Longtime Woody actor Tom Hanks has said Toy Story 5 has “one of the most heartbreaking scenes” the Pixar movie franchise has seen in its 30-year history.
The star opened up about his feelings regarding the new film during a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter. He said Pixar, which is already famous for its ability to generate tear-jerking moments, managed to come up with an especially sad scene for Woody and Buzz Lightyear’s latest adventure, going as far as to describe the moment ahead of the movie’s premiere.
Warning! Spoilers for Toy Story 5 follow.
“There’s one of the most heartbreaking scenes I’ve ever seen in any of the Toy Story movies — when that little girl is getting her feelings hurt by what other people are texting about her, and she doesn’t understand why,” Hanks said. “She doesn’t know what she did wrong, but it hurts, and that is a very prescient thing to have in a motion picture today about little kids and toys, don’t you think?”
Toy Story is no exception when it comes to Pixar’s track record for making its audiences well up. Toy Story 3, which features more than a few tearful goodbyes, might have the best examples of sad moments for the franchise so far. Even the series’ original movie, which debuted as the Disney company’s first feature film in 1995, fights against dry eyes when Buzz has the realization that he is, in fact, a toy.
For Hanks, it’s Toy Story 5 that might have the saddest scene of them all. Audiences at home are waiting to see the new movie for themselves before ranking it amongst Pixar’s best, but the actor said he has a special attachment to Woody and the gang.
“They always take me to some other emotional place that I’m both happy to [go] and mad that they’re going to make me do this,” he joked. “But [Tim Allen] and I have done this enough. When I saw the first scene where 500 Buzz Lightyears come up out of the water, I just said, ‘Oh, Tim’s gonna have a field day on this.’ Thank goodness he has to voice 500 of these things, and I don’t.”
Toy Story will reunite Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and more of Bonnie’s toys when it comes to theaters June 19, 2026. In the meantime, you can read about why some Taylor Swift fans think the pop star has a connection with Pixar’s latest.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
