Oh boy—Pixar just can’t seem to let a good thing rest.
The brilliance of “Toy Story 3,” with its resonant and emotionally satisfying ending, felt like the perfect conclusion to the trilogy. By every measure, it was the ideal send-off for Woody, Buzz, and the gang.
That’s why I’m still frustrated by Pixar’s decision to make “Toy Story 4.” To me, it undercut the integrity of its predecessor. The film didn’t carry the same sense of relevance or necessity—it leaned on familiar theatrics and felt more like a move driven by commerce than by genuine artistic intent.
Quentin Tarantino, who views ‘Toy Story’ as the “perfect trilogy,” still refuses to watch “Toy Story 4.” Wise decision because he knows that it would completely ruin the perfection of the first three instalments. I get that.
I am a big fan of the ‘Toy Story’ trilogy. The third one is is just magnificent, and it's one of the best movies I've ever seen and, if you've seen the other two, then it's just devastating. The thing is, three years later, or something like that, they did a fourth one and I have no desire to see it. You literally ended the story as perfect as you could, so no I I don't care if it's good I'm done.
With that in mind, “Toy Story 5” is real, and it’s coming out next summer. Andrew Stanton is directing; he’s helmed three Pixar movies, including “Finding Nemo” and “WALL-E,” both of which won the Oscar for Animated Feature. He’s also written eight films for the toon company, including “Toy Story, “Toy Story 2,” “A Bug’s Life” “WALL-E,” “Monsters Inc” and “Finding Nemo.” This is the first ‘Toy Story’ he’s directed.
Here’s the just-released trailer, courtesy of Pixar which has the toys encountering Lilypad, “a high-tech, frog-shaped smart tablet that turns playtime into chaos for Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the rest of the gang as they face their toughest new rival yet,” according to a press release. Greta Lee lends her voice to the sleek new gadget.
It’s not that surprising to see Pixar/Disney milking this franchise for whatever it’s worth. The original “Toy Story,” released in 1995, made history as the first fully computer-animated feature film. Disney distributed that film and its 1999 sequel. The franchise was revived more than a decade later with “Toy Story 3” in 2010 and “Toy Story 4” in 2019—both billion-dollar global hits that went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in their respective years.
“Toy Story 5” arrives in U.S. theaters on June 19, 2026. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack are all returning to voice Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jessie.
It gives me no pleasure to report that this is one of the worst films of Schrader’s career. Wooden acting, Jack Huston and Sofia Boutella are badly miscast, the script is dull, the photography is flat; nothing works.