Tim Allen recently told Collider that he completed his “first five-hour [recording] session for Buzz” Lightyear’s return in Disney and Pixar’s upcoming “Toy Story 5.” The comedian has been voicing Buzz since the original “Toy Story” film in 1995 opposite Tom Hanks as the voice of Woody. He said “it’s really weird” to find his Buzz voice again, five years after the release of “Toy Story 4.”
“It’s a very, very clever story,” Allen teased of the upcoming fifth installment. “Do you wanna do five of these? I don’t really believe it’s about the money. I’m sure they want it to be a success, but that’s not why they did it. Had they not come up with a brilliant script, they wouldn’t have done it and they wouldn’t have called me and Tom [Hanks]. It’s really clever.”
“It was really a struggle to get and then maybe two hours in I was doing Buzz,” Allen added about his first “Toy Story 5” recording session. “I’m so blessed to be Buzz Lightyear, to be honest. It’s gonna be fun. I think we’re a year out. I’ve gotten up to the third act. We’ll do the third act. And then, we’ll go back and clean it. And then, I’ll do it about five more times. It’s a really good story, guys. It’s really good.”
Andrew Stanton is directing “Toy Story 5,” which will center on Buzz, Woody and the rest of the toys as they go head to head with the electronics that now consume the attention of children. Stanton has writing credits on all the “Toy Story” movies and won Oscars for his acclaimed Pixar efforts “Finding Nemo” and “Wall-E.”
While some may be worried that “Toy Story 5” is a cash grab, the franchise has always upended expectations. “Toy Story 4” sparked similar fears but ended up earning rave reviews and grossing more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office. The film set a record at the time for the biggest animated film launch with $244.5 million and went on to win the Oscar for best animated feature. “Toy Story 3” also won the Oscar and grossed more than $1 billion.
“Toy Story 5” is scheduled for release on June 19, 2026 from Disney.
