An Iconic Animated Franchise Officially Returns This Week With A “Masterful Must-See” Sequel


One of the best animated movie franchises officially returns this week, as a new entry is debuting in theaters after a long break. By appealing to kids and families, Hollywood has consistently turned to animated films to find massive hits. The biggest of them often become multi-part adventures that studios bring back every few years, so long as audiences remain interested.

DreamWorks has been active in giving audiences new installments of Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon in recent years. Illumination is still mining the lucrative Despicable Me series for all its worth, while the partnership with Nintendo to make the Super Mario movies is just beginning. Sony’s Spider-Verse films have been instant classics and still are not over, either.

Disney has a lot of success, too. Frozen, Moana, and The Lion King have all had new entries of some kind in the last decade. After acquiring Pixar, Disney has ensured franchises like Toy Story, Cars, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles return, in addition to launching new ones like Inside Out.



















Andy’s Room · Tri-County Area
How Well Do You Know Toy Story?
“To infinity… and beyond!”

🤠WoodyReach for the sky

🚀BuzzInfinity & beyond

👽The AliensThe claaaw

🍴ForkyI’m trash!

🧸Andy’s ToysPlayed with love

01

When Pixar released Toy Story in November 1995, it didn’t just launch a franchise — it changed the medium forever. What historic distinction did the original film claim?




✓ Howdy, partner! Toy Story was the world’s first feature-length film made entirely with computer-generated imagery — eighty-one minutes of CG when nobody had done more than a few-minute short. John Lasseter received a Special Achievement Oscar for it. (Best Animated Feature didn’t exist as a category until 2001; no animated film has ever won Best Picture; and the first $1 billion film was Titanic, two years later.)

✗ Aw, shucks! The answer is: first feature-length computer-animated film. Eighty-one minutes of pure CG in 1995, when nobody else had managed more than a short. John Lasseter received a Special Achievement Oscar for it. Best Animated Feature didn’t exist as a category until 2001, no animated film has won Best Picture, and Titanic was the first billion-dollar film two years later.

02

Sheriff Woody, Andy’s pull-string cowboy doll, has been voiced by the same Oscar-winning actor across all four Toy Story films — the role helping cement him as the unofficial voice of Pixar. Who is he?




✓ Howdy, partner! Tom Hanks has voiced Woody across all four Toy Story films, the spinoff shorts, and the Disney Parks. Tim Allen is his co-lead as Buzz Lightyear. Robin Williams was actually Pixar’s first choice for Buzz, but scheduling conflicts pushed him out — he later did the genie cameo in Lightyear. Steve Carell has never been in the franchise.

✗ Aw, shucks! The answer is Tom Hanks — Woody across every Toy Story film, short, and theme-park appearance. Tim Allen is the other half of the duo as Buzz Lightyear. Robin Williams was actually Pixar’s first choice for Buzz but had scheduling conflicts; Steve Carell has never been in the franchise.

03

Buzz Lightyear’s rallying cry is one of the most quoted lines in all of animation. He delivers it the moment he flips open his wrist communicator. Complete it: “To infinity…”




✓ Howdy, partner! “To infinity… and beyond!” The line got its own American Film Institute nod, was adopted (in slightly altered form) by an actual NASA mission, and even traveled to the International Space Station in 2008 on a real Buzz Lightyear action figure as part of an educational program. It’s the franchise’s most quoted line, hands down.

✗ Aw, shucks! The answer is “…and beyond!” Buzz’s tagline got an AFI nod, was adopted in spirit by NASA, and a real Buzz action figure even flew to the International Space Station in 2008 on a STEM education mission. It’s the most quoted line in the franchise.

04

The toys all live in the bedroom of a boy named Andy, whose name is written in marker on the bottom of each of their feet. What is Andy’s last name, shown on the family mailbox and on his college acceptance envelope?




✓ Howdy, partner! Andy Davis — his last name appears on the family mailbox, on the “Davis” minivan, and on the college envelope in Toy Story 3. His mom is Mrs. Davis (first name never officially revealed in-film, though a fan theory says “Emily,” aka Jessie’s old owner). Bonnie, the toys’ eventual new owner, has the last name Anderson.

✗ Aw, shucks! The answer is Davis. It’s on the family mailbox, the minivan, and Andy’s college envelope in Toy Story 3. Bonnie (who inherits the toys at the end of TS3) is Bonnie Anderson — close, but a different family.

05

“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” opens the first Toy Story and has been reprised in every sequel. The same singer-songwriter composed the score for all four films — one of Hollywood’s most decorated film composers. Who is he?




✓ Howdy, partner! Randy Newman wrote “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and scored every Toy Story film — he also did Monsters, Inc., A Bug’s Life, Cars, and The Princess and the Frog. He’s a 22-time Oscar nominee with two wins. Michael Giacchino is Pixar’s other regular (The Incredibles, Up, Inside Out), Menken is Disney’s Renaissance musical guy, and Zimmer handles Lion King territory.

✗ Aw, shucks! The answer is Randy Newman. He wrote “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and scored every Toy Story film (plus Monsters, Inc., Cars, and A Bug’s Life). Michael Giacchino is Pixar’s other regular composer (The Incredibles, Up, Inside Out); Alan Menken handled Disney’s Renaissance musicals; Hans Zimmer did The Lion King.

06

In Toy Story 3, the gang ends up at Sunnyside Daycare, where everything seems wonderful at first. The day-care’s leader is a pink plush bear who smells like strawberries and turns out to be the franchise’s darkest villain. What’s his name?




✓ Howdy, partner! Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear — “Lotso” for short — voiced by Ned Beatty. The backstory of how he ended up at Sunnyside (replaced by an identical bear after being left in the rain by his original owner) is one of the franchise’s saddest beats. Stinky Pete is the TS2 villain (Kelsey Grammer), Zurg is from TS2 as well, and Gabby Gabby is the TS4 antagonist who gets her redemption.

✗ Aw, shucks! The answer is Lotso — Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear, voiced by Ned Beatty. The TS3 reveal that he was replaced by an identical bear after his original owner left him in the rain is one of Pixar’s darkest beats. Stinky Pete is TS2 (Kelsey Grammer), Emperor Zurg is also TS2, and Gabby Gabby is the redemption-arc antagonist from TS4.

07

In Toy Story 4, Bonnie cobbles together a brand-new toy during a kindergarten arts-and-crafts session, sparking the whole plot when he wails “I’m trash!” and tries to throw himself away. What everyday utensil is Forky made from?




✓ Howdy, partner! Forky is a spork — with googly eyes, a popsicle-stick foot, pipe-cleaner arms, and a red plasticine mouth. He’s voiced by Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development), and his existential terror about being “trash” rather than a toy is the whole emotional engine of TS4. He got his own Disney+ shorts series after.

✗ Aw, shucks! The answer is a spork — with pipe-cleaner arms, googly eyes, and a popsicle-stick foot. He’s voiced by Tony Hale, and his “I’m trash!” meltdown is the heart of TS4. He even got his own Disney+ short series, Forky Asks a Question.

08

Toy Story 3 ends with one of the most emotionally devastating scenes Pixar has ever made: Andy, packing for college, hand-delivers his old toys to a new owner in her front yard and plays with them one last time. Who is she?




✓ Howdy, partner! Bonnie Anderson — the imaginative little girl Woody had met earlier in the film when she “adopted” him from her mom’s day-care lost-and-found. Andy goes through every toy with her one by one before driving off to college. It’s the franchise’s natural ending. Bonnie then becomes the toys’ new owner in Toy Story 4.

✗ Aw, shucks! The answer is Bonnie Anderson — the imaginative little girl Woody had encountered earlier in the film. Andy goes through every single toy with her, one by one, before leaving for college. She becomes the toys’ new owner for Toy Story 4. Molly is Andy’s little sister (she gives up Barbie in TS3, but never inherits the gang).

The Toys Have Spoken · Play Time Over
Your Toy Box Verdict

🧸

/ 8

Andy’s favorite — or destined for the yard sale?

Now, Disney and Pixar are bringing back the iconic toy-based franchise this week, as Toy Story 5 officially hits theaters on Friday, June 19. Featuring Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, and all the other characters audiences have to come to know and love, it’s a long-awaited and highly praised return for the beloved series.

Toy Story 5 Revives Pixar’s Franchise After 7 Years

Woody waving as Bonnie holds him and Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 3

While Disney and Pixar have brought back a few franchises in recent years, Toy Story has been on the shelf since 2019. That’s when Toy Story 4 came out and looked to be the last time the audiences would ever see Woody and Buzz in theaters. But after the $1 billion success of the film and the struggles with other Pixar films, Toy Story 5 was announced in 2023 and given a 2026 release date a year later.

Waiting seven years between sequels is not normal for Hollywood, but it is on the shorter side for Pixar. It’s the second-shortest gap for the Toy Story movies, coming in under the 11 years between Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 and the nine years between the third and fourth entries. Only the Cars sequels and Toy Story 2 have had shorter gaps than Toy Story 5.

Fans have had a chance to experience more of this toy-focused world since 2019, just not with the main series. Disney+ delivered the Forky Asks a Question shorts in 2019, a Bo Peep short called Lamp Life in 2020, and several Toy Story-related shorts through Pixar Popcorn in 2021. There was also the Lightyear movie in 2022, which exists outside the main franchise, making Toy Story 5 a proper return for the cinematic toy series.

Toy Story 5 Has Been Praised Before Its Release

Jessie, Buzz Lightyear, and Woody in Toy Story 5
Jessie, Buzz Lightyear, and Woody in Toy Story 5

After waiting so long for another adventure with Woody, Buzz, and Jessie, questions circulated immediately after the sequel was announced about whether it could live up to the insanely high standard put forth by Pixar with the previous four films. Thankfully, all indications are that Toy Story‘s return delivers.

Disney and Pixar have already lifted the social media embargo for the movie, and Toy Story 5‘s first reactions were nothing but positive. Among the various posts, Daniel Baptiste called the Toy Story sequel a “masterful must-see movie” while also describing it as “generation-defining,” “meaningful,” and “moving.”

Those words are exactly what Disney and Pixar hoped to hear when Toy Story 5 was announced. After some trepidation among fans about the film’s ability to justify why it was made and undo Woody and Buzz’s goodbye from Toy Story 4, the animation, Jessie-centric story, and commentary on our use of technology have made the latest installment of this beloved franchise another classic.


toy-story-5-poster.jpg


Release Date

June 19, 2026

Runtime

102 Minutes

Director

Andrew Stanton, McKenna Harris

  • Headshot Of Tom Hanks In The Los Angeles World Premiere Of Apple TV+ Series 'Masters Of The Air'

  • Headshot Of Tim Allen

    Tim Allen

    Buzz Lightyear (voice)

  • Headshot Of Joan Cusack

    Joan Cusack

    Jessie (voice)

  • Headshot Of Greta Lee

    Greta Lee

    Lilypad (voice)




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