'Toy Story' Returns in a Short Attached to 'The Muppets'

What, you didn't think Disney would allow Pixar to let their most successful franchise just sit there, did you?

While the combined revenue of the film franchise stands at nearly $2 billion, the films themselves are only the beginning. "Toy Story 3" alone, according to a story in Variety, made an additional $650 million on home video, $250 million on books, $220 million from video games, and a staggering $7.3 billion in other forms of merchandising. And that's just merchandising on the third film alone.

While Disney is eager to see the "Cars" franchise exceed its success, they're going the extra mile to keep "Toy Story" in the hearts and minds of children for as long as possible.

After all, "Cars" was considered Pixar's low point creatively, and "Toy Story 3" has just been nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, making it the first sequel to be nominated when the previous films in the series have not.

A short focusing on Barbie and Ken is already set to be attached to this summer's "Cars 2," and now, the same Variety article reveals that a new "Toy Story" short will appear in front of "The Muppets," set for release this November. The story doesn't reveal any more details than that, but that's all that needs to be said. Disney will have an easy time putting people in the seats for their Muppet revival.

Financial success is one thing, but Pixar's true success with the "Toy Story" franchise is one of those lightning-in-a-bottle events - they've created a classic.