Let's be honest: you can't walk into a Toy Story movie without mentally preparing yourself to shed a few tears. But when I sat down with the creative masterminds behind Toy Story 5, director Andrew Stanton and producer Lindsey Collins, I had to call them out for making a 40-something-year-old bloke cry yet again!
With the film currently smashing it in cinemas everywhere right now, I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with the Pixar husband and wife duo. We discussed the initial hesitation to make a fifth film, which tackles a very relatable issue for parents today: the threat of modern electronics. In Toy Story 5, the beloved toys find their jobs exponentially harder when a slightly older Bonnie becomes completely absorbed by a frog-themed digital tablet named Lilypad. This kicks off a hilarious and heartfelt battle between traditional playtime and modern screen technology. Throw in a chaotic subplot involving an army of 50 rogue Buzz Lightyear action figures stuck in toy mode, and the creators were left with an incredibly fun sandbox to play in. During our chat, we dug into this clash of eras, the introduction of tech-based toys, and the childhood favorites Andrew and Lindsey will never forget.
Andrew Stanton and Lindsey Collins aren't just filmmakers; they are certified Pixar royalty. Andrew has been there since the very beginning, co-writing all four previous Toy Story films and directing undisputed masterpieces like Finding Nemo and WALL-E. Oh, and if you've ever quoted the ultimate chilled-out sea turtle, Crush, you're quoting Andrew: he provides the iconic voice! Lindsey is an absolute powerhouse producer whose massive credits include WALL-E, Finding Dory, and the brilliantly vibrant Turning Red. (Plus, true Pixar nerds will recognize her as the voice of Mia in Cars!).
When I jokingly asked Andrew and Lindsey if they really had to make me cry with this latest installment, their response was classic Pixar.
"No, we didn't have to, but we enjoy it," Andrew laughed. "That's a nice reward for just tapping into the truth of something, you know? We just try to represent a moment of truth about life that, if you catch it right, it should touch you."
But interestingly enough, getting Toy Story 5 off the ground wasn't easy. Andrew admitted that when he was first asked if he wanted to do it, he had absolutely no idea where to take the story. Eventually, a few core ingredients sparked his imagination.
"I had the main ingredients," Andrew explained. "I knew I wanted to explore Jessie as a character and it would be very different for her running a room with the toys, and for Bonnie."
Of course, it wouldn’t be Toy Story without the legendary voices that started it all. The new film brings back the heavy hitters we've loved for decades, along with a massive influx of exciting new characters joining the toy box:
The Legends Return: Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are back as the iconic duo of Woody and Buzz Lightyear.
Running the Room: Joan Cusack steps up into a major leadership role as Jessie, the new sheriff of Bonnie's room.
Fan Favorites & Legacy Roles: You'll hear the comforting, hilarious voices of Wallace Shawn (Rex), John Ratzenberger (Hamm), Annie Potts (Bo Peep), and Tony Hale (Forky). There are also some incredibly talented actors stepping into legacy roles to honor past legends, including Jeff Bergman taking over as Mr. Potato Head, Anna Vocino as Mrs. Potato Head, and John Hopkins as Mr. Pricklepants.
The New Tech Toys: To represent the modern technological threat, Greta Lee voices the movie's central antagonist, Lilypad, a highly addictive frog-shaped smart tablet. Comedy legend Conan O'Brien steps in to voice Smarty Pants, a potty-mouthed toilet training tech toy that's been stuck in sleep mode. Craig Robinson plays Atlas, a cheerful GPS-powered hippo toy eager to map out an adventure. You'll also hear Shelby Rabara as Snappy, an excitable and nostalgic toy camera.
New Humans & Fun Surprises: The real-world kids get an update too, with Scarlett Spears stepping in as the new voice of Bonnie, who is now 8 years old. We are also introduced to Blaze, an independent, horse-loving 9-and-a-half-year-old girl voiced by Mykal-Michelle Harris. Rounding out the wild new additions, Latin music superstar Bad Bunny voices a brand-new character literally named Pizza with Sunglasses, while Alan Cumming makes a hilarious cameo as Evil Bullseye during a playtime imagination sequence. Finally, Ernie Hudson steps in to voice Combat Carl, lovingly taking over the role from the late Carl Weathers.
And if the emotional stakes weren't already high enough, the soundtrack gets a massive pop-culture boost for "Swifties". Toy Story 5 features the inclusion of a brand-new, original song from Taylor Swift for the film, "I Knew It, I Knew You," which was co-written and co-produced with her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff. Returning to her country roots, Swift revealed the track was heavily inspired by the beloved cowgirl character, Jessie. In fact, Swift was so dazzled by an early 11 a.m. screening of the film that she got what she jokingly called the "songwriter zoomies," returning home to write and record the entire song in a single eight-hour sprint. She described the experience as "one of the most fun days of my life" and noted that creating music for Jessie felt like "a musical departure and coming home at the same time". The tune captures the film’s themes of growing up, shifting eras, and learning to let go.
Beyond character development, Andrew knew he wanted to tackle a massive reality of modern childhood: the invasion of screens.
"I knew that tech has changed all the kids' lives in the household for several years at this point, and that I didn't think it was going to go away," he shared. "It's like TV coming into the house."
To represent the digital age creeping into the toy box, the creators introduced a new framework. Andrew noted that the Toy Story universe has weird, unseen rules, like TVs and radios not having character or life, so they had to figure out how to represent technology.
Their solution was a frog-themed framework device named Lilypad. From there, the team had a blast exploring early, first-generation digital devices.
"Wouldn't it be fun to find early first-generation limited digital devices?" Andrew recalled thinking. "Like my first digital camera, and a geocaching device, and a made-up one of a potty training device...which should exist, by the way!"
Lindsey enthusiastically agreed: "If they're not making it, they should."
Oh, and there was one more hilarious, unexplained vision Andrew had for the movie: "I just randomly... I wanted 50 Buzz Lightyears. I couldn't explain it, but I thought it cracked me up."
Since the movie is a love letter to the joy of play, I had to ask the duo what childhood toy they will never, ever forget.
For Andrew, it was a classic: "Showing my age, mine was a G.I. Joe with Kung-Fu grip. That was my favorite toy."
Lindsey's answer, however, was so uniquely brilliant that Andrew immediately regretted not putting it in the movie.
"I had a stuffed otter that had a shell on its chest, and I named it Pashelly... because, you know, obviously," Lindsey laughed. "And then I had surgeries as a kid for tonsils... and the surgeon team had dressed it in like surgical gear. And then it became Dr. Pashelly. And then all of a sudden, my room was a full-blown surgical center!"
Andrew's reaction? "She kept this from me the entire production! Had I known this, I would have put this in the movie. It's like paging Dr. Pashelly... it would have been basically Pixar's version of The Pit."
As we wrapped our chat, I had to thank Andrew and Lindsey not just for the cinematic magic of Toy Story 5, but for reminding us all, even a 40-something bloke, that the joy of play is so incredibly important.
Toy Story 5 is in cinemas now ★★★★
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