Scrapped 'Toy Story 3' Ending May Hint at Plot for 'Toy Story 5'

The writer of Toy Story 3 (2010) has revealed the film’s original ending – and it’s totally different from what actually played out on the big screen.

It’s a universally acknowledged truth that the ending of Toy Story 3 provided the best natural conclusion to the Toy Story series, seeing Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and co. finally say goodbye to Andy as he heads to college and instead move on to a new child, Bonnie.

However, it turns out that wasn’t always the plan.

The Original Ending for ‘Toy Story 3’

According to Michael Arndt – the screenwriter responsible for Toy Story 3 as well as other classics such as Little Miss Sunshine (2006), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) – the script originally had the toys find themselves next to Al’s Toy Barn after escaping Sunnyside Daycare. There, they commandeer toy vehicles and race against the clock to get back to Andy in time for his departure.

“Then the climax was, they all are on the plane and they just slide through the window and go smashing into Andy’s bedroom just as he’s walking up the stairs and he finds his toys there and packs them all away,” Arndt explained in an appearance on the podcast Script Apart, which delves into the first drafts of beloved films.

After a conversation with the film’s director, Lee Unkrich, it was later decided that if it was the last Toy Story film (as was seemingly the original plan), then it should focus on the end of a toy’s life cycle. “We have to see what the end looks like for toys,” Arndt said.

Of course, the ‘ending’ of a toy’s life cycle is typically either the trash or being passed on to a new owner. The toys in Toy Story 3 come close to meeting the former fate while in a garbage incinerator before ultimately pursuing the second, more preferable path: Bonnie.

What Do We Know About the Plot of ‘Toy Story 5’ So Far?

The final ending for the film definitely gives it much more emotional weight, and it’s hard to imagine Toy Story 3 being as impactful without it.

However, with the upcoming release of yet another sequel, Toy Story 5, on June 19, 2026 – which is rumored to include the return of Andy – there’s always a chance that Pixar Animation will reincorporate part of these original plans and retcon the toys’ endings to actually see them reunited with their former owner once again.

Very little has been revealed about the plot of Toy Story 5 so far. Last year, Pixar gave us our first idea about what will unfold in the much-anticipated sequel, claiming that it would incorporate the ever-growing reliance on technology to entertain kids.

“The toys are back in Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story 5 and this time around it’s Toy meets Tech,” the studio said. Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the rest of the gang’s jobs get exponentially harder when they go head to head with this all new threat to playtime.”

Buzz Lightyear voice actor Tim Allen has also claimed that the storyline is “very, very clever,” and added that Pixar wouldn’t just make another Toy Story movie for the sake of it. “I’m sure they want it to be a success, but that’s not why they did it,” he told Collider. “Had they not come up with a brilliant script, they wouldn’t have done it, and they wouldn’t have called me and Tom [Hanks]. It’s really clever.”

Which ending do you prefer for Toy Story 3? Let us know in the comments!