“Lamp Life,” a prequel short for Toy Story 4, is coming to Disney+ later this month and will focus on the adventures of Bo Peep (Annie Potts) got up to before the events of the hit 2019 movie. Disney’s critically acclaimed animated franchise, starting with 1995’s Toy Story, follows a group of toys that come to life when humans aren’t looking, and the lengths to which they go to be with their kids. The movies focus on Sheriff Woody, a cowboy doll that is a favorite of young Andy until the child receives a high-tech astronaut toy, Buzz Lightyear. The original movie was followed up by Toy Story 2 in 1999, then Toy Story 3 over a decade later in 2010. Toy Story 3 went on to become the third animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and the first animated movie to gross $1 billion at the box office. Released last year, Toy Story 4 also eventually hit the billion dollar mark, leading the Toy Story series to become the most successful quadrilogy of all time.
Besides Woody, played by Tom Hanks, and Buzz, played by Tim Allen, several other toys make appearances throughout the four films. Bo Peep, played by Ghostbusters and Young Sheldon star Annie Potts, is part of a ceramic lamp that plays lullabies, and is never without her shepherd’s crook and three trusty sheep. In the first two movies, Bo Peep is a love interest for Woody, and he is seen to change his mind when Bo, gently flirting, suggests a different course of action. In Toy Story 3, she is one of the toys to have left over the years, to Woody’s obvious woe. Bo makes her triumphant return in Toy Story 4 as a childless “lost” toy, who helps Woody recover Forky, a toy created by Woody’s new kid, Bonnie. Bo and Woody eventually leave Bonnie to go on adventures in Toy Story 4’s well-received ending.
Disney dropped a trailer on YouTube, embedded below, for “Lamp Life,” a short that will reveal Bo Peep’s adventures in between the second and fourth movies, and how she went from darling baby lamp to outdoors-braving, RC-car-driving woman of action that Woody finds on the playground. “Overall, life sitting on a baby lamp isn’t that exciting,” says Bo in the voiceover for the trailer. “Or, maybe, too exciting.” If the trailer is anything to go by, the latter half rings more true, as Bo is set on fire and frozen in snow, fighting stray cats and surviving at college parties along the way.
Disney+, Disney’s relatively new streaming service, holds many properties across the Disney corporation umbrella, from Fox’s The Simpsons to Pixar’s filmography, and of course the dozens of Disney movies and television programs produced over the decades. It also is home to original programming, such as flagship show The Mandalorian, set in the Star Wars universe. “Lamp Life” is set to be the latest addition to the Disney+ exclusive lineup.
Since Toy Story 4 broke Pixar tradition by not screening a preceding short, it makes perfect sense to dive into unexplored stories within the Toy Story universe. Focusing on Bo Peep in particular is a no-brainer since her return was a catalyst for the entire movie. “Lamp Life” is also a chance for Disney+ to keep hold of their audiences after the success of The Mandalorian, something they have struggled to do so far. Herd the whole family together for “Lamp Life” on January 31st.
Next: Will There Be A Toy Story 5? Here’s What We Know.
Source: Disney+
