KEEP IT UNDER YOUR HAT: Toy Story’s Woody is balding.
Three decades on from one’s heyday, it’s natural to look a little different – so much so that even Toy Story characters are afflicted by the passage of time.
In the case of cowboy Woody, the changes will be very relatable for many of the now grown-up fans of the original film: he is losing his hair.
The animated character, a fixture of the Pixar series since its first instalment in 1995, is shown in a trailer for Toy Story 5 with a bald patch on the back of his head.
Voiced by Tom Hanks, Woody plays a key role in the film’s plot, which centres on a battle between traditional toys and devices used to entertain children today. The toys will be seen working together to try to save Bonnie, their owner, from her Lilypad smart tablet.
In a trailer released on Thursday, Woody’s hair loss is shown clearly – and another toy jokes that he “needs a brown marker” to cover it up.
* * * * * * * * *
Toy Story is one of the most popular children’s films of recent decades and has grossed billions of pounds at the box office. Its first instalment was the first feature film made entirely using CGI.
The smart-tablet plot of Toy Story 5, which is due to be released by Disney in June, comes amid mounting fears over the impact of smartphones and screen time on children.
Sir Keir Starmer has promised to bring in measures that would allow the Government to introduce an Australian-style social media ban as early as this summer.
Last year, the Princess of Wales published a personal essay saying a reliance on smartphones was undermining family life and causing an “epidemic of disconnection”.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have also spoken out against the dangers of technology for children, saying more needs to be done to protect young people from online harm.
In January, government research found that screen time damaged toddlers’ ability to speak. In October, a study found that children who spent a lot of time on screens perform worse in reading and maths tests.
And after an ever-smaller theatrical run, Disney’s hoping that millions of kids will be watching Toy Story 5 on iPads given to them by their parents. But hopefully the surviving members of the original cast can recapture the magic, despite the absence of Pixar founder John Lasseter, who was #metoo-ed out of the company in 2018.