Tony Hale explains why 'Toy Story 4' favorite is named Forky — not Sporky

There's no doubt to who was the breakout character from Toy Story 4, Pixar's latest critically adored blockbuster that extended the franchise's exceptional streak to 4-for-4. That'd be Forky, the neurotic plaything assembled with art class scraps and impeccably voiced by Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Veep).

"Forky," though, of course, is a misnomer. The toy, who becomes young Bonnie's new favorite — and whose disappearance leads Woody (Tom Hanks) and friends on a high-stakes recovery mission — is actually a spork.

As Disney's D23 Expo last weekend, Hale explained why they didn't go with "Sporky."

"'Cause Bonnie, the little girl, made him, and I don't think she knew what a spork was," said Hale, who appeared at D23 to promote the upcoming short film series Forky Asks a Question on the new streaming platform Disney+.

"She only knew forks. So she said Forky. But that created a little bit of [an] existential crisis for him, because he was like, 'Hey guys, I'm a spork. So let's just get to that base.'"

It leads to the question, when does the average person discover the magical, underappreciated hybrid utensil known as the spork?

"She was in kindergarten, so she was like, 'This is obviously a fork,'" Hale said.

Forky Asks a Question premieres Nov. 12 on Disney+.

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