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Pixar warns the age of toys is over in 'Toy Story 5' teaser as new AI villain takes control

Pixar’s first look at Toy Story 5 brings a modern twist, a smart tablet toy voiced by Greta Lee sparks chaos for the gang.

Toy Story 5

Toy Story 5 teaser brings Pixar back to its roots with new villain Lilypad shaking up the gang

Youtube Screengrab
Pooja Pillai
By Pooja PillaiNov 12, 2025
Pooja Pillai

Pooja Pillai is an entertainment journalist with Asian Media Group, where she covers cinema, pop culture, internet trends, and the politics of representation. Her work spans interviews, cultural features, and social commentary across digital platforms.

She began her reporting career as a news anchor, scripting and presenting stories for a regional newsroom. With a background in journalism and media studies, she has since built a body of work exploring how entertainment intersects with social and cultural shifts, particularly through a South Indian lens.

She brings both newsroom rigour and narrative curiosity to her work, and believes the best stories don’t just inform — they reveal what we didn’t know we needed to hear.

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Highlights:

  • Pixar drops first look at Toy Story 5 ahead of June 2026 release
  • Woody and Buzz face a new “smart toy” called Lilypad
  • Greta Lee voices the high-tech villain in this next chapter
  • Andrew Stanton returns to direct, joined by newcomer McKenna Harris

The first teaser for Toy Story 5 has landed, and it’s already got people talking. The long-running Pixar series, known for turning childhood nostalgia into gold, now faces a new threat: technology. The Toy Story 5 teaser shows Woody and Buzz Lightyear meeting Lilypad, a frog-shaped smart tablet that might just spell the end of playtime.

Toy Story 5 Toy Story 5 teaser brings Pixar back to its roots with new villain Lilypad shaking up the gang Youtube Screengrab


Why Toy Story 5 brings tech into the toy box

It opens quietly. Bonnie gets a parcel, the toys watch as she unwraps it. And there it is: Lilypad. A sleek, glowing, frog-eyed tablet that instantly steals the room’s attention.

“Could the age of toys be over?” reads the teaser’s text. It’s a fair question. The films have tackled jealousy, loss, and change before but never technology itself. Director Andrew Stanton, who co-wrote every Toy Story film so far, said the new chapter “plays with how kids’ imaginations have shifted.”

Pixar’s betting big on that shift. The idea that a touchscreen could be scarier than a villain like Lotso or Zurg is oddly real.


Who’s behind Toy Story 5 and its new villain?

Andrew Stanton returns, this time co-directing with McKenna Harris, who makes her feature debut after working across several Pixar projects. Stanton’s known for Finding Nemo and WALL•E, so expect that same mix of humour and heartbreak.

Greta Lee, from Past Lives, voices Lilypad, the frog-shaped “learning device” that may not be evil in the usual way but still threatens everything the toys stand for. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are back as Woody and Buzz, with Joan Cusack as Jessie and Tony Hale as Forky.

One change: Ernie Hudson steps in to voice Combat Carl after Carl Weathers’ death in 2024. And yes, Conan O’Brien joins the cast too, playing a toilet-training toy called “Smarty Pants.”

- YouTube www.youtube.com


Can Toy Story 5 bring Pixar’s magic back?

Pixar’s last few releases haven’t had the same spark. Lightyear disappointed at the box office, and Elio struggled too. So Toy Story 5 has pressure on it , both as a comeback and a goodbye. The film is set to release on 19 June 2026, just as sequels like Minions 3 and The Devil Wears Prada 2 crowd cinemas. Still, this one has nostalgia on its side.

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