20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Pixar shares new ‘Toy Story 5' details — and who'll replace a beloved character
Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the characters in Pixar's most beloved franchise will face their ultimate challenge yet in ' Toy Story 5 ': children who'd rather stare at their screens than play with action figures.
Pete Docter, chief creative officer of Disney's Emeryville-based Pixar Animation Studios, revealed the opening sequence and behind-the-scenes footage for what is expected to be one of the biggest movies of 2026 on Friday, June 13.
'It's toy meets tech,' Docter told the Annecy Animation Festival crowd in France.
The plot of 'Toy Story 5' will feature the cast of miniatures dealing with a tech tablet named Lillypad, the new favorite plaything of their 8-year-old owner, Bonnie Anderson.
Docter confirmed the return of franchise regulars Tom Hanks (Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz) and Joan Cusack (Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl), and said that Ernie Hudson will voice Combat Carl, taking over for the late Carl Weathers.
Docter then showed the first scene, in which a bunch of Buzz Lightyears are in an abandoned container awake on a deserted island, struggling to reconnect with 'Star Command.' 'Toy Story 5,' directed by Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris and produced by Jessica Choi, is scheduled for release on June 19, 2026.
But Docter was not done. He revealed a new film, 'Gatto,' an original film to be directed by ' Luca ' filmmaker Enrico Casarosa. Set for release in 2027, it follows Nero, a water-hating black cat living in Venice, Italy, who befriends Maya, a lonely street musician.
Docter also showed the first footage for the previously announced 'Hoppers,' due out March 6, about Mabel (Piper Curda), a young woman trying to stop a local mayor (Jon Hamm) from building a highway that will destroy woodlands. Using a secret brain-swapping technology, Mabel becomes a robot beaver to lead a revolt.
The first ' Toy Story,' Pixar's first feature-length film that revolutionized animation, showed at Annecy in 1995. Since then, the festival has become the Cannes of animation — or, as Docter calls it, 'the greatest festival in the world.'
