‘Toy Story 5’ | We saw the first 5 minutes of Pixar’s 2026 sequel
“Toy Story 5” releases in movie theaters June 2026, and we saw the first five minutes at Destination D23 — plus a sneak peek of new characters.
The toys are back in Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 5,” and this time around it’s Toy meets Tech. Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the rest of the gang’s jobs get exponentially harder when they go head to head with this all-new threat to playtime.
Official description of “Toy Story 5”
First 5 minutes of ‘Toy Story 5’
Disney shared the first five minutes of “Toy Story 5” with fans during Destination D23, an official fan convention at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., on Aug. 30, 2025.
No photos or videos were allowed during the clip itself, but we can describe the scene and share what Disney showed us before and after screening the opening sequence.
Photo by Blake Taylor
The scene begins with Buzz Lightyear lying limp, facedown on a beach at nighttime as waves crest onto the shore and over Buzz’s body. Buzz jumps awake, suddenly alert. A shiny, black, chrome chestplate indicates this may not be “our” Buzz, the Buzz belonging to Bonnie who we’ve followed through four movies. This is a new Buzz, possibly gaining his sentience for the very first time.
The camera widens to reveal literally a sea of other Buzz Lightyear toys, all either lying facedown or in various distraught positions, along with their toy packaging strewn about. A nearby large shipment container is unhinged and open; these toys were en route somewhere and apparently didn’t reach their intended destination.
It’s around this point text on screen reads, “Disney presents” and then “a Pixar Animation Studios film” a few seconds later.
The first Buzz “activates” the others, and as each Buzz comes to life, they utter grunts and caveman-like sounds. They make noise, but they’re not saying coherent words. A wide shot shows the audience the Buzzes are on a desert island in the middle of the ocean, the island filled with tropical foliage.
A montage begins, showing the Buzzes making a fire and performing routine tasks typical of a “stranded on a desert island” scenario, each moment with its own visual gag.
One of the Buzzes points up at the night sky, and utters the word, “Star.” He repeats the word, almost longingly or as if in a trance. “Star.”
Another Buzz also points to the sky, but says, “Command.”
He first Buzz repeats, “Star” and the second Buzz repeats, “Command.”
“Star.”
“Command.”
“Star.”
“Command.”
The other Buzzes join in, suddenly aware of what these two words mean to their built-in programming. “Star Command!” they chant. “Star Command!” (Star Command is the outer-space headquarters for Buzz’s Space Ranger duties within his character’s lore, which, even within the fictional world of “Toy Story,” is fantasy.) These Buzzes, like our original Buzz all those years ago, don’t know they’re toys.
The camera cuts to the Buzzes rushing into the ocean with apparently a hand-made raft made of wood and leaves. The camera pans upward to the sky, where the stars form a constellation that reads, “Toy Story 5” … and the screen at D23 faded to black and we didn’t see anything after that.
While there was strictly no video recording or photography allowed during the clip presentation, we can share this rendering Disney displayed onscreen at D23 depicting the “special edition” Buzz Lightyear toys who inhabit the opening scene.
Photo by Blake Taylor
The scene seemed to depict the below piece of concept art Pixar shared in 2024:
The sequence played great in the room. The gags got laughs, and there was a hearty round of applause when the scene was over.
Like all of the “Toy Story” sequels thus far, the opening scene of “Toy Story 5” throws the audience off from expectations. We’re tossed into the middle of an unfamiliar situation, and we slowly put the pieces together of where we are and what’s happening. Think back to the outer-space video game sequence of “Toy Story 2,” the western fantasy playtime opening of “Toy Story 3,” and the rainy flashback to a moment during the Andy years of “Toy Story 4.” In this way, “Toy Story 5” follows a pattern of subverting how we think the movie might begin.
New characters
As previously announced, Conan O’Brien will voice a new character in “Toy Story 5” named Smarty Pants. At Destination D23, Disney revealed Smarty Pants is a potty-training toy and shared a first look at the character’s design. One can only imagine what kinds of dialogue Conan recorded for this role!
Photo by Blake Taylor
All Pixar voice actors sign a wall at the studio’s Emeryville, Calif., headquarters. Due to the nature of his character, Conan instead signed a bathroom stall in the men’s room.
As previously announced and shared with the below concept art, the antagonist of the film will be a tablet device named Lilypad.
‘Toy Story’ 30th anniversary
As a reminder, the original “Toy Story” celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025. To honor the occasion, the film is back in movie theaters on Sept. 12, 2025, including in 4DX formats.
The sneak peek of “Toy Story 5” was just the beginning of our full weekend at Destination D23. The event also included a ton of Disney theme park news, a one-night-only Kuzcotopia party at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park, a throwback premiere for “A Goofy Movie” at Disney Springs, and lots of fun Disney history we learned from various filmmakers, Imagineers, and special guests.
Stay tuned to Attractions Magazine for daily coverage of pop-culture and theme park news, trip reports, and exclusive interviews from Disney, Universal, and independent attractions around the world.
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