At the end of Toy Story 2, Woody and Buzz accept that Andy is going to outgrow them someday and leave them behind. In Toy Story 3, due next summer, that day will finally come. From Ed Catmull at the Cannes Film Festival:
Woody, Buzz Lightyear and their plaything pals are coping with abandonment issues in the new "Toy Story" sequel.
Next year's "Toy Story 3" has the gang learning they have reached their shelf life as the young boy who owns them grows up and goes off to college.
. . .
"It feels like the summation of a trilogy," said Catmull, adding that the filmmakers had hit on a big emotional finish to "Toy Story 3."
Sidenote: During the Eisner era, the Walt Disney Co. had its own version of Toy Story 3 under development, without Pixar's involvement, at an in-house computer animation studio in Glendale, California known as Circle 7. That film, and the development of other non-Pixar sequels to Pixar films, was scrapped in early 2006 when Disney announced its agreement to acquire Pixar. According to Disney's SEC filings, Disney spent some $26 million on those films before abandoning them.
