TOY STORY 5 Puts Jessie Front and Center as Andrew Stanton Explains Why Woody Needed “a Break”

When Toy Story 4 came to a close, Woody made a life-changing decision. He left Bonnie and his friends behind, handed his sheriff badge to Jessie, and rode off toward a new chapter. At the time, it felt like a touching farewell. As it turns out, Pixar was also laying the groundwork for what comes next.

With Toy Story 5 on the way, Jessie is stepping into the spotlight as the franchise’s central character, and director Andrew Stanton says there was a very specific reason for that choice.

The new film picks up with Jessie leading Bonnie’s room, a role she inherited from Woody at the end of the previous movie. But her leadership is quickly put to the test when a new piece of technology called Lilypad enters Bonnie’s life.

The device becomes a major threat to the toys, capturing Bonnie’s attention and pulling her further away from the world they know.

For Stanton, Jessie’s story offered something that felt rich with untapped potential. “I just felt she had so much unaddressed, that she had a deep well to draw from. Woody used to have a deep well but we drew so much from him, I just thought he needed a break.

“And we made a conscious point of passing the badge on from Woody to Jessie at the end of [Toy Story] 4,” Stanton adds. “I loved, even if we didn't go to another film, we'd have that, knowing she was a leader now in running Bonnie's room.

“So, it just made sense when I was asked to work on this one to start there, because it would be a very different room run by her. Even though it's a similar problem of a new thing coming into the room and disrupting things, it's a different era, it's a different kind of character.

“And she had so much, like I said, under the hood, I knew her insecurities of abandonment would come out right away.”

That emotional baggage is something longtime fans know all too well. Jessie’s heartbreaking backstory in Toy Story 2, where she was left behind by her original owner Emily, remains one of the most emotional moments in the franchise. According to Stanton, those lingering feelings of abandonment become a key part of her journey in the new film.

While Jessie wrestles with her own insecurities, she’s also facing a challenge unlike anything the toys have encountered before. Lilypad represents a new reality where technology competes directly with toys for a child’s attention.

Early warnings from toys outside Bonnie’s room even suggest that “the age of toys is over,” and the situation doesn’t look good for Jessie and the gang.

Bonnie quickly becomes fascinated by everything Lilypad has to offer. The device allows her to connect virtually with other kids, but those relationships aren’t as healthy as they appear. Bonnie finds herself dealing with a group of mean girls who aren't really friends at all, creating problems her parents don’t immediately recognize.

Unlike previous Toy Story movies, Bonnie’s parents play a much larger role in the story as they attempt to navigate a parenting landscape shaped by rapidly evolving technology.

Stanton explained: “It's just trying to give you an opportunity to understand what can happen, and they're new to it. We're talking within 48 hours, or maybe 72 hours, that happened. I mean, it's all very new.

“There's not a lifestyle or a way of running the room with tech that the parents have figured out. It's just suddenly they got a kid a bike, and now this is what comes with having a bike. So, we were just, in a short amount of time, trying to give you all the highs and lows that can come with it.”

The concept of toys battling for relevance in a tech-driven world feels like strong evolution for the series. Every Toy Story film has explored change, whether it was growing up, moving on, or finding a new purpose.

This time, Pixar seems to be tackling the growing influence of screens and digital connections through the eyes of characters we’ve spent decades with.

And at the center of it all is Jessie, a character who has spent years in Woody’s shadow despite having one of the richest emotional histories in the franchise. Now she finally gets the chance to carry the story herself.

Fans won’t have to wait much longer to see how this toys-versus-tech conflict unfolds when Toy Story 5 arrives in theaters on June 19.