'Forky Asks A Question' star Tony Hale wants to know 'What's Marmite?' (exclusive)

Disney’s new streaming service Disney+ is launching in the UK on 24 March. Alongside the Mickey Mouse studio’s extensive back catalogue including its animated classics, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars, there’s also a raft of brand new shows and movies exclusive to subscribers.

One of the highlights of that slate is Pixar’s Forky Asks A Question, a series of short films starring Forky, the breakout star of the Oscar-winning Toy Story 4, voiced by Veep and Arrested Development star Tony Hale. In each episode, the spork-turned-toy ponders some of life’s biggest quandaries, and the stars of the Toy Story universe are there to help him get a grip on life.

With episodes such as What is love?, What is money?, and What is cheese? we were keen to find out what questions Hale had about life in the UK now that the show was about to launch on these shores.

Read more: All the Pixar coming to Disney+

“I do have a lot of questions about Brexit,” Hale told Yahoo Movies UK. “I think Forky would be confused by that because it sounds like a breakfast cereal. Also Vegemite, is that you guys?”

We explained that’s an Australian product, and that us brits prefer Marmite.

“That seems like an acquired taste,” he mused. “I would have a lot of questions about that.”

Here’s what else we learned about Forky Asks A Question from its star Tony Hale who also shared his pick of the Disney+ highlights to watch out for, and the crossover show he’d love to see happen.

Yahoo Movies UK: It must be a quite a thrill to be one of the launch highlights for Disney+ - how does it feel?

Tony Hale: It’s pretty exciting. I mean the whole journey of joining the Toy Story universe these past few years has been obviously very exciting and overwhelming at the same time. Stepping into a franchise that is not only so established with so incredibly well done, it was intimidating at first, but they could not have been more welcoming, and funny, and the whole process has been pretty great.

Was it easy to slip back into Forky mode after having left it for a little bit after Toy Story 4?

Very. I guess it was like six or seven months before the film came out that they asked if I wanted to do this, and of course I was like ‘yeah, I’m in!’’ because I loved the whole aspect of... Forky kind of came into the world, really just having the one goal of helping people eat chilli and then going to the trash. That was his mission in life.

And Woody comes along, he's like, ‘no, you're made for more: to love and be loved’. And Forky just out of the gate he had a tonne of questions. And I love that this is just a continuation of all those questions.

Do you have any questions that you'd like to see Forky tackle in the future?

Oh man, I feel like I have so many, and they would probably be my own personal frustrations like ‘why do people talk on the phone so loud?’, ‘Why do people eat with their mouths open? Stuff like that.

With this being the launch of Disney plus in the UK, I wondered if you had any questions about the UK or UK culture that you thought that you would like answering?

I do have a lot of questions about Brexit. I think Forky would be confused because it sounds like a breakfast cereal.

Also Vegemite, is that you guys?

We have Marmite here, Vegemite is an Aussie thing.

That seems like an acquired taste. I would have a lot of questions about that.

Read more: Aussies appalled by Tom Hanks’ Vegemite use

And if you weren't given the opportunity to ask Forky a question - do you have something you'd like to know about the world of toys?

I would ask a question about… I think he's got to stretch in the morning because he has no flexibility. I don't know how he gets around so fast. There’s no flexibility in that body. He can’t even move his neck, so I'm very curious about his mobility.

Those little feet though, they seem to have a lot of movement in them.

Those feet are going strong. I don’t know if he gets foot replacements every week or something, but he’s got to wear those out.

Yeah, we made a Forky when the film came out, and he is not in good shape right now.

He’s got to have some handlers helping him out.

Talking of people helping him out, can you tell me a little bit about the creative team behind Forky Asks A Question? Who's the brainchild behind it?

Bob Peterson wrote the episodes and directed them and he is just so funny and I love him.

For example, the episode What Is A Friend? I think you might have seen that one? Just the fact that Forky gains a friend and it’s a coffee mug, that was so weird and so funny at the same time.

I think most of the time the actors get a lot of press around the movie, but it’s all about the animators.

Read more: All the Star Wars you can watch on Disney+

The spotlight should be on those guys because they work so incredibly hard on the animation and it looks so stunning. So I always love to just bring attention back to them, they’re the unsung heroes.

Definitely. I imagine when you're shooting a three minute short like this, you're only in the booth for a short amount of time or is there a lot of improvisation that goes into it?

Yeah. There’s a lot of improvisation, and they give a lot of freedom for that. You could be there a couple of days coming up with ideas and doing the scripts. I mean, honestly, I was so excited just to kind of get back into the storyline, because I love Forky; the way he looks at life and how simple it is.

And I think that might be why people are attracted to him. Because life is so crazy chaotic and just having a character just ask very simple questions like, ‘What is love?’ ‘What is a friend?’ ‘What is cheese?’ I feel like we forget a lot of that simplicity. And it's a great reminder of it.

Yeah, especially for the younger audiences as well. These are the things that kids want to know, right?

Kids wanna know, and I want to be reminded of it. When I get too overwhelmed by life, it's nice to have a little spork just ask the question like ‘hey, what’s love?’ just throwing it out there because I can kind of forget. “What’s a friend?’, you know many times I forget, and it's nice to just bring back some simple truths.

Talking of people exploring the world with a wild eyed wonder, one of the other things I've watched on Disney plus is The World According To Jeff Goldblum. It’s a really great companion series for your series. I'd love to see a crossover episode. Do you think that's possible?

Let's do it! From your mouth to Pixar’s ears.

What's a Jeff Goldblum? That's a question we all need answering.

I know! I just think Jeff Goldblum and Forky should have their own talk show. Jeff Goldblum would be like the Andy Richter to Forky’s Conan.

Congratulations on the Oscar win, what was that night like for you?

Oh, it was so exciting. I think we were all just so excited that they got the attention that they deserved. Again going back to the hard work that they all put into it. It's just the details of that movie. Watching Toy Story, it felt like watching magic, just all this eye candy. Like Bo Peep’s face, it looked like real porcelain.

That beauty... I was so excited that they got the attention that they deserved for it.

People will be able to revisit it when it comes to Disney+. You've had it in America for a while now - what did you dive into first on the platform?

I was pretty excited to go through The Simpsons episodes, because there was a lot that I've missed. And so that was really fun. And my daughter is now 14. So that's always fun to watch together.

Read more: Everything you can watch on Disney+

Obviously The Mandalorian, but it's also just all the library they have, it’s just so extensive. Just what we have access to now through Disney+, it's pretty crazy.

Pre-Order Disney+

Yahoo Entertainment is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Disney+ subscription | £49.99 a year for a limited time only

Disney+ will land in the UK on 24 March. There’s a monthly subscription fee of £5.99 a month, or an annual charge of £59.99. If you pre-order before 23 March, Disney is offering a year’s subscription for £49.99.