Toy Story 5 is a 2026 American animated adventure comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton, who conceived the story and co-wrote the screenplay with Kenna Harris, it is the fifth main installment in Pixar’s Toy Story film series and the sequel to Toy Story 4 (2019).
๐ญ Cast and Crew
The ensemble voice cast features Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack among those reprising their roles from the previous films. They are joined by Conan O’Brien, Scarlett Spears, Greta Lee, Shelby Rabara, Mykal-Michelle Harris, and Craig Robinson.
It is the first main film in the series with no involvement from co-creator John Lasseter, who left Pixar in late 2018. The franchise’s composer, Randy Newman, returned to score the film, marking his tenth collaboration with Pixar.
๐ Production and Release
Development on a fifth film was confirmed in February 2023, with Hanks and Allen returning. Stanton was confirmed as the director in June 2024 and later as a writer.
Toy Story 5 had its world premiere in Los Angeles on June 9, 2026, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 19. With a budget of $250 million, Toy Story 5 is one of the most expensive animated films ever made.
๐ Plot Summary
Set two years after the events of the fourth film, Toy Story 5 follows Jessie, Woody, and Buzz Lightyear as they and the other toys deal with the presence of Lilypad, a tablet and the new favorite plaything of Bonnie. A now eight-year-old Bonnie receives a frog-themed tablet named Lilypad from her parents in hopes of helping her socialize with children her own age.
Bonnie soon becomes addicted to Lily and begins to neglect her toys. Jessie, having been appointed as the new sheriff of Bonnie’s room since Woody’s departure, explains to Lily about Bonnie’s need for a real friend.
Woody, who is now helping Bo Peep find homes for abandoned toys, decides to return to Bonnie’s, believing that Jessie needs help. The toys and devices arrange a new meeting between the girls, and after some hesitation, they bond over their love of toys and imagination.
๐ต Music and Technology
Taylor Swift contributed the single “I Knew It, I Knew You” to the soundtrack. Visual effects supervisor Thomas Jordan said filmmakers did not use artificial intelligence during production.
Pixar used a new version of its rendering software, RenderMan XPU, for the first time on a feature film. The Luna extension for Presto, Pixar’s core 3D animation system, was first used in Pixar’s previous film, Hoppers, and expanded for Toy Story 5.
๐ฅ๏ธ Technical Innovations
Daffodil, a horse character, took more than a year to build, rig and simulate. Pixar brought a real horse to its campus for animators to study and developed a new animation technology they called “invertible rigging”.
Another breakthrough was the curly hair of a new character, Blaze. Co-director Kenna Harris said animators relied on Black colleagues’ opinions to ensure Blaze’s hair looked and behaved authentically in different scenes.
| Category | Detail | Category | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Year | 2026 | Director | Andrew Stanton |
| Production Company | Pixar Animation Studios | Distributor | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Budget | $250 million | Composer | Randy Newman |
| World Premiere | June 9, 2026 (Los Angeles) | US Theatrical Release | June 19, 2026 |