Nearly three decades after Toy Story first pulled at our heartstrings, the gang is back — and this time, they’re facing something far more existential than a dusty attic or daycare chaos. The full trailer for Toy Story 5 has landed, and it offers our first proper tease of a new antagonist: Lilypad, a glossy, all-singing, all-translating tech tablet voiced by Greta Lee.
And yes, the toys are spiralling.
The trailer opens in classic chaos-core fashion. Bonnie stages a wedding between Forky and Karen Beverly — joyfully declaring them “husband and knife” — before a package arrives that shifts the tone entirely. Bonnie’s eyes glaze over with instant devotion as she unboxes Lilypad, a sleek digital device promising endless entertainment.
Cue collective toy panic.
“Extinction, not again!” Rex wails, channeling the same anxiety that’s haunted the franchise since Andy first discovered video games.
Lilypad, with her smooth interface and real-time transcription skills, quickly becomes Bonnie’s centre of gravity. Jessie attempts to communicate with her, only to be met with eerily competent tech charm. The implication is clear: this isn’t just another new toy. It’s a paradigm shift.
Lee — best known for her Oscar-nominated turn in Past Lives — brings a playful antagonism to Lilypad, balancing humour with an undercurrent of quiet menace. Disney Pixar’s press notes hint that her performance walks a tightrope between satire and sincerity — a fitting embodiment of the modern child’s relationship with screens.
As Bonnie’s attention drifts screenward (despite her parents’ attempts to limit it), Jessie radios Woody to check if similar tech incursions are happening elsewhere. Soon, Woody reunites with Buzz in a moment that leans heavily into nostalgia — the kind that makes millennials misty-eyed.
Their familiar bickering returns, but beneath it lies a shared mission: how do legacy toys survive in a world that’s traded imagination for interface?
Set to the aching swell of INXS’ ‘Never Tear Us Apart,’ the trailer suggests a story less about rivalry and more about reinvention. Can tactile play coexist with touchscreen seduction?
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Returning favourites include Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz, alongside Joan Cusack’s Jessie, Wallace Shawn’s Rex, Annie Potts’ Bo Peep, and John Ratzenberger’s Hamm. Even Duke Caboom (voiced by Keanu Reeves) revs back into action.
New voices join the toybox too: Craig Robinson as Atlas the GPS hippo, Shelby Rabara as camera toy Snappy, and Conan O’Brien as toilet-training tech toy Smarty Pants.
Behind the scenes, Andrew Stanton — who wrote the original film and directed Finding Nemo and WALL-E — returns to direct, with Kenna Harris co-directing and Lindsey Collins producing.
If the original Toy Story was about abandonment and belonging, Toy Story 5 looks poised to tackle obsolescence in the digital age. The toys have always feared being replaced — by newer models, by growing up, by time itself. But Lilypad represents something different: not a toy, but a portal.
It’s telling that Lee’s casting is front and centre of this first look. In many ways, Lilypad is less villain and more mirror — reflecting a generation raised on apps, translations at the tap of a screen, and play that’s increasingly mediated by technology.
The film hits cinemas on June 19, 2026. Whether Woody and Buzz can negotiate relevance in a world of software updates remains to be seen — but one thing’s certain: the battle for Bonnie’s imagination has officially gone digital.
