With Toy Story 5 set to hit the big screen on June 19, 2026, it may come as no surprise that there are a whole host of toys – including Jessie, Rex, Buzz, Woody and Slinky – getting ready to hit retailer shelves.
There are also some newbies, including the Lillypad – a child-proof learning tablet that reminds me of the LeapFrog or VTech – and SmartyPants, a toy designed to help with potty training, voiced by Conan O’Brien.
Now, while there will undoubtedly be dozens of Woody and Buzz figures, Mattel is the master licensee for Toy Story and a key partner for Disney as a whole – they have made Toy Story toys since the second movie. And ahead of the launch of wave 1 and the movie hitting the screen, I traveled to Mattel headquarters to get a look behind the curtain.
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Not surprisingly, all these toys start with a sketch, just like an animated film. And that gives the designers at Mattel the task of drawing sketch after sketch for product ideas – be it a new toy-scale figure of the main characters, a Woody that can run while you pull the string on its back, the impressive Ultimate Action series or a new adorable mini-series. It all starts with sketches, whether black and white or in color, and then moves to modeling using 3D printers using a range of polymers.
I got to visit Mattel’s 3D lab, and there they have 14 large-scale 3D printers that can turn on and go at a moment’s notice. One designer said that it can only take a few hours after a design is finished before an early stage 3D printed model is delivered. There’s also the option to 3D print with metal, which can be handy for creating a metal shape to then put other textures around, or to see the potential shapes in different shapes – I saw a metal made model of Jessie’s head.
It was interesting to see how Mattel – a toy company with over 80 years of heritage – used cutting edge technology in its design process. There are also places to 3D scan people for action figures, although some of this can also be done digitally. I got the sense that the designers are given tools to allow them to excel at their craft, rather than being forced to use one just to use it.
Now, the one Toy Story 5 lineup from Mattel has much of what you would expect. So if you’re just after a Woody, Buzz, Jessie or Forky figure, fear not as the toy brand has you covered. And while I expected to see some more tech-infused toys, especially at the higher end, there was a big surprise with the new 7-inch PlayScale Interactables figures of the classic characters and newcomers.
Part of Mattel’s Toy Story 5 The PlayScale Interactables range, these are designed to bring top characters and new characters to life with sound – not just delivering iconic phrases to relive moments from the films, but also recognizing and talking to each other.
At $21.99, they hit a more accessible price point while still packing in the interactive features. The voice boxes inside not only boast actual lines from the voice actors in the film — except for Woody, as Tom Hanks gives that role to his brother, Jim Hanks — but also offer interactivity.
Each has 12 sentences – be it Jessie explaining what a sheriff does (remember, Bonnie made her the sheriff) or Forky asking what’s the point – but the characters can also interact with each other. So I heard Jessie explain the role of a sheriff after Forky was placed next to her on a table and asked what a sheriff does. It’s really nice and speaks to the value. Mattel is able to trickle these experiences down to its more entry-level offerings, and that’s a real win for kids and toy fans. You get a more surprising and fun experience out of a figure.
I also want to highlight the careful detail that Mattel’s design team integrates here. You may remember that Woody’s voice box has been removed in Toy Story 4so the Woody figure here has a drawstring but has stitches on the back. He also doesn’t have the sheriff’s badge as it is now on Jessie. It’s really the small details that show how much care goes into the toy.
The classic one Toy Story gang can even interact with newcomer Lillypad – here Mattel has created a smaller version of the learning tablet, and ironically, it doesn’t boast an actual screen. It has a speaker so it can chat with the push of a button or when it’s near another toy.
Another highlight of the line is a new Woody and Bullseye RC that, with a simple controller, lets you drive it forward or backward, or even break out into a sort of shuffle dance. It glides quite well.
There are of course other toys that Mattel is cooking up, but also included in wave 1 are Hot Wheels cars and new mini collectibles. These arrive in a backpack that the core characters can carry – Jessie, Woody and Buzz included – and are stylized versions of the characters. These look really cute and are definitely Mattel x Toy Story jump on the mini collector wagon.
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