It’s safe to say that the Toy Story gang have faced off against some pretty fearsome foes (Emperor Zurg, scary Sid, Lotso the Bear, creepy ventriloquist dummies), but in Toy Story 5, is tech their greatest threat yet?
In the latest instalment, eight-year-old Bonnie receives a Lilypad tablet to make new friends and starts ignoring her toys, who fear being abandoned. That’s when Jessie takes matters into her own hands to try to find Bonnie a friend in real life.
The toys have also narrowly escaped many situations that have left us bawling at the cinema (we’re still traumatised over the trash incinerator and not over Andy going to university, to be honest).
After thinking we’d said goodbye to our animated friends several times, most recently in Toy Story 4 when Woody becomes a lost toy with Bo Peep, we wondered what’s next for the beloved franchise.
And would Tom Hanks and Tim Allen – firm friends who have been voicing Woody and Buzz since Toy Story was released in 1995 as the first feature‑length computer‑animated film in history – keep coming back?
Read more:
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“Honestly, it’s up to the folks at Pixar,” Hanks tells RT exclusively, which you can watch in the video at the top of this page. “In other circumstances, you could drag this thing out just for the sake of commerce, and it would not be worthy of Toy Story.”
“It’s just not what they do,” adds Allen. “Of course, they want to make money, that’s what they do, and pay everybody’s salaries, but if it wasn’t good, they wouldn’t do it.”
“They should just call this the next Toy Story, as opposed to putting a number on it,” says Hanks.
Andrew Stanton, director of Toy Story 5 – who has worked on all of the Toy Story films – agrees, and believes there are many more stories to tell.
“I can imagine anything if it’s done well,” he says. “The thing specifically about these movies that work is because we’ve allowed time to pass, so as long as we are honest with what feels natural to time passing for characters, whether they’re human or toys, it’ll be viable.
“If you’re honest, and you want to earn the quality that we’ve kept on all of these Toy Story movies, it’s just: follow the lives of the kids that are owning these toys, because every kid’s a little different. Every bedroom’s probably a little different – every way that they play in their household.
“There are so many facets to childhood that haven’t been touched on, that I think you could keep it going the right way, for the right reasons.”
He continues: “I don’t think there’s been a map ahead of time, other than, ‘Let’s hand off the toys from Andy to Bonnie.’ I really believe that’s the way to go. There’s the arc of one kid. You close that trilogy. And there’s the arc of another kid, which is Bonnie right now.”
Technology has been the next natural opponent for the toys, mirroring real-life screen-time struggles, but what would they take on next?
“If I knew that, I’d keep it to myself, because I’d make a lot of money selling it,” laughs Stanton. Producer Lindsey Collins adds, “I remember the reissues… and I’m thinking about when Barbie had a little sister, Skipper. Something like Woody’s little brother?”
“What are you doing? You’re just giving it away!” says Stanton. Well, you heard it here first…
Whatever shape the franchise takes, we know it’s in safe hands with Pixar, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in February. There are still plenty of kids and toys out there and corners of childhood left to explore – and Toy Story 5 doesn’t feel like a “so long, partner” as much as a “see you later, partner”.
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Toy Story 5 is out now in cinemas.
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