‘Toy Story 5’ Makes Some Unexpected Creative Choices, Says Pixar

In 1995, audiences witnessed something extraordinary. The texture of the images, the audacious humor, everything in Toy Story felt innovative, fresh, and daring. It was the beginning of a universe that would always revisit its original tone with three great sequels. 30 years later, the franchise is still alive, with Toy Story 5 arriving in theaters in June 2026. However, according to Pixar CCO Pete Docter, you should expect a few surprising changes to the beloved franchise: “We got to keep people surprised, so it’s going to be fun.”

In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Docter spoke about how it all began with Toy Story and how everything has changed, now that Pixar has become what it is. “It was just a bunch of us nerds. It felt like working in our garage,” he comments about the first film. A three-time Academy Award-winner, Docter has a different role today in Pixar headquarters, overseeing the creative output of the company.

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Naturally, he knows a thing or two about the upcoming sequel, which represents a major growth in terms of animation, pacing, and more. He revealed that Andrew Stanton, director of the fifth entry and a Pixar veteran, has had the liberty to tweak a few things about the movie:

“I think films have definitely sped up. Even ‘Toy Story 1’ to ‘Toy Story 4,’ the level of visual sophistication, including the pacing, we’re just trying to keep in touch with the rhythms of the world, and it’s definitely faster.

So I will say Toy Story 5, I think Andrew’s done a really great job of letting moments breathe in unexpected ways. Things that you’re like, ‘wait, is this a Toy Story movie?’ Just some of his choices, which I think we need at this point. We’ve had four of ’em already. We got to keep people surprised, so it’s going to be fun.”

The Role of AI in the Future of Animation Is “Useful in a Lot of Ways”

Many things have changed since Toy Story was released 30 years ago. The internet became the thing, smartphones took over the world, and somehow, AI is crawling in. Not in a Skynet-like kind of threat, but overstepping the boundaries of art. Pete Docter was asked about AI, and how it could impact the art of animation in the future. While he seems to be open to the idea of incorporating it as a tool, he’s also pretty clear on how it doesn’t work from a creation standpoint:

“I type in ‘polar bear in the city having a Coca-Cola’ and it happens. So how useful is that? I think the answer is that, in the end, why do we watch these things? It’s to feel something, to speak to our own experience as human beings. And AI can do that somewhat. And I think it’s a great tool for people who know how to use it to say something about the human experience. And so I think it will be a game changer, but still most effective and most powerful in the hands of artists and storytellers.

“My experience so far in a lot of different ways, it’s kind of like it takes something and sands the edges down, so it makes the blob average. And that could be very useful in a lot of ways. But if you really want to do something brand new and really insightful and speak from a personal angle, that’s not going to come from AI fully. It only ever creates what’s been fed into it. It doesn’t create anything new, it creates a weird amalgam of stuff that’s been poured into it.”

Source: The Hollywood Reporter