Toy Story 3: Another Disney White-out

Number 8 on the list of highest grossing movies since President Barack Obama took office is "Toy Story 3" (TS3).  As the name suggests, TS3 is the 3rd installment in the very popular Pixar/Disney "Toy Story" series.  TS3 earned $1.063 billion in worldwide revenue.

Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the whole toy gang face the crisis of their human Andy growing up and going off to college.  While they want to remain loyal, the toys are unhappy with the prospect of being packed into the attic.  When they are accidentally placed at the curb as trash, the toys decide (despite Woody's objections) to stow away in a donations box heading for a daycare center.  Instead of finding a play paradise, the daycare center turns out to be a dangerous place, ruled by an authoritarian stuffed bear.  The balance of the movie is an adventure for the toys to escape the daycare center and return to Andy's house.

As has been discussed previously, when it comes to bankrolling a blockbuster, Hollywood is more likely to bet on non-original material.  With respect to racial diversity, sequels tend to limit casting flexibility for the recurring characters.  Toy Story is no exception, bringing back almost all of the previous toys with their original voice actors.  The only new toys are a villain (Lotso), a Ken doll, and a bunch of very minor characters - virtually all voiced by white actors.  The only notable exception is Stretch, an octopus with almost no lines, who is voiced by Whoopi Goldberg.  Even a young human girl (Bonnie), who is clearly non-white, is voiced by a white actress.

As noted previously, Disney has enjoyed huge success with other movies featuring nearly all-white casts.  But with 61% of its revenue coming from international audiences, could it have done even better with a racially-diverse cast of characters? Apparently Disney thinks white equals green(backs).