True fans of the Toy Story franchise have always said how the series was no longer the same after the death of writer Joe Ranft. Fans have always debated that the beauty behind the animated classic was largely credited to Joe as his writing was easily relatable to fans of all ages.
Toy story 4 is expected to release on 16th June 2017. The studio and the team have said that they wish to make the upcoming movie whilst still remembering Joe. The studio have also said that director John Lassester will be coming back to direct the forthcoming film after he decided not to do the third movie in the series.
Sources close to John have said that the reason he was not willing to do the third movie was because it was attempting to go against the vision of Joe, who was a very close friend of John. John has also said that Toy Story is wholly a product of the pure imagination Joe possessed.
Joe has also been remembered by the Toy Story franchise in the DVD release of its second movie where there was an additional special feature that talked about Joe and his life and accomplishments. Sources have also said that there is a rumor circulating that the studio might introduce a character in honor of Joe in the upcoming movie.
The studio has said how the death of Joe affected their plans to work on further projects. Sources also say the Joe’s death might have been the reason why the third movie took more than ten years to release.
Joe’s death has also been at times considered a conspiracy. As he met with an accident on 16th August, 2005, he was in the passenger’s seat and the car was being driven by his friend, Elegba Earl, whom sources claim, had been having differences with Joe months ahead of the accidents.
The car they were in lost control and crashed though a rail and plunged 130 feet into the mouth of the Navarro River. The third passenger, Eric Fierson, managed to escape thorough the sun roof and sustained minor injuries while Joe and Earl were killed instantly.
Eric, upon regaining consciousness and after questioning by the authorities, said that he does not remember the events leading to the accident. His doctors have also supported his statement that the injury and trauma that he went thorough could have been responsible for partial memory loss.
Although he had a short career Joe was a decorated artist. He has an Academy nomination to his name. Some of his most distinguished movies were” The Lion King” “The Little Mermaid”, “ A Bug’s Life”, “Chicken Run” and Finding Nemo”.
Joe’s net worth remains undisclosed.