THE FANTASTIC FOURTH

Bob Pauley breaks down the ways that Toy Story 4 pushed Pixar’s capabilities forward

As well as revisiting everyone’s favourite toys from the initial trilogy, Toy Story 4 introduced audiences to a host of new characters, each giving art director Bob Pauley and Pixar’s artists an opportunity to flex their creative muscles. The biggest addition is Forky, a loveable spork with googly eyes and pipe cleaner arms. “He’s a very simple character,” Pauley asserts, “I love it because you don’t have to buy one, you can just make your own. It’s the essence of creativity.” Despite his simple design, a material like pipe cleaner would have presented a serious challenge on the first film.

Much of the film takes place in an antique shop, roamed by a cat hellbent on getting his claws on our heroes. “We could never have done that cat before,” Pauley admits, “it’s slightly stylised and my god that thing looks alive, it’s impressive. The technology has moved far enough that there aren't audible gasps when we ask for something with fur or complicated clothing. In the first film pants and a shirt were difficult to do and now we’re doing layered clothing, it’s remarkable.”