Toy Story 5: Voice Star Tom Hanks Weighs In On Toys Versus Tech Debate

Directed

by Andrew Stanton, Toy Story 5 is focused on what happens if children start focusing only on screens through iPads, mobiles and more. While actors Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack are all back to voice their respective characters Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie, the new cast joining them in the fifth instalment are Greta Lee as Lilypad, a children's tablet, and former talk show host Conan O'Brien as Smarty Pants. Hanks, who has been voicing Woody for over three decades, shared the film's message that toys can't hurt you like technology can.

Why Tom Hanks supports toys over tech

In a new interview with Movieguide, Tom Hanks feels children, and even adults, can miss out on life by spending too much time on a screen. He explained, "No kid has ever had their feelings hurt by a toy that they are playing [with]. But probably every kid has had their feelings hurt by something that has been typed about them on a screen."

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While he felt that technology has created wonderful tools, it is also responsible for some very cruel moments in people’s lives. He also told USA Today that technology was "both a great blessing and a curse." In Toy Story 5, Bonnie (voice of Scarlett Spears) has a hard time making friends. Her parents get her a tablet to play games and connect with other children her age. Soon, Bonnie begins to lose interest in her toys and finds herself getting bullied online as well. Toy Story 5 releases in theatres worldwide on June 19, 2026.

What is Toy Story 5 about?

Co-written by Stanton and Kenna Harris, the animated sequel argues that children should be allowed to play with toys for as long as possible. Cowgirl Jessie, voiced by Joan Cusack, states that children grow up faster because they don't use their imaginations or continue to act their age with toys.

The fifth Toy Story film, produced by Disney and Pixar, is one of the most expensive animated features ever made, with a budget of $250 million. Randy Newman returns as composer, while Taylor Swift has written an original song for the film called I Knew It, I Knew You. New cast members added to the animated film include Shelby Rabara as Snappy, a toy camera; Mykal-Michelle Harris as Blaze Manoukian, another young girl living on a farm; and Craig Robinson as Atlas, a GPS hippo toy.