Pixar’s Toy Story 5 has officially entered the marketing stage with its first teaser, and the franchise’s latest installment looks set to tackle a distinctly modern villain: the touchscreen. Directed by Andrew Stanton with co-direction from Kenna Harris, the upcoming film puts Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the toys face-to-face with their most existential threat yet — a smart device.
The teaser introduces audiences to the Lilypad, a frog-themed tablet gifted to Bonnie Anderson, the child who inherited Woody and his friends at the end of Toy Story 3. Voiced by Past Lives actor Greta Lee, Lilypad isn’t a villain in the traditional sense, but her arrival shifts the dynamics of Bonnie’s playroom. The toys quickly realize that they’re losing their place in their owner’s life as digital entertainment takes center stage. The premise plays as a satire of a modern childhood dominated by screens — and the fear of becoming obsolete in an age where imagination is increasingly mediated by technology.
Returning voices include Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, Joan Cusack as Jessie, and Tony Hale as Forky. Newcomer Conan O’Brien joins the cast as Smarty Pants, a well-meaning but awkward potty-training toy revealed during Pixar’s Destination D23 presentation earlier this year. The same event gave attendees an exclusive look at the film’s opening sequence, which reportedly features an army of malfunctioning Buzz Lightyears stranded on a deserted island — a visual nod to the franchise’s long-running fascination with identity and purpose.
While plot specifics remain under wraps, the juxtaposition of traditional toys and AI-driven technology suggests Toy Story 5 will continue Pixar’s tradition of pairing childlike wonder with deeper emotional and philosophical questions. The theme of obsolescence has long been central to the series — from Woody’s fading relevance in the first film to the toys’ search for meaning after being outgrown — and this new chapter appears poised to explore that anxiety in the digital age.
Toy Story 5 is set for release in summer 2026, marking nearly three decades since the original film debuted. For Pixar, it’s both a nostalgic return and a reflection on how play itself has evolved — where imagination once powered toy chests, algorithms may now compete for a child’s attention. Whether Woody and Buzz can outshine a touchscreen remains to be seen, but the series’ mix of humor and melancholy looks alive and well.
