Story perspectives

Toy Story 5 Launches with Swift Song, Bad Bunny Voice

6/20/2026

Summary

Taylor Swift Debuts

Toy Story 5 debuted June 19 2026 with singer Taylor Swift’s end-credits song “I Knew It, I Knew You”.
Artist Bad Bunny voiced the new character Pizza with Sunglasses, his first major film voice role.
After producer Jessica Choi sent a personal letter linking the song to Jessie’s story, Swift co-wrote it with producer Jack Antonoff and finished it in eight hours.
The track reached #2 on U.S. Spotify and logged 12 million streams.

Summary

Swift Surprises

Disney concealed Taylor Swift’s song in a decoy Toy Story 5 cut, keeping the cast unaware.
Swift surprised the June 9 Los Angeles premiere audience by performing the track and duetting with Randy Newman.
It is the first Toy Story film to include an original end-credits song by a composer other than Randy Newman.
Bob Iger and Pixar’s Tom MacDougall heard the song at 6:57 p.m. on June 18, just before its public debut.

Summary

Toy Story Premieres

Toy Story 5 premiered in theaters on Friday June 19 2026.
Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie confront Bonnie’s new Lilypad tablet, whose play ideas threaten the toys’ world.
New voice talent includes Conan O’Brien, Craig Robinson, Shelby Rabara, Matty Matheson, Scarlett Spears, Mykal-Michelle Harris and Greta Lee.
Disney+ and Hulu stream a “20/20” special titled “Toy Story: 30 Years and Beyond,” which coincides with availability of all four Toy Story movies on Disney+.

History

Historical Context

In 1995 Disney and Pixar released Toy Story, the first fully computer-animated feature, which earned over $363 million worldwide and launched a franchise that later grossed billions. Its success gave Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” Academy Award nods and set a music-tie-in model. For the 2026 sequel Toy Story 5, Disney replaces Newman with pop star Taylor Swift, marking a shift to celebrity-driven soundtrack marketing.

1 of 4

Taylor Swift Debuts

Toy Story 5 debuted June 19 2026 with singer Taylor Swift’s end-credits song “I Knew It, I Knew You”.
Artist Bad Bunny voiced the new character Pizza with Sunglasses, his first major film voice role.
After producer Jessica Choi sent a personal letter linking the song to Jessie’s story, Swift co-wrote it with producer Jack Antonoff and finished it in eight hours.
The track reached #2 on U.S. Spotify and logged 12 million streams.

1 / 4