Noah Romsdal Hallundbæk Sørensen
Pixar’s iconic toys are coming back, and the original Toy Story director is speaking out.
A new chapter is on the way for one of animation’s most recognisable ensembles, and the filmmaker behind it insists no one is being forced to come along.
As Disney prepares to release Toy Story 5 next year, director Andrew Stanton says long-time fans can simply “keep their trilogy” if they’d rather not revisit the franchise.
Raising the stakes
Speaking with Empire, Stanton explained that the upcoming film plunges Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang into what he called their biggest “existential problem”: an iPad-like device that challenges their place in a modern, tech-driven childhood.
He said the creative team was drawn to the idea of classic toys navigating a digital world, even while acknowledging those who feel Toy Story 3, released in 2010, offered a definitive close to the “Andy years.”
“So ‘3’ was the end… of the Andy years,” he told Empire. “Nobody’s being robbed of their trilogy. They can have that and never watch another if they don’t want to.”
Shifting eras
According to Empire, Stanton emphasised that the Toy Story universe has always embraced change rather than nostalgia. “There’s no promise that it stays in amber,” he said.
The third film famously ended with Andy passing his toys to Bonnie, mirroring the real-world passage of time since Pixar launched the original in 1995.
Nine years later, Disney released Toy Story 4, this time centring the toys’ adventures around a daycare setting and concluding with Woody and Buzz parting ways.
Tackling tech
Stanton said the new instalment confronts a reality facing many households. “Nobody’s really playing with toys anymore,” he noted, adding that the team didn’t want to simply paint technology as the antagonist.
Instead, he suggested the film explores how shifting habits affect children and the toys built for earlier generations.
Some viewers have pointed out that Disney has touched on similar themes in films like Ralph Breaks the Internet, while others question the need to bring back the franchise yet again.
Commercial pressures
Disney’s financial motivations remain an unavoidable backdrop. Toy Story 4 crossed the $1 billion mark in 2019, a benchmark Pixar has rarely matched since, with original titles such as Elemental and this year’s underperforming Elio struggling to compete.
Earlier this year, Pixar chief Pete Docter addressed the challenge while discussing Elio’s box-office results, saying the studio needed to anticipate audience desires rather than rely on familiar brands. Otherwise, he warned, studios risk producing endless sequels: “We’d be making Toy Story 27.”
Sources: IGN Nordic, Empire, YouTube/Pixar, YouTube/Laughing Place
