Joan Cusack has made her first major red carpet appearance in 11 years.
Red Carpet Appearance
The 63-year-old actress stepped out in London’s Leicester Square on Thursday night, May 28th, for the UK Launch Event for Disney Pixar’s Toy Story 5, in which she plays cowgirl, Jesse.
A joyous Joan glowed in a chic white dress shirt. It was tucked into a high-waisted, floor-length black skirt. She posed for snaps with her husband, actor Richard Burke, and film co-stars Tom Hanks (Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz), and Greta Lee (Lilypad).
Toy Story 5‘s writer-and-director Andrew Stanton and producer Lindsey Collins also had their photos taken.
Toy Story 5
The latest installment in the hit film franchise sees Jesse, Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the crew under threat. Their second owner, Bonnie (Scarlett Spears), is engrossed with her frog-like tablet, Lilypad.
But Andrew – who contributed to the scripts of the previous Toy Story flicks – said Lilypad is not a baddie.
He told Variety, “She is to the toys because they’re understandably intimidated.”
“She’s just the next phase in Bonnie’s life. She’s built like a toy in the sense that she wants to help the kid go forward, but she’s got very different skills and zero experience, whereas Jessie has nothing but experience and is probably unprepared for what to do.”
Lilypad Not Exactly a Villain
Co-writer Kenna Harris said a lot of Pixar employees wanted Lilypad to be a villain.
They said, “Lots of people at the studio wanted her to be a villain, and it was so hard to strike the balance because I think we all come in with such loaded emotions towards devices. At the end of the day, it never made sense.”
“We’re not getting rid of these devices, no matter how hard we try. I’m always going to have my phone. I’m probably going to be partially addicted to it. So it felt right for the toys to have to grapple with that nuance.”
Future Films?
In April, Andrew teased that there could be two more Toy Story films coming. There is reportedly enough material to explore new adventures that may go beyond Bonnie.
He told Entertainment Weekly, “That’s why I feel like it can keep going.”
But Andrew – who directed Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, and WALL-E – will not leave Pixar, saying he will advise on the studio’s projects until he is “in a rocking chair somewhere. And I will always have a strong opinion about this.”
“This is probably the best way I can leave my stamp at Pixar – teaching others how this is done.”