{ "id": "epp32hexkd", "slug": "forky-asks-a-question", "title": "Forky Asks a Question", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted", "label": "Adapted and franchise screen series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted.reboot_revival_spinoff_series", "label": "Reboots, revivals, and spin-off series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted.reboot_revival_spinoff_series" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020: Adapted and franchise screen series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001", "label": "United States · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted", "label": "Adapted and franchise screen series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Forky Asks a Question is a Pixar animated short series on Disney+ (Nov 12, 2019–Jan 10, 2020), ten ~3-minute episodes in which Toy Story 4's Forky, voiced by Tony Hale, asks toy friends about money, love, time, and cheese; written and directed by Bob Peterson, it won a 2020 Emmy for \"What Is Love?\".", "snippet": "Forky Asks a Question is a Pixar animated short series on Disney+ (Nov 12, 2019–Jan 10, 2020), ten ~3-minute episodes in which Toy Story 4's Forky, voiced by Tony Hale, asks toy friends about money, love, time, and cheese; written and directed by Bob Peterson, it won a 2020 Emmy for \"What Is Love?\".", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv_adapted.reboot_revival_spinoff_series", "markdown": "# Forky Asks a Question\n\n**Forky Asks a Question** is an American animated short-form series produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Disney+, in which Forky, the handmade spork toy from *[Toy Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/toy-story-franchise) 4*, asks his toy friends questions about how the world works. The ten episodes, each roughly three minutes long, premiered on November 12, 2019, the day the Disney+ service launched, and concluded on January 10, 2020.[1](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/forky-asks-a-question) • [2](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/disney_project_one-sheet_-_forky_asks_a_question_c9ceb92e.pdf) • [3](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/app/uploads/2019/03/Disney_Investor_Day_2019_transcript.pdf) The episode \"What Is Love?\" won the 2020 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program.[4](https://www.disneyplus.com/whats-on/series/forky-asks-a-question)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Ten animated shorts of about 3 minutes each, released weekly on Disney+[1](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/forky-asks-a-question) • [5](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/forky-asks-a-question/episodes-season-1/1000655671/) |\n| Run | November 12, 2019 (\"What is Money?\") to January 10, 2020 (\"What is Reading?\")[1](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/forky-asks-a-question) |\n| Writer-director | Bob Peterson; producer Mark Nielsen; production company Pixar Animation Studios[2](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/disney_project_one-sheet_-_forky_asks_a_question_c9ceb92e.pdf) |\n| Lead voice | Tony Hale as Forky, reprising his *Toy Story 4* role[6](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/41754/forky-asks-a-question) |\n| Premise | Forky, a craft project made from trash, asks questions such as \"What is love?\", \"What is time?\", and \"What is cheese?\"[4](https://www.disneyplus.com/whats-on/series/forky-asks-a-question) |\n| Award | 2020 Primetime Emmy, Outstanding Short Form Animated Program, for \"What Is Love?\"[4](https://www.disneyplus.com/whats-on/series/forky-asks-a-question) |\n| Reception | 85% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer; Metascore 64 on Metacritic; 6.5/10 on IMDb[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forky_asks_a_question) • [8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forky-asks-a-question/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and format\n\nForky is the craft-project toy that Bonnie creates out of trash in *Toy Story 4*, and the series picks up from his position as a newcomer to the world. In each short he poses a single question, such as what money, friendship, art, time, love, computers, leadership, pets, cheese, or reading are, and a different toy friend takes a turn at answering.[4](https://www.disneyplus.com/whats-on/series/forky-asks-a-question) • [9](https://www.peopleofplay.com/blog/film-review-forky-asks-a-question) Common Sense Media describes the structure as one toy friend per episode helping Forky learn, with Forky absorbing information at a preschooler's pace, getting distracted, and then summing up the main point.[10](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/forky-asks-a-question)\n\nThe episodes do not always answer their title question directly. Reviewer Julia DeKorte notes that while the shorts \"don't always answer the title question, they're always entertaining,\" and the series plays off Forky's childlike attention span rather than delivering straight instruction.[9](https://www.peopleofplay.com/blog/film-review-forky-asks-a-question)\n\n### Episodes\n\nThe ten season-one episodes, with their guest teachers, aired weekly:[1](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/forky-asks-a-question)\n\n1. **What is Money?** (November 12, 2019): Hamm attempts to teach Forky how the US monetary system works.\n2. **What is a Friend?** (November 15, 2019): Forky befriends Bonnie's mom's ceramic mug, whose printed text he takes as her name, \"What, No!\".\n3. **What is Art?** (November 22, 2019): Mr. Pricklepants gives Forky an acting lesson on convincing performance.\n4. **What is Time?** (November 29, 2019): Rex uses the age and extinction of the dinosaurs to explain time.\n5. **What is Love?** (December 6, 2019): Bonnie's elder toys, including Melephant Brooks, Carl Reineroceros, and Chairol Burnett, explain love from long experience.\n6. **What is a Computer?** (December 13, 2019): Trixie explains what a computer does as they both experience the stresses of technology.\n7. **What is a Leader?** (December 20, 2019): Dolly teaches Forky the qualities of a good leader, and Forky tests them.\n8. **What is a Pet?** (December 27, 2019): Forky meets Officer Rib Tickles and is schooled on the dangers of law enforcement.\n9. **What is Cheese?** (January 3, 2020): An annoyed Buttercup speed-teaches everything he can.\n10. **What is Reading?** (January 10, 2020): The Peas-n-a-Pod siblings, with help from Mr. Spell, teach Forky how letters form words.\n\n## Production\n\nThe idea came from writer-director Bob Peterson, a Pixar veteran and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter known for *Finding Nemo* and *Up*. In an interview with Awards Daily, Peterson said he saw *Toy Story 4* screenings while working on other shows, was drawn to [Tony Hale](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-hale)'s performance as Forky, and thought the character's newness to the world suited an almost educational format. He chose to play off Forky's childlike attention span rather than make the show strictly educational, and he paired Forky with characters from the films who had not received much uninterrupted screen time, which in turn suggested the questions.[11](https://www.awardsdaily.com/2020/08/25/pixars-bob-peterson-and-forky-ask-an-emmy-nominated-question/) • [2](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/disney_project_one-sheet_-_forky_asks_a_question_c9ceb92e.pdf)\n\nThe senior-toy episode grew out of the casting of four veteran comedians in *Toy Story 4*: [Mel Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-brooks), Carol Burnett, Carl Reiner, and [Betty White](https://www.edgepedia.org/betty-white). Peterson said that once he learned director Josh Cooley had worked with them, he wanted to write for them, and cast them as wise seniors explaining love, which turned into an over-the-top soap opera.[11](https://www.awardsdaily.com/2020/08/25/pixars-bob-peterson-and-forky-ask-an-emmy-nominated-question/) According to D23, the featured actors, including [John Ratzenberger](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-ratzenberger) as Hamm, Wallace Shawn as Rex, and Kristen Schaal as Trixie, recorded their dialogue at the end of sessions for *Toy Story 4*. The same D23 article explains that Officer Rib Tickles, who appears in \"What is a Pet?\", had been cut from *Toy Story 4* entirely and was rescued for the series.[12](https://d23.com/how-forky-asks-a-question-rescued-the-character-rib-tickles/)\n\nTony Hale, who voices Forky, said Pixar approached him after he finished work on *Toy Story 4* and asked whether he would be interested in a series in which Forky asks a ton of questions. He recorded alone, as is typical in animation, and described each episode as \"a very simple message of kindness.\"[13](https://www.paschalbaylon.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/First-News-718.pdf)\n\n## Reception\n\nCritical response was generally favorable. The first season holds an 85% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics consensus calls the series \"short and sweet\" and \"fun and funny enough to work for fans,\" with an audience Popcornmeter score of 64%.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forky_asks_a_question) • [14](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forky_asks_a_question/s01) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 64 based on five critic reviews, ranging from a 100 in the *Colorado Springs Gazette*, which called the shorts endearing and wished they were longer, to a 10 in *The Hollywood Reporter*, which called the series \"a complete waste of time.\"[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forky-asks-a-question/) IMDb users give the series 6.5 out of 10.[15](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10167284/)\n\nReviewers differed on the intended audience. *Time* described the three-minute clips as designed for the toddler set, while the Sydney Morning Herald praised Tony Hale's voice work and RogerEbert.com called them \"clever little bursts of entertainment.\"[8](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forky-asks-a-question/) • [14](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forky_asks_a_question/s01) Common Sense Media rated the series appropriate for ages 4 and up, found no violence, language, or commercial content, and named it a Common Sense Selection, noting that its educational value is small but that some episodes turn up real facts, such as where money is minted in the United States.[10](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/forky-asks-a-question)\n\n## Legacy\n\nThe series was among the Disney+ Originals available at the service's launch and was announced at Disney's April 2019 Investor Day as premiering the day the service launched.[3](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/app/uploads/2019/03/Disney_Investor_Day_2019_transcript.pdf) • [16](https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/disney-plus) Its Emmy win for \"What Is Love?\" made it an awarded Pixar television production, and the character's inquisitiveness carried into later franchise material; the *Toy Story 4* post-credits scene had already introduced Knifey, another utensil toy who, like Forky, asks why she is alive.[4](https://www.disneyplus.com/whats-on/series/forky-asks-a-question) • [17](https://time.com/5612224/toy-story-4-post-credits-scenes/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Forky Asks a Question, TheTVDB.com](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/forky-asks-a-question)\n2. [Disney+ Project One-Sheet: Forky Asks A Question](https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/documents/disney_project_one-sheet_-_forky_asks_a_question_c9ceb92e.pdf)\n3. [Disney Investor Day 2019 transcript, The Walt Disney Company](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/app/uploads/2019/03/Disney_Investor_Day_2019_transcript.pdf)\n4. [Forky Asks a Question, Disney+](https://www.disneyplus.com/whats-on/series/forky-asks-a-question)\n5. [Forky Asks a Question Season 1 Episodes, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/forky-asks-a-question/episodes-season-1/1000655671/)\n6. [Forky Asks a Question, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/41754/forky-asks-a-question)\n7. [Forky Asks a Question, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forky_asks_a_question)\n8. [Forky Asks a Question Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/forky-asks-a-question/)\n9. [Film Review: Forky Asks A Question, People of Play](https://www.peopleofplay.com/blog/film-review-forky-asks-a-question)\n10. [Forky Asks a Question: Parents' Guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/forky-asks-a-question)\n11. [Pixar's Bob Peterson and Forky Ask an Emmy-nominated 'Question', Awards Daily](https://www.awardsdaily.com/2020/08/25/pixars-bob-peterson-and-forky-ask-an-emmy-nominated-question/)\n12. [How Forky Asks a Question Rescued the Character Rib Tickles, D23](https://d23.com/how-forky-asks-a-question-rescued-the-character-rib-tickles/)\n13. [First News Issue 718, Tony Hale interview](https://www.paschalbaylon.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/First-News-718.pdf)\n14. [Forky Asks a Question: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/forky_asks_a_question/s01)\n15. [Forky Asks a Question (TV Series 2019–2020), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10167284/)\n16. [Disney Plus review, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/disney-plus)\n17. [Breaking Down Toy Story 4's Five Post-Credits Scenes, Time](https://time.com/5612224/toy-story-4-post-credits-scenes/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Adapted and franchise screen series › Reboots, revivals, and spin-off series*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/forky-asks-a-question", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/forky-asks-a-question.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Forky Asks a Question\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/forky-asks-a-question. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Forky Asks a Question](https://www.edgepedia.org/forky-asks-a-question)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/forky-asks-a-question](https://www.edgepedia.org/forky-asks-a-question). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Forky Asks a Question\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/forky-asks-a-question. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Forky Asks a Question is a Pixar animated short series on Disney+, ten ~3-minute episodes in which Toy Story 4's Forky, voiced by Tony Hale, asks toy friends about money, love, time, and cheese; written and directed by Bob Peterson, it won a 2020 Emmy for \"What Is Love?\"." }