho, but his ponch.

[Ben]

He got a poncho ponch.

[David]

Which actually, I've struggled With the physics

[Griffin]

of that, the stuffing has come loose. It's redistributed in his body. It makes actual actually perfect.

[David]

But then why does he suck it back in?

[Griffin]

Because he's self conscious. Much like his bald spot.

[David]

Because he has air that he breathes.

[Griffin]

No, he's, like, pushing.

[Ben]

David, stop, stop.

[Griffin]

Okay, It's a posture thing.

[David]

But I. Woody is firmly supporting and is a supporting character in the film

[Ben]

that I didn't like. Yes, the walkie talkie.

[Dana]

Why?

[Ben]

Why? You know, like, Buzz doesn't know it exists.

[Dana]

Yeah.

[David]

Not sure why that needed to happen, except for the plot mechanics of Buzz kind of. Kind of accidentally thinks he needs to get involved.

[Griffin]

I read it as, yes, a Jesse insecurity thing. Of that I consult Woody for help and also Buzz's insecurity of if she

[David]

knows help me or whatever.

[Griffin]

It's both of their fragile male egos. I. I buy this. It doesn't feel like it undoes for. You're like, if Woody's whole thing is that he goes around saving toys and we see him saving a little Maddie Matheson out of a. A tree with his gang.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[David]

No, I. I didn't care. I was.

[Griffin]

He comes back, it doesn't feel like it's undoing anything. And then he's just funny. It's. It's just a lot of bits of him and Buzz fighting and people joking about how old he looks, but he is firmly supporting his.

[David]

I assume there are people on yon Internet who are like, they, you know, Toy Story 4 ends with an emotional goodbye. How could they undo this? They're ruining the emotion of that moment. And I to them, I say, you know, it'll be okay.

[Griffin]

I also think the ending still stands like a four lover.

[Eiko]

Right?

[Griffin]

And it's like the ending is still like. Yeah, well, if he got a call that he needs needed so they needed help, he would do that. And then he'll leave again, which he does.

[Dana]

Sure.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

Does it ever come up. Do you think Bonnie's ever like, hey, whatever happened to that other cowboy?

[Griffin]

Well, you have to remember in four, she doesn't really like Woody, so.

[David]

I know, but she doesn't know he exists.

[Griffin]

Yeah. Oh, we lost that somewhere.

[David]

Right. They just don't care that much about Woody.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

But do you think Andy ever, who lives next door is like, hey, where's Woody, my beloved toy?

[Griffin]

David, you sound like the Reddit now. They're like, Andy gave it to her with a speech explaining that he was the most important character.

[Ben]

She didn't even know he doesn't live next door.

[David]

Isn't that how he ends up giving her the box?

[Ben]

Because the mom. Andy's mom.

[David]

Yeah, I get. But it's like Andy's movie.

[Griffin]

Andy's mom, he's going to college.

[Marie]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

Andy's mom donates him to the preschool. Bonnie's. Bonnie's mom runs the preschool.

[Ben]

Preschool.

[David]

Yeah. And then why is Andy there? Because at the end.

[Ben]

Because Andy's mom is like, I don't know, maybe he's like, next door. No, he drove. He drove, Drives. I just rewatched the movie.

[David]

You gave him a license?

[Griffin]

He's going to college. He's 18 years old.

[David]

No, but what state? Where do they live?

[Griffin]

Tri county area. Of course.

[David]

He got a Tri county license. One of them fancy Tri county licenses.

[Griffin]

Once Woody comes in, they try to really go aggressive against Lily Pad and right.

[Marie]

They.

[David]

They go to war. They unplug her, right? They're like. And they. When do they discover that if you say, hey, Lily, she snaps into Siri mode? Cuz I thought that was later.

[Ben]

Much later. Very fun. Funny. I liked the running bit that every time a tech toy is running low on battery, they're drunk.

[David]

That was good.

[Dana]

Well, this is what kind of what I was trying to get us out of the house.

[Griffin]

I just had to establish Woody coming back. First Jesse gets knocked out of the house and then found by an elderly hippie burnout couple.

[David]

Which is another thing.

[Griffin]

I love that they're just specific people.

[David]

It's very California.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[Dana]

Sounds like we're saying funny a lot.

[David]

I thought the movie was funny. I had a good time with this movie. I was. I was having a good time, right? Watch. I wasn't sitting there being like, well, well, well, hurrum.

[Griffin]

Just pay some respect to the Ben Hosley news hour. Also, every time he's speaking in this way, he is sitting at his desk with his.

[David]

Well, I'm trying to read right now.

[Griffin]

Did you.

[Ben]

Did you guys talk about how we got new chairs in the office and that they're like, I think we got

[Griffin]

better for our better posture.

[David]

This is from December 2018. Hey, Country Roads. Too curvy. It's true. So who voices do you know? Is the old couple?

[Griffin]

I didn't notice anyone specific. Fair enough. But they notice of Emily, Jesse's original owner. Wrote her name inside the chap, right?

[David]

She. Oh, and her address vital. So they take her to this sort of. I guess it's like in the boonies or whatever because it's kind of on farm, right?

[Griffin]

A horse girl named Blaze Is the

[David]

now occupant of this home with her parents. Now, Griffin, are you feeling worried? I know that, like, I'm sure this was a big part of the rumor mill.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[David]

Of like, okay, they're going to, they're to. Going, going to dig into the Jesse owner thing.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

Are you sitting there like, I hope we meet Jesse's original owner or are you worrying like, this is my. That was my guess that you're worrying like, oh, no, Jesse's owner will be a character. This is something that'll be in the movie in a big way.

[Griffin]

Some pictures and stuff hinted at the original house and people were like, that looks like the tire swing from the.

[David]

It was. Right. People were kind of picking up on the.

[Griffin]

And I was like, her going back to the house is interesting. I like her sort of reckoning with stuff. I don't want her to see it. Emily. Yeah, I, that was a big thing for me.

[David]

I obviously am less emotionally invested in this series than you, but I too was just kind of like, I think that would be a mistake.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[David]

And I think again, I'm thinking about it from my kid's perspective. I'm like, I think my kid wouldn't get it cuz she would be old.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[David]

And it would just be kind of confusing.

[Griffin]

I mean, Emily's quite, quite likely dead at this point.

[David]

Either dead or an old woman. Because like one assumes she owned Jesse in the 60s or whatever.

[Griffin]

Right. Correct. So I didn't want them to do that. And I was very relieved that it's like, nope, this is a new family.

[David]

A new family. The house.

[Griffin]

It allows her to tackle new issues while also dealing with the echoes and the reminders of the past. And when we get to this house,

[David]

I do wonder if my, my kid will be like, I don't get it. Like, because it is weird that it's like, wait, so this is Jesse's house, but it's different people?

[Eiko]

I don't know.

[Griffin]

We'll see. We'll see.

[David]

I wonder.

[Griffin]

We'll see again.

[David]

She might just be like, I like the potty robot. Like, you know, who knows?

[Griffin]

Yeah. I mean, I like the internal logic whenever Toy Story gets into like the different types of toys and the different types of psychologies. But we basically go to the pool house at this ranch. Ranch, the garden shed that has mostly kind of like pool toys and beach toys and things like that. They haven't been played with in years. This is like comeback.

[Dana]

I think it's a pool house. I think it's just a garden shed.

[Griffin]

It's a garden shed, a little playhouse.

[Ben]

It's not.

[Griffin]

Yeah, it's a lot of, like, beach toys. It's like summer toys.

[David]

I guess so. But it's one of those little plastic houses you get a child. Yeah, right, right, whatever.

[Ben]

But Combat Carl's not an outdoor toy.

[Griffin]

He's not. But she's, like, drawn tattoos on him and put a tutu on him and

[David]

a different combat car from the Combat Carl of choice.

[Griffin]

This is voiced by Ernie Hudson because, of course, Carl Weather was previously Combat Carl and has passed away.

[Dana]

I also love the little pizza guy played by Bad Bunny, of course.

[David]

That really made me laugh.

[Griffin]

Pizza with sunglasses.

[David]

That's the kind of Toy Story joke that'll get. Get a chuckle out of old Simsie right here.

[Dana]

And then we meet Smarty Pants.

[Marie]

Yes.

[Griffin]

So they've all been sitting here waiting for Blaze to return for a tea party. It's been years. But what killed them all, what ended the tea party was tech. The first device that ended everything for them, and it was Smarty Pants, which Jesse revealed she was so sitting on. The MVP of the movie. Right. Obviously, Conan is killing is on fire in this thing.

[David]

What I liked about what he's doing is he's giving a real performance. It doesn't really sound like Conan.

[Griffin]

No.

[David]

Certainly not like the Conan we all listen to on the first and only podcast. Conan o' Brien needs friends best and last. He's, you know, he's sort of thought up a character here. Like, obviously, when you see him in Bonnie's pretend verse and he's got the Conan hair, that's a clever little nod to who's voicing him.

[Ben]

Him.

[David]

But my friend was like, I didn't realize that was Conan.

[Griffin]

It almost feels like when Conan voices the angry audience member on his show, when he goes like, what are you doing? You know, it's like it's sort of a kind of like voice in his repertoire, but it's him turned all the way up. And this is the other part where I was like, oh, I think I see what the movie's doing and it's smart. There was this sort of bridge era of tech toys.

[Ben]

Uhhuh.

[Griffin]

That Jesse is going to view as enemies. They're just like Lily Pad, Right?

[David]

They are obsolete themselves. They're the same as her in a way.

[Griffin]

They're limited tech toys who had an emotional relationship with her because they weren't just a tablet to the Internet. They had specific purposes. Smarty Pants, as he likes to point out, is not a chair. He is a Potty training tool. He is meant to help you log your pee pee and your poo poo. I wonder if it's so funny every time that he gets really kind of like high and mighty about his position. Position.

[David]

Right, right. I mean I think all those gags are good.

[Griffin]

Always like every little joke, every little.

[Ben]

There it's like a. You log one for pee and two for poop and then what is it? A fart. So 1.5.

[David]

Yeah. There's like a heavy fart or.

[Griffin]

But he's doing this sort of like number one. Number two, like a really putting, I would say a lot of root and tootin ranch on his line.

[David]

And the bit of, you know, he. He. Wait.

[Griffin]

His batteries have.

[David]

Right, his batteries have died. So he's kind of drunk.

[Griffin]

He's like, Foster's brother is good. Yeah. Yeah. But he gets really excited at the idea of Jesse being able to reconnect him. His batteries are low, but she has a common purpose. She needs to get back. He has tech. He can help her get back. So she lets him into the house. He finds Atlas and Snappy a GPS for kids and a like low tech digital camera. Camera who all three of them connect to each other with like outmoded USB plugs.

[David]

Yes. Snappy, voiced by Shelby Rabara.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[David]

Not an actress. I know she's from Steven Universe.

[Griffin]

That Anna Faris was supposed to play Snappy at some point. It was never clear.

[David]

And then Atlas is Craig Robinson reliable figure.

[Griffin]

Yes. These three are basically able to like together linked up with new batteries installed called form a little like social media tech team. I like that. They sort of have consciousness, but then they also have access to the outside world. Snappy can see things, Atlas can locate things and smarty pants can do text.

[David]

Right.

[Dana]

This is the Pixar thing. They're so smart. How they. They decided to. To create these characters and how they'll be used throughout the movie.

[Griffin]

I said to Ben, I think this is a real Stanton thing where he really likes the internal logic of. Of what's a different type of toy? What would be the psychology of that toy we haven't explored before. And what's a specific way that character can play into the story and activate something that couldn't be done by any other character. Like there's no character put on the board in this movie in a major role who doesn't serve significant story function in the third act unlocking something. And we were talking about. I mean you said it Ben. The second the movie ended last night. Night you went, I Cannot believe that is the same person who made in the blink of an Eye. It's crazy. A movie that feels so kind of like misconceived on a basic level. Fair point. And this movie is so goddamn tight. It just feels like every story idea it has has been worked down to its tightest possible point.

[David]

This is not as funny, Ben, but this a saga I forgot about. From your life. October 2018. Yup. I'm locked in my apartment. I went from homeless to too much home hell.

[Dana]

Remember this?

[David]

You couldn't like open your front apartment?

[Dana]

I just moved into a new apartment after couch surfing for many months and the doorknob just broke off in my hands.

[Griffin]

There was an episode we canceled because

[David]

of and I believe you could not.

[Dana]

Trapped Inside.

[David]

Yes. Yeah, we couldn't record and your, your landlord said like the bottom lock wasn't his problem. And you were like, is he just

[Griffin]

a top lock guy?

[David]

Like, like, was that the, the place on Prosthetic Place?

[Eiko]

Yeah.

[David]

Okay.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

Well, one more. June 2018. Slenderman is Slenderman's lawyer.

[Ben]

That's really good.

[Griffin]

Maybe I gotta start.

[David]

I'm just saying I think you need

[Griffin]

to publish a book. That's what it means.

[David]

You need to be like one of those urban outfitter like wisdom of we

[Ben]

need the Pooh, the tow of Ben.

[Griffin]

We need these musings. But I don't think it has to be on social media. I mean certainly I'm. I'm like Instagram only these days. And I wish I spent even less time on Instagram than I do. But I mostly lurk and then repost things. And I certainly feel healthier for it not being on any of the text based apps.

[David]

Yeah, I don't use Twitter anymore. I'll look at it sometimes for sports.

[Dana]

I don't.

[David]

I use Instagram but you know, I don't post much. I. I guess I'm on Blue sky, but that's kind of like I post once a week on Blue Sky. I lost the poster urge. Like I myself of that same.

[Ben]

Like, same. I don't post.

[David]

I used to have the thing when I had Twitter where I was like, any thought I would be like, oh, that'd be fun. You know, like, you know, like. And that's. I just, I spent enough time Twitter did like Twitter started behaving in a way after this one guy bought it. That really started to distress me.

[Griffin]

Mr. School you're talking about. Yeah.

[David]

And I just was sort of like, I guess I'll stop. And then I did. Stopped long enough that I Was like, I lost the poster disease.

[Ben]

I'm just imagining someone, like, replying to a Ben tweet being like, rock, what does this mean?

[David]

Right? At Grok explained.

[Griffin]

That's the famous thing of, like, early AI I being asked, oh, right, yeah. Would Ben Hosley like the movie Slumdog Millionaire? And the response was, it's impossible to say. Ben alternates between liking wet things and dry things. The movie has both. We don't know which one he likes more these days. And we were like, ben has outsmarted AI. It can't track his bits.

[Dana]

Yeah. Love it.

[Griffin]

AAA Gang is trying to figure out how to make a post through the pond to alert Bond Bonnie that her toys are here. And then Jesse very quickly realizes, wait a second. Is this an opportunity to also connect these two kids? Because she notices that Blaze, Yes. Who has grown out of toys and grown out of these tech toys, is an animal picker.

[David]

But she likes animals and she's still got a creative sensibility.

[Griffin]

She plays with the animals like they're toys, which I also thought was smart in terms of, like, any hand wringing panic about, like, is tech the death of everything? You're like, well, but, like, are toys getting us away from us existing with nature? Like, that's also a technology, right?

[Dana]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

And so the only toys she still has, like, on display are her horse shelf. Because she's a horse girl, right. And that's just sort of for display. But otherwise she has her pig, Jimmy Dean and her horse daffodil and Jimmy Dean she talks to like it's a toy. She does routines with love.

[Ben]

Jimmy Dean.

[Griffin]

Jimmy Dean fucking rules.

[David]

It means the.

[Dana]

The pet pig.

[Ben]

Yes. He's so cute. I just want him to slobber on.

[Griffin]

I like that. He's also not like a cartoon pig, that he's like, kind of a gross pig in a way that makes him cute.

[Ben]

And like Peppa Pig's dad, he has, like, chin hair or whatever. But I. I like it. It doesn't bother me.

[David]

It's also the classic, you know, people are always like, I want a little pig, you know, piglet for a pet. It's like, you know, it's gonna turn into like a big pig.

[Griffin]

Turn to a.

[David]

Even if it's like a miniature pig or whatever, they turn into big old pigs. And that's what's happened. But she loves her pig.

[Griffin]

She loves Jimmy Dean.

[Ben]

Yes.

[Griffin]

And Jesse recognizes it. Bonnie's not like other kids. She plays. She's creative. And Blaze has got this thing. Can we set the two of them up to hang out. Right. Woody and Buzz have followed after Jesse, are committed to trying to save her, and are sort of fighting about who's actually number two, who's. Who's the deputy.

[Dana]

Because they get there because Bonnie.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[Dana]

Has been.

[Griffin]

Realizes she's lost Jesse Bunny gets the message, Right. It goes to her. Her iPad. Lily Pad's trying to block this. This is when Woody and Buzz are sort of triangulating, like, what if we unplug her charger? She loses battery. She'll get kind of drunk. Then. Can we interrogate her? There's the lizard that they use to activate her.

[Ben]

That was really. That was really funny.

[Griffin]

They've realized the voice activation thing. They're trying to figure out how to outsmart Lily Pad, and she just keeps leveling up. They're like, can we. We just got this message.

[David]

Oh, right.

[Griffin]

From Jesse. Here's where she is. Here's the address. Here are the toys. Let's print it out. So they find it.

[Dana]

They say. But they. I think one of them says, send it to all or something.

[Griffin]

Send all.

[Dana]

Yeah, yeah.

[Griffin]

And so it prints out. But then, like, Lily Pad activates the Roomba, which I like the idea that the Roomba, also, because Bonnie has played with it, has also now sort of gained a little sentience. Oh, I didn't think about that later in the film.

[David]

Right.

[Griffin]

Lily Pad, of course, wants to fuck the Roomba.

[David]

They don't fuck the toys.

[Griffin]

She wants to.

[Ben]

Mine. Did I go like, boom, boom, boom? That's how they have sex with each other.

[Griffin]

Smashy.

[Ben]

The Barbies. Yeah. Perfectly healthy. There's nothing wrong with this. I was literally thinking the exact same thing.

[David]

I'm getting loopy.

[Griffin]

Should be here in 15 minutes. I ordered it.

[David]

So one thing to credit this movie. And it felt this way above 4 as well. It just looks fantastic. It's that Pixar thing where they're just. They're so next level now with the environments and the, you know, the way they make the, like, lighting and the air and all that.

[Ben]

Look, we talked about this.

[David]

Very impressive.

[Ben]

After the screening, we went to where I was like. A lot of the shots specifically in the, like, Buzz Hive Mind segments are stunning.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[Ben]

Like, beautiful sunsets and, like, the. The fog in that. In that one moment, I'm like, the. This is. This is really pretty.

[Griffin]

He uses color, like, unbelievably well for mood and story.

[David]

You know, it's one of those things where, like. I know he. He said, like, this is my last animated film. I really only want. And I'M just kind of like, you're good at this. Like, are you sure you want to stop?

[Griffin]

I mean, his thing is like, I'm not primarily a fan of animation, I'm a fan of movies. I fell into this thing. I've never wanted to limit myself to that. But I think what he does that is so unique is he's. And this is a lot of what Pixar did in general, but I think he was at the forefront of pushing them towards this is like marrying the visual language of the two things together. Like a thing we commented on afterwards that is so cool in this movie is it acts like it's sort of mostly done with handheld camera. And it's very subtle. But beyond, like, Stanton's always been the stickler guy who's like, can we make the virtual camera operate by the real rules of a camera? Like, what lens would be on this? What is our lighting source? And in this, you see the camera struggling to keep the characters in frame. Like, the camera sort of like moves quickly to readjust as if the performance is planned.

[Dana]

Fun.

[Griffin]

And it's a very, very subtle thing, but it psychologically has an effect on you. We should say the tech buzzes. They've been activated. They go to this construction site, they use the crane. They're just in search of a star. They find a camp, campsite for land. They're trying to find civilization, they're trying to find Star Command. And at this campsite, one of them is taken. They realize, oh, this is not scary. Maybe this is good to be played with this one. Buzz seems happy. And then they look onto the kids devices and they see the Jesse message from Blaze's house.

[Dana]

Right?

[Griffin]

They look up the address, and when they use Google Maps or whatever, it places the address with a spot star. I just like. It's smart. All the ways that they're just sort of like, she has a star on her chest, there's a star in the sky, there's a star on the map. We're just simple. We go wherever the star is.

[Dana]

When Bonnie goes to Blaze's house for the first time. And then the group chat plays out where they send the crying baby images. And then they all laugh.

[Griffin]

Yes.

[Ben]

It was awful.

[Dana]

So mean.

[Ben]

Man, those girls.

[Griffin]

Girls, yeah. Yeah, they're shitty kids.

[Ben]

Shitty kids.

[David]

I hope they. I hope they get doxxed.

[Dana]

But I do think I might use that joke if someone sends me a stupid text.

[Griffin]

Crying baby.

[Dana]

Yeah. Or like whines about something. I do think there's potential there.

[David]

Maybe that'll be My first tweet, December 2017. My nickname for Dan Lewis is the Method Man.

[Dana]

My boy.

[Griffin]

Incredible.

[David]

Got a Sam's Cafe pizza.

[Eiko]

Order up.

[Griffin]

You know the best part about this spicy Italian sausage? I voted for this topping. Yeah. Just another perk of being a member. Come join us. Sam's Club.

[David]

Right. So, Jesse, the whole time is like. Like you're saying, like, well, I got abandoned before I. This Bonnie thing. I'm half want to help her, but I half am like, what's the point? I'm only going to get forgotten again. And the thing she realizes is that, no, her owner didn't forget her because she named her daughter after her.

[Dana]

And there's.

[David]

How do you. It's like you see a picture.

[Dana]

What's the buried lunchbox?

[David]

Yeah, right. She made a little toy capsule.

[Griffin]

Well, she sees. Carved into the tree. Jesse. And she goes, what's that?

[David]

That doesn't make sense.

[Griffin]

Arrow pointing down. Time capsule. And it's a kid with a bunch of, like, 80s 90s stuff. And she's like, this stuff is too new. What's going on here? And then she realizes it's her daughter. Now, here's why I buy this. You have to remember that Jesse was a character on a TV show.

[David]

Sure, I guess so.

[Griffin]

Right?

[David]

Woody's Roundup.

[Griffin]

Right. That this kid presumably watched a lot of.

[David]

If you named your kid Jesse after the doll you had. But why did you put the doll on the side of the road?

[Griffin]

That's why I'm saying it's just the character. It's the character more than the story.

[Dana]

I think it's like later in life, she looked back.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[Dana]

With nostalgia for that doll and like the name.

[Ben]

Sure.

[Dana]

I think it makes sense.

[David]

It's like, it's enough.

[Griffin]

It's like if Ben named his son Spawn, even though he had given away his spawn toys when he was a child.

[Ben]

But technically, son will be Spawn.

[Griffin]

He will be Spawn of Hosley. But you could name him Medieval Spawn. Housley.

[Ben]

Future Spawn.

[Griffin]

I'm sure my wife would love Samurai Spawn.

[Ben]

Now that I'm thinking about it, we should just talk about, like, your hypothetical future child. Future Spawn.

[Griffin]

Your daughter, she spawns. Hosley.

[Ben]

Future Spawn.

[Dana]

Future Spawn.

[Griffin]

Future Spawn.

[Ben]

Because that's technically, quite literally what they are.

[Griffin]

The spirit is true.

[Dana]

Your Future Spawn, you know, it's an exciting thing. I. I want to do it at some point in my life, have family and I'll love the kid.

[David]

You'll love whatever they are.

[Ben]

You'll love Future Spawn.

[Griffin]

Then we'll be.

[David]

Maybe don't Call them Spawn. That's just my. Just my taste.

[Griffin]

Spawn's the middle name.

[David]

Is that better? I guess.

[Ben]

Abigail Spawn Hosley, US World cup star.

[Dana]

Out.

[Ben]

Christian Bich. Yeah. He will miss today's pivotal game with a. That's tough news for them with a Cavan injury. We're dating. Today's episode.

[David]

This has been a fear because he'd had the. He came out of the last game.

[Griffin]

Well, we're. This will come out, like, six weeks after the movie comes out. But we're recording it the day the movie is technically being released. Because I'm about to go to Spain to do a shoot.

[David]

He's off to Spain. The rain in Spain. I stay mainly on the Griffin.

[Griffin]

I've been feeling so suffocated by the amount of World cup stuff. And then I'm like, oh, right, I'm going to spin Spain.

[Ben]

It is going to be suffocated.

[Griffin]

How is it sports guys keep with me. You know the way that Ben says that everyone with him all the time.

[David]

It's true.

[Griffin]

This only happens to me with sports guys when they're like, people are like, with me on the subway and, like,

[Ben]

because you're wearing, like, a choice.

[Griffin]

Because I'm. I'm just, like, not an alpha male. I swear to God. This happens.

[Ben]

But it only happens soccer guys that are bullying.

[Marie]

Both.

[Griffin]

Both.

[Ben]

Because if we want to talk about Knicks fans being bullies, I'm. Yes, let's have that conversation. I'm ready to talk.

[Griffin]

I don't bemoan anyone. Their victories. It just feels like there is a sort of sports bar culture that breaks containment when things like this happen. That is all I'm saying.

[Ben]

I'm so sorry that people are harassing you.

[Griffin]

It's annoying.

[Dana]

David, after the screening, I left my credit card at a bar. Oh, yeah, that was somewhat nearby. Sure, go to the bar.

[David]

Yeah, I have a beer. Yeah, why not?

[Dana]

I have to show my ID to get the card back. Bartender looks at. He goes, this picture's terrible.

[David]

Kidding me. So then I'm like, dude, what do you mean?

[Eiko]

Like, it's.

[Dana]

It's an ID picture, whatever, right? It's just like, you are so much more handsome.

[David]

And maybe.

[Ben]

Maybe he's trying to hit on you.

[David]

Yeah, maybe. This was kind of like a negative,

[Dana]

I guess now actually that I'm reflecting on it.

[David]

And then he did give you his phone number, I'm hearing.

[Dana]

Well, no, because then I was like, let me see your ID picture.

[David]

All right. This also sounds like a flirt.

[Griffin]

This is flirting.

[Dana]

And then I Said it looked like,

[Ben]

oh, wait, now I want to see your id.

[David]

Then he started crying.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[Dana]

No, he didn't cry.

[David]

Okay, fair enough.

[Dana]

But it was. There's some tension.

[David]

Wow.

[Ben]

No one ever looks good in their ID picture.

[David]

I would agree with that.

[Ben]

It's just, like, a rule.

[David]

You have to look like a handsome photo.

[Ben]

All right, I'm going to take a look at Ben's ID photo.

[Griffin]

Ben's going to show us. Can I see it first, please? Can we pass it around? Yeah. I think you look exactly the same. I think that is an incredibly rude comment. That is a handsome picture of a handsome man with a gray.

[Ben]

I think this man was flirting with you.

[David]

But.

[Griffin]

But it is true that people just say shit to Ben.

[David]

It is a pretty good photo before a driver's license photo.

[Griffin]

It's an accurate representation of our handsome friend.

[Dana]

Yeah, but people do be.

[Ben]

They do. I've witnessed this.

[Griffin]

It's wild.

[Ben]

Remember when we were in Austin and you were like, why are these guys outside a bar and Austin just, like, being mean to me for no reason.

[Griffin]

I'm just walking down the street.

[David]

My dad a lot, too. There are definitely people who unconsciously and fight the vibe. Like, kind of like, you can talk to me. It's okay. You know what I mean? Like. Or, like, guys will just kind of. Yeah. Come up to you. Or like, the sort of weird guy in the park will think you're ready

[Dana]

for a conversation or whatever Absolutely happens to me. It feels like all that time, I guess I just have one of those faces.

[David]

July 2015.

[Ben]

2015.

[David]

Going back.

[Dana]

Wow.

[David]

I've been to Little Italy. It's small.

[Griffin]

Pretty good.

[Ben]

Pretty good.

[Dana]

It's getting smaller and smaller.

[David]

You like the Toy Story movies, Ben?

[Dana]

I actually have always kind of just been like, this was my question.

[David]

Is this the one that has. For whatever reason, maybe because you have this kind of future parent anxiety. Maybe because you remember. Remember being a kid or parent anxiety like that. It just sort of, like, hit you a little harder. Because I do feel like I. Right. I'm trying to remember your general Toy Story fandom.

[Dana]

I kind of had no relationship.

[Ben]

You were 10 when the first movie came out.

[David]

I mean, you, like, said, I love Sid, but you like him in retrospect, where you're like, hey, Sid, he's cool. He's got a skull on his T shirt. He's creative. I agree.

[Ben]

I think I saw Toy Story 1 in theaters.

[David]

I did, but you were. You're a little younger than me. And that's where it's right.

[Ben]

I Was six. But I also was very, like, gendered.

[Dana]

Sure.

[Ben]

At the time. And I was like, this is a boy movie. So I just didn't bother with it. I know. I kind of like this movie because it was like, about girl stuff.

[David]

I know. I'm again wondering if Jesse is my daughter's favorite character, if she'll be like, that movie had more Jesse. Like, I like that.

[Ben]

So I wonder. I appreciated I'll all of the girl stuff. And that's why I. It really upset me when Griffin said that people on the Toy Story Reddit were calling Bonnie a C word because I think Bonnie is an incredible young woman.

[Griffin]

You know, anyone who does that is

[David]

obviously needs to touch grass.

[Ben]

When I was rewatching Toy Story 4 and watching her make forky.

[David]

Yes.

[Ben]

I was texting you guys and I was like, this is insane. Like, she is so advanced.

[David]

She's pretty advanced for making this thing. Sure.

[Ben]

She makes forky. She. Even the way that she writes her name on forky. Like, her handwriting's really good. She has to have, like, excellent fine motor skills to like, craft this thing.

[David]

My daughter can write as well as Bonnie does. She can't. She can't read. But Bonnie can't read. I guess, whatever.

[Dana]

That doesn't come up.

[Ben]

I was reading at Bonnie. I was reading up.

[David]

That's show off.

[Griffin]

Very Bonnie coded. Also. I just want to communicate to everyone what just happened in the bathroom.

[Eiko]

Hello there.

[David]

Pick a number. It's going great.

[Griffin]

I pushed the number one button.

[Ben]

Oh, thank God.

[Griffin]

I was.

[David]

He didn't, like, say number one, though.

[Ben]

Really, really upset if you press number two. And I was like, ew.

[David]

Griffin Griff, are you annoyed with that toy? It feels like you were a little

[Griffin]

let down by it a little bit. It doesn't work as well as I want it to.

[David]

You were hoping it would solve your bathroom problems.

[Griffin]

Yes. Yes.

[David]

Buying it would be the final piece we had.

[Ben]

We've had Smarty Pants in our studio bathroom for several.

[David]

Can't say I've noticed.

[Griffin]

I've been seeing him. He's been a little Easter egg in the bathroom.

[Ben]

When I saw the movie, I was like, oh, that's the weird thing that Griffin has in the bathroom.

[David]

The thing about you thought it was

[Griffin]

an actual potty training tool. I was.

[David]

There's so many Griffin toys in it. You kind of get toy blindness and you kind of don't even notice them.

[Ben]

That many toys in the bathroom.

[David]

That's true. But I, I, in all honesty, had not noticed.

[Ben]

I don't think I realized that he Was meant to be a roll of toilet paper.

[Griffin]

Yes. Which I love. It's really smart design. And the handle on top of him is sort of like the toilet paper holder in the wall.

[Ben]

A couple of things just to discuss, you know, about the movie. I really loved that all of the horses got to participate.

[David]

Yeah. Fun little counter to the buzz army

[Griffin]

is the horse after the horse.

[Ben]

Yeah. And I love that Buzz gets her ride. A horse that's like more of a unicorn.

[Griffin]

He loves it. It's light.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[David]

What did you think of the buzzes turning into drones? The sort of big third act. They finally fly.

[Griffin]

It's a good 30 years later, joke payoff. The buzzes can finally fly.

[Dana]

I think Lily feels so guilty.

[Griffin]

She don't even.

[David]

She suicides.

[Ben]

Yeah, she suicides.

[Dana]

She launch herself, which I thought into, like, a box.

[David]

I was half donated that she did that because she deserved it. No, no. I was just kind of like, it. Like, it follows in the sort of, like, bread of these movies that the toy would be like, Well, I do want the child to be happy, and I know I've. You know, she made him happy, so it's my fault. I like that.

[Griffin]

It's not like someone else teaches her to be good. It speaks to, like, she actually thought she was doing the right thing. She was Robert Oppenheimer.

[David]

That tracked for me best. Right?

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

She's like Oppenheimer.

[Griffin]

It's a lot like Oppenheimer.

[David]

Until they build a bigger lily pad, they should have saf pack bow.

[Ben]

You mean Bowser Jr?

[David]

My daughter's favorite character in all media ever, like, just. I mean, she. She talks about Bowser Jr. Like, Putin or whatever. She's like. She's just like, that's the scariest bad guy in the world. That's really. That's the most incredible bad Junior. She loves him so much.

[Griffin]

She thinks he's scary.

[David]

Well, scary. But, like, she's.

[Dana]

She's just like.

[David]

That's the baddest one.

[Griffin]

She thinks pretty bad.

[Dana]

You know, Like.

[David]

And I think it's because his paintbrush is so powerful.

[Griffin]

It's really.

[David]

She's just kind of like, he owns Bowser. Bowser doesn't have a paintbrush. And in the second movie, he's small.

[Griffin]

Yeah, he's little.

[David]

He's mostly comic relief.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

Whereas Bowser Jr's out here painting up a storm.

[Griffin]

I guess some character arc on Bowser in that second movie.

[David]

A little disjointed.

[Griffin]

It starts off little, but desperate to prove that he's a good guy.

[David]

Kind of their Friend, sort of.

[Griffin]

He's guilty that he maybe wasn't enough of a. A present father. Even though every night he did a bespoke puppet show for his son.

[David]

I do feel like it was. Yeah, he was putting in some effort.

[Griffin]

His son is causing so much terror that he's like, I feel guil. Then his son is like, dad, I did this for you. And he's like, nevermind. I think I've only made great decisions.

[David]

And then all his eye burns off and he's a skeleton. And he says he's the lord of Bones. Oh, it does. That happens in the movie.

[Griffin]

Yeah, that happens in the movie.

[Ben]

Interesting.

[Dana]

Buzz drones.

[Ben]

Buzz drones.

[Griffin]

Big extended final chase sequence where they have to save Lily because Lily's the only way they're going to be able to finally get these two kids together. Together.

[Ben]

Right.

[Griffin]

For Jesse, the highest stakes are she wants the two of them to meet. She thinks they could both use the frame.

[David]

I like those stakes. The stakes is basically just the kind of like, can we get them to hang out and not be shy with each other and kind of connect?

[Griffin]

Here's another thing I thought of. I'll watch.

[David]

Those are some real parenting stakes.

[Griffin]

Those are the stakes. That Inside out two tries to establish that. I think it does not execute well. And I rewatched Inside Out 2 last night to be like, was I too hard on this at the time? And I think that movie shitty. And I think that movie makes it too much about, like, hockey camp.

[Ben]

And I don't think it's shitty. I think it has a really. It's fine. I think the representation, like the visual representation of what Anxiety feels like, I thought was really meaningful.

[Griffin]

Everything with that character works.

[Ben]

I wish it was gayer because I think way gayer. I think that that is kind of like, sorry, David.

[David]

It just really. It's. They're. They're. They're pre sexual characters in there. It's a children's film.

[Griffin]

No, they already established this as crazy crushes.

[Ben]

Yeah. That. What's her. Riley. I feel like Riley, if. If she's like a, you know, an adolescent.

[Eiko]

Yeah.

[Ben]

And it felt like she had a crush on the girl on her hockey.

[Griffin]

It really does.

[David]

And the girl is coded kind of.

[Ben]

So I was like, okay, like, that's interesting. I wish they actually, like, had the balls to do that, but.

[David]

Well, maybe they should have. Maybe that's what they should have done Inside out too.

[Griffin]

I also just don't like that the movie is once again, oh, no. They get kicked out of the console and they have to make their way back. I think it' really unimaginative that it just runs the exact same.

[David]

Well, that's my problem with the in. But I don't like the world of inside out version like the inner world.

[Dana]

I just.

[David]

It doesn't. It's not very rich. Cuz it is. Right. It is just always like all right, here we are in the back and

[Griffin]

we go down a road in the console or they're not.

[David]

Yeah, yeah. I just never stuck my daughter ever also has never cared about them. So I've only seen them like twice. Like total.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[Marie]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

She doesn't like.

[David]

Like that one. Maybe she will eventually.

[Ben]

Just one more important thing that we need to address. Buzz and Jesse kiss.

[Griffin]

They do.

[Eiko]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[Ben]

You didn't like that, David?

[David]

I don't. I just.

[Griffin]

You're the king of kissing on camera.

[Ben]

You love kissing.

[David]

They're toys. I just don't care.

[Griffin]

Let their little plastic faces smush.

[David]

I'm not stopping.

[Griffin]

Let them. Don't stand in the way.

[Ben]

They're. Buzz is in love with Jesse because he's in love with Woody.

[Griffin]

But no, you're forgetting the moment at the end of Toy Story 2 where Jesse does the rescue.

[Ben]

Yeah, sure.

[Griffin]

And it.

[Dana]

It's.

[Griffin]

He's impressed with her because she's high status. That's another thing I like that this movie does that I think it does very subtly. Is Jesse the character in the TV show? Of course her divining thing is that she talks to animals. That she's a yodeling cow girl critter and she communicates with critters in this. They sort of imply that she has that power on real animals as well.

[David]

She thinks she does. And yeah, maybe she does daffodil to

[Ben]

dig up the time capsule.

[David]

I'm not mad about it.

[Griffin]

She gets Jesse Dean to. To work for her.

[Ben]

But Woody does that with the. With Buster.

[David]

Yeah.

[Ben]

In the other movies I guess it's more that it's. It's toys can talk to animals that

[Griffin]

Jesse believes in it more because that's what her.

[Ben]

Right.

[Griffin]

Right. Her source material is. But then this whole like you get your kind of final extended chase of like how do they save Lily Pad? How are they going to get back to the respective home?

[Marie]

Like.

[David]

Yeah. It's just. It doesn't fall into the trap of we need to be bigger.

[Griffin]

No.

[David]

And which I feel like four also didn't. I think it's the right side of Pixar trap of like, oh my God, how do we outdo our sort of final Set piece, scale or whatever. Two remains. I feel like the craziest thing they ever did where they, like, stop a plane or whatever it is they do. Right.

[Griffin]

But I love that they're not trying to top that.

[David]

No.

[Griffin]

And it is just so funny for me. It's my favorite gag in the movie of. Of like, you know, they're using Atlas's GPS to try to get themselves to lily pad. And they're sort of like, well, we're supposed to take a left here. There's a house there. It used to be a road. The map's out of date. What do we do? And they just ride through the house. And you get this tracking shot that feels like it's out of weapons, where they go from room to room, and everyone in the family is just on a different device and no one notices. There are 50 buzz lightyears on horses riding through. I think that's really funny.

[Ben]

Yes, I. I enjoyed that.

[Griffin]

Funny. Yeah. I was laughing. You were laughing.

[Ben]

Yeah. No, we had a. We had a very nice time. And then the film ends with what I would argue is Taylor Swift's best song in, like, five years.

[Griffin]

Let's acknowledge it ends with.

[Ben]

I don't think that's a hot.

[David]

I knew it. I knew you.

[Griffin]

It ends with Buzz and Jesse finally getting married.

[David]

And soon Taylor Swift will finally get married at Madison Square Garden.

[Griffin]

God, I've been so stressed out.

[Ben]

I just don't get it. I don't understand.

[Griffin]

Also, the Taylor Swift fans keep harassing me on the subway and pizza parlors and so oppressed the omniculture.

[Ben]

But did you tell them I put hundreds of dollars in this woman's pocket? Because how many versions of the vinyl did you buy? I.

[Griffin]

Excuse me. There were two versions. I bought both. I sent the receipt to the group, and I was like, I hate that she's fudgeing. Got me sure that I'm, like, falling prey to this Taylor Swift shit with the countdown clock and, like, it's going to sell out. And then a week later, I saw an article that they're going for hundred hundreds of dollars. Wow. Randy Newman's quite old. This is the first movie he didn't write a song for. He did do a score.

[David]

Yes.

[Griffin]

There are some new themes in it I like, but a lot of it is repurposed. A lot of it's reusing previous. And at the premiere, they played together, you see. Yeah, Randy's moving pretty slowly. One of my favorite people of all time, my father, of course, Randy Newman. But it was a pretty insane Coup for them to get Taylor Swift to do this. When was the last time did she write a song for any movie previously?

[Ben]

Hunger Games.

[Griffin]

Right.

[Ben]

And I don't know if she's done anything besides that, but I remember also liking that song, too.

[Griffin]

She didn't write a song for Amsterdam Rudely.

[Ben]

No, she did not.

[David]

Oh, that's her song about how a car ran her over.

[Griffin]

Insane.

[Dana]

That.

[Griffin]

They were like, if we put Taylor Swift in this, the Swifties will go see it. You're like, what's the movie about? Investigating Taylor Swift's murder. Murder. Maybe they don't want to see this.

[David]

She did, of course, do a song for fifty Shades Darker called I Don't Want to Live Forever.

[Griffin]

Okay.

[David]

And she did a song called Carolina for a little movie in which you heard a crawdads.

[Ben]

Oh, yeah, she crawdadded it up.

[David]

I believe she also is a co writer on Beautiful Ghosts, the song you did for Cats.

[Griffin]

You are right about that. Of course, she appeared in that film as well as Bombaling Arena.

[Ben]

Do we have anything else to say about Toy Story 5?

[Griffin]

I like it a lot. It made me really happy.

[David]

I. I'm glad it made you happy. Yes. But I. But I also, like, I keep not making you sad with these, which is good.

[Griffin]

It's honestly the bigger thing. I do feel like I've been brute force in therapy for a thousand different reasons, and I'm not in a place where I was like, if this movie is bad, it's going to destroy me. I was joking to Ben before the movie. Like, I'm chill. It's only my psychology at stake. But I don't actually feel that way. However, every time one of these movies is good, I feel a tremendous sense of relief now.

[David]

Have you noticed? And it's just coming out. You know, the movie just came out, so it's just beginning. Like, more negativity about this movie online than, say, the other ones. It's weird because I've seen letterboxd, I've seen tweets, like, it's always hard now to tell, like, what's kind of fake outrage and what's real.

[Dana]

I don't know.

[Griffin]

I think four was greeted more warmly and then. And had more negativity, like, later.

[David]

Right? Yeah.

[Griffin]

And then I think this one, oddly, is like, people going like, A, a return to form, or B, they finally lost the juice. It's one or the other.

[David]

Just like. And like, my. My friend was like, all my friends hated it. And I was like. And she liked it. But, yeah, I was like, Hated it. Like, I was. How can you feel that strongly?

[Griffin]

Like, it's so well made, it's well done.

[David]

Right. Exactly. Even if my note was basically, it's like, because Jesse at the end is like, it's about the journey, not the destination. Like, And I'm like, right. That's the lesson of two. I do feel like we're out of ideas on that front. So I was kind of like, there's a ceiling on this movie for me, quality wise. But, like, yeah, it's like, it's just well done and, like, I had a good time watching it. I can't really be too mad at it, you know, especially because these movies are just going to continue to happen.

[Griffin]

These movies continue to struggle with how expansive 2 was thematically.

[David]

Right.

[Griffin]

That it just bit off so much successfully that there's not as much left for them to explore. But I thought this movie had, like, many new ideas. It had many new concepts. Yes.

[David]

It comes to an old idea. But the tech stuff, I was like, I appreciate just running at an idea like that. I thought that was good. And so I said in my review, which is on the Atlantic, you can read it if you want.

[Griffin]

How would you rank the Stanton movies?

[Ben]

Yeah, I was about to ask.

[David]

Oh, good call.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[Ben]

Because it's going to be our. Our last episode.

[Griffin]

That is so true.

[David]

Now he hasn't made that out.

[Dana]

Can I pitch my idea for. For the next in the Toy Story franchise?

[Griffin]

We need to hear this now.

[David]

Which. Which, Griffin, do you think there will be a Toy Story 6?

[Griffin]

This.

[David]

The fact, especially given that it's probably gonna make a ton of money.

[Griffin]

The fact that they don't even attempt to make some sort of. Here's the end of the series finale to this. I think it's all but guaranteed. I. I hope they continue to pace them out the way they have. It's nice that these movies are coming out of her.

[David]

Too frequent. Yes.

[Marie]

Yeah, sure.

[David]

Okay.

[Dana]

It's more of a prequel.

[Griffin]

The first Toy Story stick and hoop.

[David]

This is a. Well, you like to go to. I will say. You like to go almost prehistoric.

[Eiko]

Yeah.

[David]

But I think it would be interesting.

[Eiko]

Keep going.

[Griffin]

Keep going.

[Dana]

What is like a rock?

[Griffin]

It's a rock. Okay. Yep.

[David]

And like mud.

[Dana]

And it's like, you know, primitive people. And it's like exploring the. The. Like. What does it mean to be a toy? Like, as the first toy.

[Griffin]

But that sort of feels like forky territory. If it's like, I made a toy out of some stuff and now what is. What is play?

[Dana]

Right.

[David]

Cuz.

[Griffin]

Like.

[David]

And who is the first toy to gain consciousness?

[Ben]

Childhood is a modern concept.

[Griffin]

Yes, this is true. That's why I think it's got to be like, you know, 20th century stick and hoop. And it's a toy that's really nauseous all the time. It's like I'm just chased.

[David]

But you see, like, ancient Roman, you know, dolls or.

[Marie]

Right.

[David]

Like, we. We unearth these things sometimes. I guess I do do that a lot. Huh? Love that.

[Griffin]

You love that.

[David]

And it's not an accusation or.

[Griffin]

No, it's one of our.

[David]

Stanton has made six films.

[Griffin]

Correct.

[David]

I'm not missing.

[Griffin]

That sounds correct. Yes.

[David]

So I have a. Ranked thusly from 1 to 6.

[Griffin]

Okay.

[David]

Wally, Finding Nemo, Toy Story 5, Finding Dory, John Carter in the blink of an eye. I'm sorry, John.

[Griffin]

Yeah.

[David]

The ambition of John Carter is higher than the. Than the animated sequels.

[Griffin]

Sure.

[David]

I. I can't get there with. I think it's better than the animated sequels, which are two movies where I'm like, obviously these are no masterpieces, but they're well done enough that I consider them better than John Carter.

[Griffin]

I think I. I think I have the same ranking, but I have it

[David]

over in the blink of an eye.

[Dana]

Yeah.

[Griffin]

I go Wally, then Finding Nemo. Then I go Toy Story 5, then Finding Dory. You have the same rank, John Carter, and. And unfortunately, we're going to end with a blank.

[David]

I think that's where one must end.

[Griffin]

Yes, one must.

[David]

Marie, do you prefer, like, Nemo to Wally? Do you have a hot take on these lists?

[Ben]

No, I love Wally. I'm very curious to rewatch John Carter. I saw it opening weekend at the Ziegfeld. It was like the last movie I saw at the Ziegfeld before it closed down. And there were five people in the entire theater, and one of them was Rob Malone.

[Griffin]

You know, we recorded that episode some weeks in advance, and I asked the question on the episode, is there any chance I like the Mandalorian and Grogu more than John Carter? And I can definitively say no. I think John Carter is better than the last three theatrically released Star wars movies.

[Dana]

Sure.

[David]

Definitely the last two.

[Ben]

I. I remember I kind of spot

[David]

for Solo for parts of Solo.

[Griffin]

You want to. That droid?

[David]

No, it's. I like the. What's the Lady Proxima?

[Griffin]

Lady Proxima. Oh, the original Skimble Shanks.

[Ben]

But I remember, like, defending John Carter at the time and being like, this movie's good actors.

[Griffin]

It's got stuff in it.

[David]

There's.

[Griffin]

I I. It's fun to defend even if it doesn't completely work. But that's been our Andrew Stanton journey. And now of course, we're going on to Martin Scorsi.

[David]

That's so true.

[Griffin]

It's actually very on to him. Right onto him. We've recorded a good chunk of them.

[David]

Yeah, we've recorded eight Martin Scorsese episodes already. You out of you dirt jerks?

[Griffin]

23.

[David]

Yeah, we've done about a third is my estimation. Yeah, I'm Italian.

[Griffin]

We're working on it. I think. I think our pizza might be here. Hold on.

[Dana]

Sure.

[David]

Yes, I'm sure it was delivered long, long ago.

[Ben]

Sorry.

[David]

Griffin just said, hey, this is Griffin calling from the. And I was like, I wonder how he's ending that sentence.

[Griffin]

Okay, thank you. Did I pulled a Sims?

[Ben]

Did you did deliver to your house?

[Griffin]

Yes, but my house is very close.

[David]

See, I could have your house. Isn't that whatever.

[Griffin]

Very close?

[David]

I mean it's pretty close, but you know.

[Griffin]

Yeah, yeah. But we're hungry, so let's end the episode and I'll go get the pizza.

[Ben]

All right.

[David]

I'm going to get out.

[Ben]

I'm just want to say it's a little disappointing. They didn't do a bad bunny pizza.

[Griffin]

Oh sure I did see Nighthawk.

[Ben]

They are. I will be ordering it special.

[Griffin]

Is the bun bunny pizza.

[David]

Maybe I'll get that.

[Griffin]

Yeah, they have a flatbread pizza with sunglasses. Flatbread. They got a new, what's it called? A paidina, the Italian flatbread sandwich.

[Ben]

Oh yeah, I saw that on the menu. Interesting.

[Griffin]

I got. I can't remember what movie.

[David]

It's got ham and mango.

[Griffin]

It's. That's the plantains.

[David]

It's sort of like a fun like Hawaiian pizza.

[Griffin]

It's a better version of haw.

[Ben]

Right. I love, I. I love.

[David]

Maybe I should get the spiel,

[Ben]

but. Oh, Ben's taking a Buzz Lightyear.

[Griffin]

This is the bucket we got yesterday when we saw the movie.

[Ben]

Oh, wow.

[David]

Oh, it's a bucket.

[Griffin]

Yeah, it's pretty good. Oh, it's the high tech buzz in the package. And you can take the buzz out to put the popcorn in.

[David]

Yeah, it's like these. God, these things get so elaborate now.

[Ben]

Wow.

[David]

Like, where does the popcorn go?

[Griffin]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ben]

It's really nice.

[David]

It's. It's very fancy.

[Griffin]

Yeah. But we're gonna end this episode so I can get pizza. Is there a final thing you wanna say, Maria?

[Ben]

No, I'm just wondering like this, you know, Toy Story 4 definitely felt like a Woody and Bo Peep. Side adventure. This is a Jesse side adventure.

[Marie]

Right.

[Ben]

Where do they go next? Cause I feel like. Do they go back to the Buzz? Well, is there. What is the next character to get their own.

[Griffin]

Well, the NT's of course, is that the high tech Buzzes have droned their way down to a playground to find themselves a bunch of kids. And then high tech Zurgy is revealed.

[David]

Yes, sure I was. I couldn't wait to find out what

[Griffin]

that the greatest villain voiced by.

[Ben]

No, the greatest villain is Bowser Jr. But correct. Andrew Stanton.

[Griffin]

Andrew Stanton.

[David]

That's funny.

[Ben]

I learned that from the Finding Neo.

[David]

Was there a second post credits thing?

[Ben]

Yes, we missed it. Bad Bunny.

[Griffin]

Bad Bunny and Forky rapping along with all the other toys. It's pretty great.

[David]

It's actually great.

[Griffin]

It's. I. I would call it a bop.

[David]

Cool. That's great.

[Ben]

Yeah. But like, what is your. As someone who's very dialed into this, what do you think?

[David]

Just. Were you happy?

[Ben]

You were happy?

[David]

No, no, I know. It's just like, I feel like that's just. It's just.

[Ben]

You're happy.

[Griffin]

No, I was happy with it.

[Ben]

We just want you to be happy, Griffin.

[Dana]

And are you Major Smile?

[Griffin]

I'm Major Smile. Standing strong. Standing tall. No, I think the big thing is, and this is another thing I hold against three is like three is the movie I imagined would be the third movie. And four and five and two all did things I never could have guessed. And that's what I like about this series. And I think that's what Stanton's really smart at, is he continues to kind of sit. Sit down and not go like A to B on the store stories.

[David]

Now, this is a Ben hosley tweet from November 2014. So this is before Blank Check.

[Griffin]

Wow.

[David]

He maybe knows us a little bit.

[Griffin]

Okay.

[David]

Writing a prequel to the movie My Girl about the bees. This is what I'm saying.

[Griffin]

He's always incredible. Yes, he does want the first.

[Ben]

You love a prequel.

[Dana]

I guess I want to. I want to know where it started.

[Griffin]

Yeah, that's.

[Ben]

I don't know.

[David]

In a beehive.

[Griffin]

And where. And where did this podcast start? What is the prequel to Blank Check? Why, of course. It's the Phantom Menace.

[David]

That's so true.

[Griffin]

It all comes back to prequels.

[David]

And that was the beehive of our 10 year long allergic attack. That has been this movie.

[Griffin]

I'm going to go get these pizzas.

[David]

He's so hungry.

[Griffin]

Thank you all for listening. Please remember to rate, review and subscribe next week.

[David]

Is who's that knocking at my door. And Boxcar Bertha, a special guest. Free Scorsese intro.

[Griffin]

Marty Doubleheader.

[Dana]

And over on Patreon, we just recently kicked off our Resident Evil commentary series.

[Griffin]

So what are we up to right now? We just did the first one.

[Dana]

Just did the first one.

[Griffin]

Broken Containment.

[Dana]

We'll also be doing a bunch of fun bonus score, oneoff episodes, different kinds

[Ben]

of stuff from Docks, cookbooks, you name it.

[Griffin]

All sorts of things happening over there.

[Dana]

You can sign [e-mail] blank check.

[Griffin]

Thank you all. And as always, just a big congrats to Forky and a mazel tof on being made an honest man.

[David]

Wow.