Trojan Horses, Traitors, and Toy Story 5: Behind the scenes with the writers of Pixar’s most anticipated sequel ever
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There are sequels, and then there are legendary franchises which you semi-groan at when you hear there’s going to be yet another release, before putting your faux-adult-standards behind you and fangirling with the rest of the nation.
Pixar’s latest flick falls firmly into this category with the beloved Woody, Buzz, and Jessie reuniting on our screens in Toy Story 5. In the latest instalment, the toys are facing their biggest threat yet: screens. Voiced by Greta Lee, Lilypad is the newest arrival in Bonnie’s life and poses the biggest threat to playtime. It’s arguably relatable stuff, making parents look up with guilty faces and silently promise they won’t just stick an iPad in front of their kids' faces when they’re throwing a tantrum in public anymore. Or maybe just on special occasions.
Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift, Tom Hanks: whilst it’s easy to focus on the frankly whopping names attached to the project, it’s the duo Andrew Stanton and Lindsey Collins who are the powerhouses behind the films, writing and directing, and producing respectively (and restoring our faith in love, being high school sweethearts as well as movie makers). We sat down with the pair in London to talk about sneaky jokes, whether there will be a Toy Story 6, and educating them on the universal experience for most British kids of watching Pixar films on a tiny screen in Russell and Bromley.
SL: You know, watching Toy Story 5 was actually the first Pixar film I’ve watched as an adult.
Andrew Stanton: Wow
SL: I don’t know if you guys are familiar with this as it’s a very cult British experience, but until now I’d only watched the films whilst getting your school shoes fitted? The two main shoe shops would have little TV screens in the corner which only ever showed Toy Story or Finding Nemo. You’d be glued to the screen not caring if your shoes actually fit or not…
AS: Oh my God I didn’t know this
Lindsey Collins: Did you feel like you needed new shoes watching Toy Story 5?
SL: Yes! It was like some kind of Pavlovian response, Where are my new shoes?
LC: You’ve got to get yourself some!
SL: One of the things I loved is how many jokes there are in the film, especially ones that I think would have gone over my head as a kid. Are there ever any jokes that don’t make the cut? Any that are too rude that you can’t get away with?
AS: Always. We throw so many at it so we make sure we’re as funny as we can be. Sometimes it’s because of the film and the story goes in another direction.
LC: And we throw in some that we know will get flagged and taken out so the ones we really want end up staying in
SL: Nice! Like a Trojan Horse?
LC: Yeah, some sacrificial lambs
SL: The cameos are insane in this film: Bad Bunny, Alan Cumming – we interviewed him on Monday and he didn’t let slip that he was in the film
AS: Oh good on him!
LC: He runs the Traitors, he know not to let slip
SL: If you do Toy Story 6, is there anyone you’re eyeing up who you’d love to make a cameo?
AS: Oh god the list is so long… But it tends to be the scenario – we weren’t thinking of Bad Bunny ahead of time, it was more the moment when we needed to fill in these one liners
LC: Bad Bunny came about because during the pandemic he made videos of his Toy Story toys so we knew he was a fan, so we were asking one another Do you think we can get Bad Bunny to do a voice??
AS: And we literally only had one line for Pizza with Sunglasses, but [once he was on board] we said let’s expand him, and we got him to record it in Spanish and English, so the character spoke in this Spanglish
LC: He had a blast, it was so much fun. He was awesome
AS: Did you stay to the very end of the credits?
SL: I did not…
AS: Ohh there is a little scene at the end – you’ll have to go and watch it again
SL: Oh, no worries there I will be. I asked my housemates who they’d pick to make a cameo and they all said Hugh Grant… What Toy do you think he’d be? What Toy would you envision he voice if he did come on board?
LC: [gasps] I love Hugh Grant
AS: Why do I wanna say, Calculator?
LC: I love that he’s been playing villains recently, I’d love him to voice a villain. A Dr. Facilier maybe?
SL: Maybe the Operations guy? Who always just yells when he gets buzzed
LC: Oh I like that
AS: Gonna write that in
SL: Andrew you’ve made a small cameo in a lot of your Pixar films, did you have one in this film?
AS: I did, I was Jimmy Queen
SL: Really?!
LC: [makes pig noises]
AS: Yeah, that’s all I did
SL: Where is your Oscar?!
AS: I know. I think I’ve just offended a whole nation there
LC: He makes us call him Jimmy Queen now around the house
SL: Is it good for when he’s being a diva?
LC: Yeah, exactly [to the side] Jimmy Queen just got here. If I was going to be a Toy, I don't know, I like Dolly, she’s pretty great, bit of a wise ass.
Toy Story 5 is now out in cinemas across the UK
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