Andrew Stanton, the director of Toy Story 5, has just set the sky afire with a bit of earth-shattering news that has torn the animation community down the middle. He outrightly said in an interview, “Pixar can’t wait to keep these stories coming for you.” Yes, more Toy Story beyond Toy Story 5. Very many more.
Chaos broke out among online people-they were either psyched to hear, or practically screaming STOP into the void.
Let’s work through that now: Toy Story 5 is already slated for June 19, 2026-which just-so-happens to mark 30 years from the date of the original. A nice round number for a celebratory bash. But Stanton’s comments seem to mock the idea of just a one-nighter anniversary celebration as he paints a future where Woody, Buzz, and co are perpetually present with stories “that could easily keep going forever.” Why does he do that? Well, toys are timeless. So every new generation of kids is being introduced to them now, meaning the original kids are growing up, grown-ups are now passing down these movies to their own kids; in other words, it’s a cycle-very very profitable cycle!
But gamers and moviegoers on Twitter are having none of it, with nearly a whole sea of replies lamenting their exhaustion. Joseph Owain, for one, probably put it best on behalf of a large section of the audience: “I think Toy Story should have ended with the third movie, as that feels like the perfect sendoff.” And he’s far from alone. Dozens of responses are just variants of “please stop,” “should’ve ended at 3,” and my favorite, “Does he know good things come to an end?”
There is sometimes a feeling that Toy Story 3 was the most perfect emotional ending with Andy going to college and passing his toys onto Bonnie-a completion of the circle, final moment. However, Toy Story 4 was for many regarded as a successful movie from a critical perspective, felt more like a long-winded episode to some, but just knowing there’s a 5 means much more after that and is giving many a case of fright that the franchise may just jump the shark way further than the Space Ranger has already.
However, the complainants don’t only direct their complaints at the Toy Story movies, and many accuse the Disney and Pixar machinery for trying to employ these methods nowadays. Regis’ Cartoons had a very compelling point to make: “Pixar DID do original films like Elemental and Elio, and everyone let them flop. And now, Pixar has to resort to milking a franchise… as the safer market option.”
Ouch. But is it true? Definitely a debate could be had on that. Elemental started way ahead of the curve, but clawed its way to a respectable $500 million worldwide, so the audience was there; it simply wasn’t a supernova hit like those golden-age Pixar films were. Lightyear, however, is an outright box-office bomb. So yeah, on a corporate level, Toy Story is an easy sell; but from an artistic perspective? It feels… safe. Maybe a little outright desperate.
Not every voice is all doom and gloom! Some retain hope for a middle ground, though. Wolf Pack Gaming Tweeted, “If I’m being 100% honest I’m fine with more Toy Story films. The series is really great. THAT SAID, I think 5 should be the final movie in the timeline. Any other movies should be prequels, and any follow-ups should be shorts/TV specials.”
That’s a very reasonable viewpoint, honestly. Expand the world without continuing the main saga indefinitely. Give me a story on the toys in the ’70s or something. A limited series on Disney+. There are ways that they could do this without feeling like a cash grab.
Then there are those who just find the choice of franchise to milk outright puzzling. User TomatoMan45 turned up some good questions: “Booooo! Where is Ratatouille 2, UP 2, A Bugs Life 2, New Finding Nemo Movies, and my all-time favorite Cars?”
Wait, what was I saying? Oh, right-the milking. It’s a tough position for Pixar. They’re arguably the most beloved animation studio of the last 30 years. Their name used to mean guarantee when it came to quality and originality. Now it seems the discourse is mostly about sequels, safe bets, and which classic would be dug up next. Stanton’s excitement is surely genuine, you can feel it within the quote. He cares about the characters. But the shadow of corporate mandate, Bob Iger’s infamous mandate on franchises, is just so, so huge. Another user, darthkush1983, bluntly laid it out: “That sounds like Stanton has Bob Iger’s hand up his ass.”
So the big question is, what does your opinion weigh on? Are you prepared for a world where Toy Story 12 is accomplished fear from an actual user? Or are you in the camp believing some stories are best left with a perfect ending? The divide is very real, and it’s definitely not going anywhere anytime soon. What is for sure is Pixar has considered betting everything that the room gang for Andy will show up for whatever great number of times they make. We’ll judge the results in the summer of 2026.
