More than 30 years after Toy Story first introduced Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the secret lives of Andy’s toys, Pixar is returning to the franchise with Toy Story 5.
Since the original film was released in 1995, the series has followed the toys through new owners, broken loyalties, near goodbyes and actual farewells, from Andy leaving for college to Woody choosing a life beyond Bonnie’s bedroom.
The fifth film, out in UAE cinemas on Thursday, introduces a new challenge for the group, as Bonnie’s playtime is disrupted by Lilypad, a frog-shaped smart tablet voiced by Greta Lee.
Before the latest sequel arrives, here is where the story stands.
Toy Story
The first Toy Story introduces Woody, a pull-string cowboy doll who is the favourite toy of a young boy named Andy. Woody is the natural leader of Andy’s room, keeping the other toys organised and reassured whenever their owner is away.
That changes when Andy receives a new toy for his birthday: Buzz Lightyear, a space ranger action figure who believes he is a real intergalactic hero. Buzz quickly becomes Andy’s favourite, leaving Woody jealous and insecure.
After a series of accidents, Woody and Buzz are separated from Andy and end up in the hands of Sid, Andy’s destructive next-door neighbour. Their escape forces Woody and Buzz to work together, with Buzz eventually accepting that he is a toy while Woody learns that Andy’s love is not something he has to guard alone.
By the end of the film, Woody and Buzz are friends. The first film establishes the basic rules of the series: the toys are alive, but only when humans are not watching, and their purpose is tied to being loved and played with by a child.
Toy Story 2
The second film expands the franchise beyond Andy’s immediate world.
After Woody is accidentally damaged before Andy leaves for cowboy camp, he begins to fear being forgotten. He is then stolen by Al McWhiggin, a toy collector who plans to sell him to a museum in Japan.
Woody discovers that he was once the star of a popular television show called Woody’s Roundup. He also meets the other toys from that world: Jessie, Bullseye and Stinky Pete. For the first time, Woody is confronted with the possibility that he could be preserved forever, rather than eventually being broken, lost, or outgrown.
Jessie’s story becomes one of the film’s most important emotional turns. She was once loved by a girl named Emily, but was later abandoned as Emily grew older. Her experience shows Woody what can happen when a child moves on.
Woody ultimately rejects the museum and chooses to return to Andy, even though he knows that Andy will one day grow up. Jessie and Bullseye join him, becoming part of Andy’s toy collection.
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 takes place years later, as Andy prepares to leave for college.
Most of his childhood toys have already gone, but Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex, Hamm, Slinky Dog, Mr and Mrs Potato Head and the aliens remain. The toys believe Andy no longer wants them and, after a misunderstanding, end up being donated to Sunnyside Daycare.
At first, Sunnyside appears to offer the toys a new life with children who will play with them every day, but the daycare is run by Lotso, a bitter teddy bear who was once replaced by his owner and now harshly rules the toys there.
The toys eventually escape, but not before one of the franchise’s darkest sequences, in which they nearly face destruction together at a landfill. They are saved at the last moment and return to Andy.
The film ends with Andy giving his toys to Bonnie, a young girl who still plays with imagination and care. He introduces each toy to her before handing over Woody last. The scene functions as Andy’s farewell to his childhood and gives the toys a new home.
Toy Story 4
Toy Story 4 shifts the focus from Andy to Bonnie, and from the group to Woody.
Although Woody is now one of Bonnie’s toys, he is no longer the favourite. He is often left in the closet while Bonnie plays with Jessie, Buzz and the others. Woody still sees his purpose as protecting Bonnie, even when she does not seem to need him in the same way Andy once did.
The film introduces Forky, a toy Bonnie makes from a spork, a pipe cleaner and other craft materials during kindergarten orientation. Forky believes he is trash, not a toy, but Woody insists that he matters because Bonnie made him and loves him.
The journey to keep Forky safe brings Woody back into contact with Bo Peep, who has been living independently for years after being separated from the group. Unlike Woody, Bo no longer belongs to one child. She helps lost toys find children who need them.
By the end of the film, Woody decides not to return to Bonnie’s room. He stays with Bo and chooses a new purpose: helping lost toys. Buzz, Jessie and the rest of Bonnie’s toys continue without him.
This is the biggest change to the franchise’s status quo. Woody is no longer the leader of the main group, and the toys are divided between two lives.
Where the main characters are before Toy Story 5
Woody is no longer living with Bonnie. At the end of Toy Story 4, he leaves with Bo Peep and begins helping lost toys find children.
Buzz Lightyear remains with Bonnie’s toys. His friendship with Woody remains central to the series, but for the first time, the two are no longer in the same household.
Jessie is also with Bonnie, and by the end of Toy Story 4, she has taken on a more prominent role among the toys. Since she was once abandoned by her previous owner, Jessie’s place in Bonnie’s room carries extra weight.
Bo Peep is no longer the fragile nursery-lamp figure from the earlier films. Toy Story 4 reintroduces her as independent, resourceful and comfortable living outside the traditional toy-owner relationship.
Forky remains one of Bonnie’s toys. His arrival changed the franchise’s definition of what can be a toy because he was not bought in a shop or made as a plaything. He became a toy because Bonnie gave him meaning.
Bonnie is now the child at the centre of the story. She inherited Andy’s toys in Toy Story 3, created Forky in Toy Story 4 and is expected to play a major role in the fifth film’s conflict with technology.
Andy is no longer part of the active story, but his presence still shapes the franchise. The toys' lives with him defined the first three films, and his decision to give them to Bonnie remains the major turning point of the series.
What about Lightyear?
The 2022 film Lightyear is connected to the franchise, but it is not a direct continuation of the toys’ story.
Instead, it is presented as the film that inspired the Buzz Lightyear action figure that Andy owned in the original Toy Story. That means viewers do not need to watch Lightyear to understand where Woody, Buzz, Jessie and Bonnie are before Toy Story 5.
What is Toy Story 5 about?
Toy Story 5 brings the main toys back as they face a new challenge to playtime: electronics.
The film introduces Lilypad, a frog-shaped smart tablet voiced by Greta Lee. The character represents a new kind of threat to the toys, whose role has always depended on children wanting to play with them.
The new film also brings back familiar voices, including Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, Joan Cusack as Jessie and Tony Hale as Forky.
