Exclusive: ABC to Air Toy Story Special in October

Toy Storylives on!

In October, ABC will air Toy Story of Terror, a 30-minute special that reunites the original voice cast from the Toy Story franchise, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively.

From Pixar, Toy Story of Terror follows the adventures of the toys post-Toy Story 3, in which a fun road trip takes a very unexpected turn. "Bonnie is on a road trip to go see grandma with her mom and the toys are in the trunk," producer Galyn Susman says. "Mom gets a flat tire and they have to spend the night at a motel and all kinds of chaos ensues."

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While Terror will include Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) and Rex (Wallace Shawn), Jessie (Joan Cusack) will have a more prominent role in the special. "We've gotten to see a lot of development in Woody and in Buzz and we felt it was Jesse's turn to really show some growth." Susman says.

Additionally, Bonnie's toys — Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) and Trixie (Kristen Schaal) — who first appeared in the third installment, will be featured, while we'll also get to actually meet Combat Carl, who briefly appeared in the first film when he was blown up by Sid, who will be voiced by Carl Weathers.

Airing sometime near Halloween, the special will have a horror feel after one of the toys goes missing at the motel. The rest of the gang will find themselves caught up in a mysterious sequence of events that must be solved before they all suffer the same fate. That said, the producers took inspiration from the horror genre — Psycho, Aliensand Predator, in particular — but found the right balance for both adults and children."

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"There was some support to make a scary, but not necessarily Halloween-themed half-hour Toy Story special for television," director Angus MacLane says. "There was some concern early on about not making it too scary for kids. I think we've done a good job of balancing staying true to Toy Story and staying true to the genre. As far as adults are concerned, I've always thought that we make these movies for ourselves. I think it's funny and like the other Toy Story films, I think there is plenty of stuff in there that only adults will get." 

Despite the terror, there will also be a lighthearted side to the special, which will feature the first glimpse into what life is really like with Bonnie, who got custody of the toys at the end of the third film. "This is the first time that they've been on a road trip away from the house, so we're exploring the relationships and the things that might come up on a road trip with toys, some of  whom have lived and worked together for years, while others have only just met," MacLane says. "They definitely have a family dynamic that is fun to see now that they're all together on one road trip."

Will you be watching Toy Story of Terror?