I somehow missed the news from Annecy International Animation Film Festival last week that Pixar had revealed a sneak glimpse of Toy Story 5. Yep, the franchise still has some life in it despite the tepid reception of the last installment! Happily, it sounds like the next sequel will have a timely premise; I just hope Pixar does it justice.
While the last Toy Story introduced low-fi characters like Gabby Gabby and Forky, Pixar's chief creative officer Pete Docter revealed at Annecy that the new film will be all about tech. More specifically, it will take on the topic of so-called iPad babies (speaking of tech, see our picks of the best animation software and the best laptops for animation if you're working on your own projects).
The Toy Story 5 logline reads: '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.' In his presentation at Annecy, Pete revealed this new antagonist to be a frog-shaped tablet called Lillypad, the new favourite toy of an eight-year-old Bonnie Anderson.
A tablet may be even more difficult than a fork to give personality to, but it looks like an interesting character design, with huge eyes and little frog feet holding the display. The premise is a nice opportunity to tap into social concerns about kids being brought up by screens. I wonder if it's not a bit late, though. In 2025, tablets already feel quaint – almost passe. A more fitting villain for 2026 might be an AI.
I also wonder how Pixar's going to tackle the theme given that Disney is one of the companies fighting for that screentime. I have a feeling we'll be in for a classic Disney redemption story in which the toys come to accept Lillypad's place in the toybox.
Pete also shared the opening scene for the movie. Here a container of Buzz Lightyears is seen trying to escape a desert island and re-establish contact with Star Command. Some things don't change!
Toy Story 5 is being directed by Andrew Stanton and co-directed by McKenna Harris and produced by Jessica Choi. Tom Hanks is on board as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear and Joan Cusack as Jessie. Meanwhile, Ernie Hudson will play the voice of Combat Carl, stepping in for the late Carl Weathers.
We're told Toy Story 5 will be released on 19 June, 2026.
Pixar also revealed concept art for a new animated movie project called Gatto. Directed by Enrico Casarosa and due for release in 2027, the film will tell the story of Nero, a black cat who lives on the streets of Venice.
For more animation news, see what's coming in Blender 4.5 and in Procreate Dreams 2. Ahead of the release of James Gunn's new movie in July, you might also want to see our piece on the challenges that comics artists have when drawing Superman.
