Balding Woody and a Newcomer Named Lilypad: Pixar Demystifies 'Toy Story 5' Ahead of Its June 19 Debut

With 'Toy Story 5' arriving June 19, Pixar's filmmakers have opened up about the franchise's boldest swings yet — a visibly aged, balding Woody, a tablet-shaped newcomer named Lilypad voiced by Greta Lee, and a story that puts Jessie front and center. Director Andrew Stanton insists Lilypad isn't a villain, just 'the next phase in Bonnie's life.'

Pixar's Toy Story 5 doesn't open until June 19, but fans are clamoring for every snippet — and the studio's filmmakers just handed over a treasure trove. In a wide-ranging press preview, the team behind the fifth film pulled back the curtain on its most talked-about swings: a visibly aged, balding Woody, a tablet-shaped newcomer named Lilypad who the toys fear but who isn't actually the villain, and a story that finally puts Jessie in the spotlight.

This story discusses plot details for "Toy Story 5."

Woody Hangs Up the Hat — and Reveals a Bald Spot

Beloved toys Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie, Rex, Forky and the rest of the gang are back, with the story picking up a few years after the fourth film. The biggest visual shock: Woody has aged. Voiced once again by Tom Hanks, the pull-string cowboy still sports his trademark shirt and jeans, but now adds a red poncho, a little extra weight, and — when he removes his hat — a balding spot underneath.

Director Andrew Stanton, who has spent half his life on the franchise, explained that the change reflects Woody simply loving his retirement. "He has a new purpose of not being devoted to one kid. He's out in the field and not worrying," Stanton said, adding that "the bald spot symbolizes that he's just worn out from not trying to take care of himself so much anymore — just doing whatever dirty work needed to be done to save a toy." Co-director McKenna Harris revealed the team almost went further: "We wanted to make him insanely sun-bleached, but that didn't make it."

Lilypad Isn't the Villain — Even If the Toys Think So

The fifth film drags the franchise into the modern age with Lilypad (voiced by Greta Lee), a tablet-like device that captivates the kids. Bonnie, now 8, and her friends are glued to their screens, group chats, and online games — raising the existential question that drives the movie: are the toys facing extinction now that kids barely play with them?

Despite being positioned as the main antagonist, Stanton is adamant that Lilypad isn't a true villain. "She is to the toys because they're understandably intimidated," he said. "She's just the next phase in Bonnie's life. She's built like a toy in the sense that she wants to help the kid go forward, but she's got very different skills and zero experience, whereas Jessie has nothing but experience and is probably unprepared for what to do."

Harris admitted the studio debated the choice. "Lots of people at the studio wanted her to be a villain, and it was so hard to strike the balance because I think we all come in with such loaded emotions towards devices." Ultimately, she said, making Lilypad a flat villain "never made sense" — the filmmakers wanted those feelings anchored in reality. "We're not getting rid of these devices, no matter how hard we try... So it felt right for the toys to have to grapple with that nuance." Producer Lindsay Collins said casting Lee was key precisely because Lilypad "got to be not likable, but also warm and appealing."

"She's just the next phase in Bonnie's life. She's built like a toy in the sense that she wants to help the kid go forward, but she's got very different skills and zero experience." — Andrew Stanton on Lilypad

Jessie Takes the Lead

There's a new sheriff in town, and it's Jessie. The fifth film places her front and center, picking up the thread Toy Story 2 planted when it revealed her owner Emily had abandoned her. In Toy Story 5, Jessie finds herself back at her old home — except Emily doesn't live there anymore. A new family has moved in, including a young girl named Blaze (voiced by Mykal-Michelle Harris).

Stanton said he wasn't initially sure he wanted to make the film. "I basically said, 'Let me go off and write something and let me see what I would want to see as a fan.'" Jessie earning the right to run that room became a cornerstone, alongside themes of devices eating into playtime — and, on a more shallow note, Stanton's wish to see "50 Buzz Lightyears washed ashore." When Harris joined, the emotional center sharpened around Jessie returning to her old address and reckoning with friendship and abandonment.

New Faces: Smarty Pants, Blaze, and 50 High-Tech Buzz Lightyears

Late-night host Conan O'Brien joins the cast as Smarty Pants, a potty-training toy whose design draws from a toilet paper roll and even sports a yellow handle as a nod to O'Brien's hair. He was the team's first and practically only choice. His casting paved the way for the rest of the "tech trio": Craig Robinson as Atlas (a hippo-shaped geocaching toy) and Shelby Rabara as Snappy (an older digital camera). Production designer Bob Pauley built deliberate nostalgia into these older devices so they wouldn't feel as competitive as Lilypad's sleek tablet.

Blaze, meanwhile, marks a genuine technological leap for Pixar. The horse-loving newcomer required a brand-new hair system to authentically animate her curls — VFX supervisor Thomas Jordan explained that "each curve or curl knows about one another, so that they can bounce and collide off of each other," and that "future Pixar films will be able to have a greater variety of hairstyles and diversity because of this new hair system."

And yes, those 50 Buzz Lightyears made the cut. The high-tech Buzz toys — complete with new digital chest displays and metallic joints — wash ashore in a shipwreck sequence Pauley likened to Apocalypse Now. "There's a scene where the 50 Buzzes have their helmets and their lights on, and they all come up from the bottom of a lake," Jordan said. "That is definitely something we've never seen in a Pixar film before."

Randy Newman Returns — and Pixar Pushes Back on AI

Franchise composer Randy Newman is back to score the film, and Stanton couldn't be happier. "He's got this right level of romanticism and cynicism," he said, teasing that "some of the best stuff I've heard him do was on this movie." Collins added that Newman gets "to go really big in this film too. He gets to do big Western cues."

The filmmakers were also pointed about how the movie was made. Stanton stressed that Toy Story 5 is the work of artists, not AI: "I have no interest in doing anything but working smarter, faster with another artist." Harris echoed that, noting Pixar is "a technology company first" but that everything on screen is "the work of a lot of awesome artists."

Why Fans Are Buzzing

For a franchise that has always been about growing up and letting go, Toy Story 5 is leaning straight into the most modern version of that fear: what happens to play when kids would rather scroll? An aged, balding Woody is the kind of bittersweet detail that signals Pixar isn't coasting on nostalgia — it's interrogating it. And by refusing to make Lilypad a cartoon villain, the studio is setting up a far thornier, more honest conflict than a simple toy-versus-tablet showdown.

With Jessie finally carrying the story, Randy Newman's score swelling with "big Western cues," and a wave of inventive new characters, Toy Story 5 is shaping up to be the franchise's most emotionally ambitious entry since Toy Story 3. Fans won't have to wait long to find out if the gamble pays off — the film hits theaters June 19.