How Toy Story 4 Will Honor Don Rickles

The entertainment industry lost a legend in 2017 when Don Rickles passed away at the age of 90. This also left a giant hole in the universe of Toy Story, where Rickles had voiced Mr. Potato Head since the first film back in 1995. With Toy Story 4 on the horizon, many people wondered how Rickles would be included, or if it was even possible for his voice to be used for Mr. Potato Head.

It was confirmed by director Josh Cooley earlier this year that, while Rickles passed away before getting the chance to record dialogue, the movie would use old recordings from past projects in order to piece together a performance. However, as we learned during a visit to Pixar Animation Studios earlier this year, Toy Story 4 will also contain a tribute to the late actor.

“Yes we’re gonna have a tribute to him,” Cooley confirmed during a press conference. “We, you know we went through everything that could possibly, he’s recorded so we went through all the past films, all the shorts, all the video games, all the theme park stuff, all the ice- capades all the toys. He’s done a lot over the past 25 years. And you know he did sign on to be on this film before he passed and so we’re very honored for that and we’re also very honored that his family asked us to see if can create a performance.

“So obviously we can’t say anything that’s specific to the plot but we found enough that felt natural and he fits in just like everybody else does.”

There’s no way to replace the iconic voice of Don Rickles, and the creative team behind Toy Story knows that.

“We couldn’t imagine this film with a sound alike,” said producer Mark Neilsen. “We knew, we knew we had to just dig and do whatever we could to try to preserve his voice and as, I mean he is so, he is the voice of Potato Head. You see that toy on the shelf, you hear that voice coming at ya.”

There would be no Mr. Potato Head without Don Rickles, so it’s great that the team at Pixar found away to give him one final performance.

Toy Story 4 is set to hit theaters on June 21st.

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