Timothy Dalton in Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 3
Lee Unkrich Directs Sequel to John Lasseter CGI Films
Sep 10, 2009
British actor Timothy Dalton will voice a thespian hedgehog toy in Disney/Pixar's upcoming film Toy Story 3.
According to film sites JoBlo and Heyuguys, former Toy Story director and current executive producer John Lasseter announced at the Disney Animation Showcase in London that the former James Bond, "will voice Mr. Pricklepants, a hedgehog toy with thespian tendencies."
Dalton joins Cars' Michael Keaton – who voices the arrogant Ken – in the new film. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Jodi Benson, Wallace Shawn ("Inconceivable!"), Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris and Pixar lucky rabbit's foot John Ratzenberger reprise their various roles from the first two Toy Story movies.
Here's the synopsis, according to Disney/Pixar: "Woody, Buzz, and the rest of their toy-box friends are dumped in a day-care center after their owner, Andy, departs for college."
Toy Story 2 co-director Lee Unkrich will be the principal director for Toy Story 3. Oscar-winning scripter Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) is writing the screenplay. Composer Randy Newman (The Princess and the Frog) also returns to provide the music for the film.
Timothy Dalton: James Bond, Heathcliff, Edward Rochester, Rhett Butler . . . and Mr. Pricklepants
A classically trained actor who has consistently portrayed both heroes and villains during his career on stage, television and film, Timothy Dalton has mostly been cast in dark and brooding roles, such as playing Edward Rochester in the 1983 BBC production of Jane Eyre.
He has often stepped into roles made famous by other legendary thespians: replacing Sir Lawrence Olivier as Heathcliff for 1970's Wuthering Heights, replacing Roger Moore and Sean Connery as James Bond, and Clark Gable as Rhett Butler for 1994's Scarlett.
He was the tallest (at 6'2") and most controversial actor to don James Bond's tuxedo and Walther PPK. Many feel his dark and gritty portrayal of Bond – in 1987's The Living Daylights and 1989's License to Kill – was closest to the character developed in Sir Ian Fleming's original novels, but others disliked his vision, especially after Roger Moore's more lighthearted take on the role.
Despite his reputation for taking on dark dramatic roles, Dalton's portrayal of the villainous Simon Skinner in Edgar Wright's 2007 film Hot Fuzz proved that he could convincingly do comedy.
He's doing more voice work for the Mouse House, portraying Lord Milori in the direct-to-DVD animated film Tinker Bell: A Winter Story, coming in 2011.
Toy Story 3 comes into theatres on June 18, 2010.
Fun Fact: A thespian is an actor in comfortable shoes.
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