Copyright Newsweek
Thirty years after the release of the first film, the teaser trailer for the fifth installment in the Toy Story franchise has been released, and public opinion of the return of Woody and the gang has quickly split online. Why It Matters Toy Story, released in 1995, was the first fully computer-animated feature film. Disney distributed the Pixar-produced movie and its 1999 sequel, Toy Story 2, before buying Pixar in 2006. Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4—released in 2010 and 2019, respectively—each grossed more than $1 billion at the global box office and took home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Toy Story 5 is set to be Pixar’s 31st feature. The studio’s Inside Out 2 was the highest-grossing film of 2024, bringing in $1.5 billion. Elio, Pixar’s most recent film, grossed $152 million at the global box office after its June release. What To Know The teaser for Toy Story 5 dropped on November 11 and has already amassed more than 2.2 million views on YouTube. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack are reprising their roles as Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie, while Anna Faris, Ernie Hudson, Conan O’Brien and Greta Lee have joined the cast. This time, the Toy Story gang’s foe is technology. The teaser shows the original cast of toys with a new addition: Lilypad, a high-tech tablet voiced by Lee. Lilypad brings a new threat to playtime that could make traditional toys redundant. While some have praised this plot, others have criticized it, and some social media users have questioned the need for a fifth film in the iconic franchise. At the end of Toy Story 4, Woody decides to leave the toy gang and pursue a new adventure. This detail has left fans puzzled by his presence in the teaser for the fifth film. X user @Swag_K1RBY wrote on the platform: “So Woody is just back. Like nothing happened.” The post has been viewed more than 7 million times. User @SketchesbyBoze wrote on X that they were glad the story’s villain was a tablet, but some social media users were quick to point out the irony that children may well end up watching the film on a similar device. What People Are Saying User @SketchesbyBoze wrote in an X post viewed 4.4 million times: “I’m glad the villain of the new Toy Story is a child’s tablet. I hope the film conveys how screens eat up a child’s hobbies, interests, literacy, ability to function socially. I hope it provokes millions of parents to think twice before making the iPad a babysitter.” User @yeeeeezzzzyyy replied in a post viewed over 38,000 times: “The new villain is an iPad with Disney+ installed. With the movie Toy Story 5 playing on it.” User @DynamoSuperX, who shared a clip from the previous Toy Story film, wrote in a post viewed over 600,000 times: “Disney basically saying toy story 4 is skippable and has NO impact is f****** hysterical. this scene literally doesn’t mean s***!” The X account @DiscussingFilm wrote in a post viewed over 500,000 times: “LilyPad will be a villain in ‘TOY STORY 5’ as the toys go up against electronics. Voiced by Greta Lee.” User @Crestamorph wrote in a post viewed over 80,000 times: “Somehow, Woody returned…” What Happens Next Toy Story 5 is scheduled for a theatrical release on June 19, 2026.
