From the moment I saw the first TOY STORY, I became a lifelong Pixar fan. After watching the latest release, I decided to compile a list of the essential (and not-so-essential) viewing in chronological order for an all-inclusive Toy Story marathon, leaving no stone, short, special, or DVD Easter Egg unturned.
We left off with the terrific Toy Story 3 in Part 1, and here we continue with where Pixar took the iconic toys afterwards. So wind ‘em if you’ve got ‘em, keep your batteries clean, your joints unlocked, and let’s dive back in…
TOY STORY TOONS
Before we knew we’d be getting a fourth Toy Story movie, after the conclusive ending to Toy Story 3, Disney/Pixar kept the franchise warm by producing a series of shorts under the Toy Story Toons banner, to match the Cars Toons branding established by the Cars shorts. They played before movies such as Cars 2, The Muppets, and Finding Nemo 3D. What makes these shorts special is they were the first real glimpses into the toy’s lives after Bonnie welcomed them into her room, and we got to spend more time with the new toys, getting to know them better. They feel very episodic, but in an easily digestible, low stakes format.
Toy Story Toons: Hawaiian Vacation (2011)
This short feels like it picks up almost right where Toy Story 3 left off. It revolves around Barbie and Ken, with Ken planning to take Barbie on a trip to Hawaii by stowing away in Bonnie’s backpack. Only problem is that Bonnie doesn’t take that particular backpack with her on vacation, so the plan is ruined.
The other toys pitch in and give Barbie and Ken a mock Hawaiian vacation, with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, and a dash of character development. It’s the last time (so far) that we see these two characters, and a fitting send-off.
Toy Story Toons: Small Fry (2011)
Funnily enough, one of the aforementioned DVD Easter Eggs features a gag just like this, where we get pint-sized, fast food toy versions of the toys, including a Buzz Lightyear, so it would seem they took this old idea and expanded on it. This is the weakest entry of the Toy Story Toons, and while it’s a fun, little idea, and there are some interesting fast food toy characters introduced, including a mermaid voiced by Jane Lynch, it’s a mostly forgettable entry in the series. For completeists, it’s short enough, but low on laughs, so don’t expect much.
Toy Story Toons: Partysaurus Rex (2012)
One of the funniest shorts Pixar has ever produced (which is saying something) Partysaurus Rex delivers on dino-sized laughs. The story revolves around Rex, who has been deemed a “party pooper” by Mr. Potato Head. Come bath time, after a really cool imagination sequence, Rex is determined to stifle his worrywart instincts, and embrace being a partier, with destructive consequences.
Putting the lovable Rex at the center of this short was a brilliant idea, and they executed it to perfection. It’s a shame this entry closes out the Toy Story Toons series, but it’s now clear they were gearing up for bigger offerings to come.
TV SPECIALS
Toy Story of Terror! (2013)
Before it was decided to bring Toy Story back in feature-length movie form, it seemed like we’d continue to revisit them in short-form specials, such as this. It was great being able to spend more time with these characters, without the pressure of following up on Toy Story 3, in a big theatrical way.
This first TV special aired on ABC, and considering the time of release and the subject matter, could be considered Toy Story’s Halloween Special. This is one of the best Toy Story entries on the list, and should be considered essential viewing for all fans. It’s perfectly plotted, introduces a ton of great new characters, and gives Jessie her first starring role, prior to Toy Story 5.
Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014)
After the Halloween special, the following year we received Toy Story’s Christmas Special. Other than the time of its release, airing on ABC in early December, there’s nothing too Christmasy about it. There’s a new character, Angel Kitty, who is a Christmas decoration, and it’s mentioned that Bonnie’s friend got a bunch of new toys for Christmas, but that’s about it.
The story is Trixie-centric, the triceratops toy voiced by Kristen Schaal, who was introduced in Toy Story 3. In this story, she, along with Woody, Buzz, and Rex, go on a play date with Bonnie and encounter her friend’s Battlesaurs while they’re playing his new video game system. The problem is, similar to Buzz in the first Toy Story, these toys don’t know they’re toys. They have their own theme song and everything, but as far as they’re concerned, all they do is battle, as they’ve yet to be played with by their kid, who is too busy gaming, a theme that would later be explored more fully in Toy Story 5.
While it has its moments, Toy Story of Terror! holds the honor of the best Toy Story TV Special, but keep an eye out for a Battlesaurs lunchbox in Bonnie’s kindergarten classroom in Toy Story 4.
Toy Story 4 (2019)
After Toy Story of Terror! put Jessie front-and-center, this movie sidelines her, as well as the classic toy gang, in lieu of introducing a ton of new characters, and putting them in the spotlight, making this movie feel much different from any of the previous Toy Story entries.
It really revolves around Woody trying to cling onto relevancy and his purpose in life after he’s been mostly cast aside and is no longer the favorite toy, a major adjustment for him. At one point he’s been confined to the closet during play time, with a bunch of other obsolete toys, a couple of which look like the frightened toys hiding under the couch in Tin Toy.
This movie introduces Forky, who eats up a lot of screen time with his constant desire to throw himself in the trash, which Bonnie made him out of. It’s also the triumphant return of Bo Peep (Annie Potts), who was completely absent from the previous Toy Story movie, unceremoniously written out with a brief exchange. This movie brings her back in a co-starring role with Woody, and features two of my favorite moments throughout the entire franchise featuring these two characters, who are rekindling their relationship after years apart.
In addition to this lovely reunion, we are introduced to Canadian stuntman, Duke Caboom (voiced by Keanu Reeves), Giggle McDimples (Ally Maki), the tragic Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), a couple of plushy toys stuck together named Ducky and Bunny (Key and Peele) and of course Forky (Tony Hale, doing a version of Buster from Arrested Development). While Toy Story 3 ended things on a perfect note, this chapter also provides a heartfelt conclusion as well. It was discussed at the time that the first three movies could be considered a trilogy of their own, as the Andy years, and with this fourth movie, it would be the start of its own trilogy covering the Bonnie years.
It remains to be seen if they’ll fulfill on this plan, but seeing as Toy Story 5 opened massively at the box office, it’s a pretty safe bet they won’t stop there.
Forky Asks a Question (2019)
This series marks the first Disney+ Original for a Toy Story production. It takes place after Toy Story 4, which it debuted very shortly after its release, capitalizing on Bonnie’s new favorite toy Forky, once again voiced by Tony Hale. Each episode revolves around Forky asking a question and one of Bonnie’s other toys answering it. It’s mostly the toys in supporting roles, so it’s a nice spotlight for them and a chance to spend more time getting to know them. It’s a fun series, but nothing too deep here, which is a nice, light change of pace after the emotional rollercoaster of Toy Story 4.
Lamp Life (2020)
A year after Toy Story 4, we get the Disney+ Original, Lamp Life. It picks up pretty much immediately after the events of 4, with Woody asking Bo what she’s been up to all these years during the time they were apart. There are lots of fun gags about where her life has taken her (particularly when she’s given to someone as a gag gift) and so it does a good job at filling in those gaps in her story that would have slowed down the action in Toy Story 4, had they attempted to insert it somewhere in the movie. It’s note-worthy that this short is the first time that Tom Hanks doesn’t voice the role of Woody in any of the “official” Pixar-produced movies, shorts, specials, etc. His brother, Jim Hanks, who normally handles every other instance you hear Woody’s voice (video games, toys, Disney theme parks, etc.) fills in here for Tom. While it’s instantly noticeable, it doesn’t ruin what is otherwise another solid Toy Story short.
Pixar Popcorn (2021)
Pixar put out a series of mostly wordless shorts that span their catalogue, from The Incredibles to Soul, and everything in between, these shorts run about a minute each. Of the ten episodes, Toy Story boasts the most entries, with three, which all take place post-Toy Story 4, keeping it up-to-date. While they are fun, bite-sized offerings, as the “Popcorn” title would suggest, they lack substance.
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- “To Fitness and Beyond” – A “silent” short, where Buzz is trying to get all the toys in Bonnie’s room to exercise, set to workout music. It’s got sight gags, but not much else.
- “Three Heads” – This episode feels like a deleted scene from Toy Story 4, featuring the characters Ducky and Bunny. It sounds like Key and Peele just improvising, talking about Bo Peep’s three-headed sheep, which they do have a similar scene with in Toy Story 4, discussing how creepy it is, and so it’s almost as if they took their outtakes and animated over it. Fun to see these characters again, but not a lot to chew on here.
- “Love” – A mostly forgettable short, once again starring Ducky and Bunny, where they argue over which one of them children will love more. This feels like more outtakes from Toy Story 4 that they then turned into a short, as they have a pretty similar conversation in the movie. Nothing special here.
Toy Story 5 (2026)
This is Jessie’s movie. It was already hinted at in the previous movie that Jessie was becoming Bonnie’s favorite toy (although the focus was on Forky), and here we establish that Jessie has become Bonnie’s Woody. Although it follows the events of Toy Story 4, with the conclusion of that movie carrying over, in many ways this movie is more of a follow-up to Toy Story 2, delving into Jessie’s backstory even deeper than we had before.
In Toy Story 2, she told Woody the story about her previous owner, Emily, who donated her, leaving her feeling abandoned and never truly getting over it. She even cries out when Andy is looking to donate them in Toy Story 3, “it’s Emily all over again!”
This movie provides closure for her, while also combatting kids’ dwindling attention spans in a technology-filled world. Keanu Reeves returns as Duke Caboom, as well as Bo, once again voiced by Annie Potts, but although we get a nod to the other Toy Story 4 characters, (Ducky and Bunny and Giggle), they are noticeably silent, which is distracting, especially when you consider how chatty those characters were before. I understand cutting costs, but why show them at all if they’re going to remain silent?
The major selling point of this movie was the return of Woody, who decided to go the route of a “lost toy” and leave the group to be with Bo.
The way they brought him back into the fold in this one was a little clumsy, but it wouldn’t feel like a Toy Story movie without him, even if he’s only in a more supporting role. Not that that’s an issue, as Woody’s story has been mined over the course of the last four movies, and it’s nice to give the other characters like Jessie and Bonnie a chance to shine. What is notable about this latest entry, as well as in Toy Story 4, is that there are antagonists, but they aren’t straightforward evil villains with zero redeeming qualities, like what we got in the second and third movies. It’s not so black and white when it comes down to the different shades of these characters, who may do bad things, but aren’t necessarily bad inherently.
You can even hear the same music played during a major character shift for Lilypad (Greta Lee) that was written for Gabby Gabby in the last movie, further establishing this thematic link between the two.
This movie feels the most like Brave Little Toaster than any previous entry, with the introduction of electronic devices (including Conan O’Brien’s Smarty Pants) that can move around on their own and are feeling obsolete and abandoned by their kid, bringing the franchise full circle from its animated roots.
While Toy Story 5 wasn’t my personal favorite in the series, it’s nice that Pixar Popcorn didn’t turn out to be the last we’d see of them. This is Pixar’s flagship franchise, and they’ve done mostly right by it, so I have to trust if we do eventually get a Toy Story 6, it’ll be another worthy entry.
Until then, this is the definitive guide for your next Toy Story marathon.
To Infinity and Beyond!
Steven Scott is a two-time Eisner award-winning writer of comics, in addition to being a lifelong Pixar fan. Scott is the writer and creator of the Pixar-esque Sixth-Grade Shape-Shifter series from Capstone, with two brand new entries available now – a Halloween themed tale called Fright Shift, plus a sports-centric story called All-Star Switch-Up. You can check out more of his work here.
