Credit: Disney/PixarPixar just previewed a handful of its upcoming films at D23 – and one villain bears a familiar face.
It’s no secret that the past few years haven’t been the strongest in Pixar Animation Studios’ history. At the peak of COVID-19, Disney shifted Pixar releases onto its newly launched streaming service, Disney+. That meant the likes of Soul (2020), Luca (2021), and Turning Red (2022) were denied the box office laurels they deserved.
Even once Pixar returned to theaters, things didn’t look up for the studio overnight. Lightyear (2022), the first Pixar film to get a theatrical release since Onward (2020), failed to set the box office alight. Starring Marvel alumnus Chris Evans as the ‘real’ Buzz Lightyear – AKA the movie character on whom Andy’s toy Buzz Lightyear is based in Toy Story (1995) – it took home just $226.4 million on a $200 million budget.
The film’s failure kicked off some major changes at Pixar. In 2023, the studio underwent mass layoffs, reducing its workforce by 14%—including several of those involved in the film, such as its director Angus MacLane and producer Galyn Susman.
While it’s hard to say why exactly Lightyear failed, theories include the fact that it was an unnecessary spinoff and cast a new actor in the role of the iconic Space Ranger. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Pixar is reverting back to the OG Tim Allen version of the character for its upcoming film, Toy Story 5. (Yes, we’re really getting a fifth film).
Yesterday’s Disney Entertainment Showcase Panel at D23 2024: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event unveiled new details about the movie. While we’re still two years off from its theatrical release, we now know that it will be directed by franchise alumnus and Pixar Brain Trust member Andrew Stanton (something that’s been rumored for months now) and that its premise is the toys taking on a new enemy: technology.
The premise of the new #ToyStory is revealed by Andrew Stanton at #D23.
The premise of the new #ToyStory is revealed by Andrew Stanton at #D23. pic.twitter.com/lzI0lR9WFo
— Variety (@Variety) August 10, 2024
“With Toy Story 5, the toys’ job gets exponentially harder,” Stanton said, “when our toy group goes head-to-head with what kids are obsessed with today: electronics.” As the audience rushed to take pictures of concept art in which Woody (Tom Hanks), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Rex (Wallace Shawn), and company watch a child using an iPad, Stanton added, “None of you are holding up toys, you’re all holding up phones.”
However, iPads aren’t the only challenge the toys must face in Toy Story 5. The panel also revealed that Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear won’t just play a protagonist role in the film, with an army of 50 Buzz Lightyear toys – all of which are malfunctioning – serving as antagonists.
An army of 50 Buzz Lightyear toys who are stuck in a malfunctioning play mode will be villains in ‘TOY STORY 5’
An army of 50 Buzz lightyear toys who are stuck in a malfunctioning play mode will be villains in ‘TOY STORY 5’ pic.twitter.com/isWvBOn9dL
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) August 10, 2024
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an out-of-character Buzz Lightyear cause problems for the toys. In Toy Story 3 (2010), Buzz gets stuck in Spanish mode, throwing a spanner in their escape plan from Sunnyside Daycare. In Toy Story 2 (1999), factory-mode Buzz Lightyear toys also cause issues in Al’s Toybarn.
Responses to Toy Story 5 have been mixed in general. Some have (rightly) argued that the franchise has no need for a fifth installment – and arguably didn’t need a fourth one, either. However, this plot point has sparked further division on social media, with some accusing Pixar of recycling old plot points.
“This is actually so unoriginal it was literally the original plot of Toy Story 3 back when Disney was bluffing in 2005 that if Pixar didn’t make another deal with them, they would start making sequels without Pixar’s involvement,” pointed out X (formerly known as Twitter) user @JakeLandauTO.
Meanwhile, @dansbro12 questioned, “So we’re just reusing old plot points now?
“So no new villains?” wrote @KamiAnimess. “Running out of ideas.”
While we’ll have to wait until 2026 to see if Pixar manages to pull this off, we’re cautiously optimistic. Pixar has been on an upward curve in the past year, with two hits – Elemental (2023) and Inside Out 2 (2024), the latter of which has overtaken Frozen II (2019) to become the highest-grossing animation of all time – under its belt. We’re manifesting more of that magic for Toy Story 5.
Toy Story 5 wasn’t the only Pixar film covered at D23. The studio’s upcoming slate also includes the previously announced Elio (2025), the original movie Hoppers (2026), an Inside Out (2015) spinoff called Dream Productions for Disney+, and The Incredibles 3.
How do you feel about Toy Story 5?