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We know that this instalment went through different iterations. There were other scripts and writers involved, including Rashida Jones, and we heard at one point it being described as a “romantic comedy.” How did this morph into what it is?

Cooley: The initial concept was, ‘What happened to Bo Peep and what would happen if she came back into the picture?’ So she was there from day one. We went through different versions of how they would come across her and we had some really crazy ideas.

What was the craziest?

Cooley: There was an idea that will sound insane now, but I liked it at the time because it was so different and it was unlike anything we’d done before. It was Woody and the toys were with Bonnie at the beach and Bonnie and her dad are digging these holes and Woody falls into that hole and he’s trying to get out, but he can’t because it’s too deep. Bonnie starts to pack up her toys and they’re going back to the car and her dad goes, ‘You forgot something … you have to fill in the hole because you can’t leave holes in the beach like this.’ So they cover Woody up and he’s buried down there and he’s able to eventually get out when someone with a metal detector finds him. But when he gets out, it’s years later. He runs to Bonnie’s house and she’s moved, and he comes across Bo Peep then and he’s saying to her, ‘I don’t know where I am. I’m lost’ and she’s like ‘Great, c’mon.’ … It was totally different than anything we’d done.

Rivera: That vibe, though, was the spirit. It was: how far can we throw the ball? And underneath all that, it was really about getting them out of the rooms and further than we’ve ever been. We didn’t use that idea, but there are still ingredients from that in this one.