Toy Story 4: Don Rickles Didn’t Start Recording Mr. Potato Head’s Voice Before His Death

Many hoped that Don Rickles possibly started work on Toy Story 4 before his unfortunate passing, but according to new reports, this isn’t the case.

There’s a moment at the end of the first Toy Story where all the toys are waiting around to hear what Andy got for Christmas, and Mr. Potato Head chants for a wife, Mrs. Potato Head. When everyone looks at him, he says nonchalantly, “I can dream, can’t I?”

When Don Rickles passed away last week, that’s how I felt in consideration of Toy Story 4. Following the voice actor’s passing, many hoped that he began production on the next installment. However, The Hollywood Reporter states that Rickles hadn’t even begun voice work for Mr. Potato Head, a character that will keep Rickles close to everyone’s hearts for decades to come.

According to the report:

"Rickles, though, had not yet recorded new material for Toy Story 4, his rep confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. Pixar has been doing rewrites on the film, and Rickles had not yet been called in to record his voice tracks for Mr. Potato Head’s role in the fourth film."

There is an upside, as pointed out in THR. Previously recorded footage could still make its way into the film. When one considers the process of voice work and how many hours a comedian like Don Rickles could spend cracking jokes until he found the right one that fit, it makes sense that there would be several lines still on the cutting room floor. Hopefully, director John Lasseter and the Toy Story team can find a way to implement them into the next film. I would rather they do that than find someone with a similar voice.

For example, when Jim Varney, the original voice of Slinky Dog passed away, they replaced him with Blake Clark for Toy Story 3. You can tell the difference, unfortunately.

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Toy Story 4 plans to hit theaters in June 2019.