‘Toy Story 5’ Was Made in Half the Time a Pixar Film Usually Takes, and Andrew Stanton Knows That’s a Big Deal

Andrew Stanton just dropped a quiet bombshell about how ‘Toy Story 5’ came together. The director confirmed that the highly anticipated Pixar sequel was completed in just three and a half years, a production window that is almost shockingly fast by the studio’s own standards.

Stanton confirmed the accelerated schedule himself, saying “We did this movie in three and a half years, which for us is huge.” The remark landed with fans and industry observers who know just how unusual it is for a Pixar production to move at that kind of pace, particularly for a franchise as beloved and scrutinized as this one.

Previous entries in the series were all made in four years or longer, making this the shortest production window in the franchise’s history. The fact that Stanton pulled it off without compromising the story he wanted to tell appears to be a point of pride for the filmmaker, who came to the director’s chair on this project after spending years as a writer and creative force behind the scenes at Pixar.

Stanton co-wrote every ‘Toy Story’ film before this one, but ‘Toy Story 5’ marks the first in the franchise he has directed. He has previously helmed ‘Finding Nemo,’ ‘WALL-E,’ and ‘Finding Dory,’ and currently serves as VP of Creative at Pixar.

The new film pits Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the gang against a tablet-like device called Lilypad, with the story framing the conflict not as a simple good-versus-evil battle but as an existential reckoning with the fact that children have largely moved on from physical toys. Stanton explained that technology has changed everyone’s lives and that the film is asking what that means for the toys themselves, adding that the story cannot simply make tech the villain.

Greta Lee voices the antagonistic Lilypad, with Stanton and co-director Kenna Harris describing her performance as balancing a playfully antagonistic tone with genuine humor and heart. The film also features an enormous returning cast alongside Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, including Joan Cusack, Annie Potts, Wallace Shawn, Kristen Schaal, and newcomers Conan O’Brien, Keanu Reeves, and Bad Bunny.

In an interview with Empire, Stanton pushed back against the notion that the franchise has overstayed its welcome, arguing that the first three films represented the Andy years and that viewers who want to stop there are free to do so. “Nobody’s being robbed of their trilogy,” he told the magazine.

‘Toy Story 5’ is scheduled for theatrical release on June 19. Whether or not audiences were ready for another chapter, it sounds like Stanton made this one fast enough that the toys barely had time to gather dust.

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