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On New Year's Eve, before the clock struck midnight, director Lee Unkrich tweeted, "Enjoying the last day I can say 'Toy Story 3' doesn't come out next year'".  Indeed we have entered 2010, the year of the latest update in the Toy Story franchise, and today a clip that introduces a crucial new character, pretentious thespian hedgehog Mr. Pricklepants, has hit the net.  The sequel will follow the toys we know and love (Buzz, Woody, Hamm, Rex, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, and more) plus a few new playthings (Lotso and Mr. Pricklepants) when they head to a daycare center as owner Andy heads off to college.  Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, and Estelle Harris will reprise their roles, while Ned Beatty and Timothy Dalton will voice new the aforementioned new toys.

Look for the clip of Unkrich talking about Toy Story 3 and Mr. Pricklepants after the jump.

According to The Pixar Blog, this clip premiered on the Disney Channel before finding its way on to YouTube.  It features a lot of the footage we've seen already such as the eBay joke, the daycare kids manhandling the toys, and the Hispanic Buzz.  But we do get our first sense of how the new character Mr. Pricklepants will look and speak in the film. The hedgehog appears to be among the more adorable toys (I love the tiny hat resting atop his mane of spikes), yet voiced with gravitas by Dalton.  I am eager to see how he will be incorporated into the Toy Story world.  Hopefully, the next new footage we see will feature a look at the pink teddy bear Lotso, voiced by Ned Beatty, as he is rumored to be a villain of sorts despite his lovable image.

The footage released so far gives every sense that the film will be a terrific addition to the Toy Story franchise and the Pixar catalogue as a whole.  Toy Story 3 is slated to hit theaters in IMAX 3D on June 18, 2010.

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