With toy story 5 Set to hit the big screen on June 19, 2026, it’s no surprise that there are a ton of toys (Jessie, Rex, Buzz, Woody and Slinky, among others) getting ready to hit retailer shelves.
There are also some newcomers, including Lillypad, a safe learning tablet for kids that reminds me of 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 primary licensee of toy story and a key partner of Disney in general – they have been doing toy story toys from the second movie. And before the first wave was released and the movie hit the screen, I traveled to Mattel headquarters to take a look behind the curtain.
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Not surprisingly, all of these toys start with a sketch, much like an animated movie. And it tasks Mattel designers with drawing sketch after sketch for product ideas, whether it’s a new play-scale figure of the main characters, a Woody who can run while you pull the rope on the back, the awesome Ultimate Action series, or an adorable new mini-series. It all starts with sketches, whether black and white or color, and then moves on to modeling, courtesy of 3D printers using a variety of polymers.
I was able to visit Mattel’s 3D lab, and there they have 14 large-scale 3D printers that can be turned on and put to work at any time. One designer shared that it can take only a few hours after a design is finished before a 3D-printed early-stage model is delivered. There is also the possibility of 3D printing with metal, which can be useful for creating a metal mold to then place other textures on, or to see potential shapes in different shapes – I saw a model of Jessie’s head made in metal.
It was interesting to see how Mattel, a toy company with a legacy of over 80 years, employed cutting-edge technology in their 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 designers are given tools that allow them to excel at their craft, rather than being forced to use one simply for the sake of using it.
Now, the toy story 5 Mattel’s lineup has a lot of what you’d expect. So if you’re simply looking for a Woody, Buzz, Jessie or Forky figure, fear not, as the toy brand has you covered. And while I expected to see more high-tech toys, especially at the higher end, there was a big surprise with the new 7-inch PlayScale Interactables figures of classic characters and newcomers.
Part of Mattel toy story 5 The PlayScale Interactables range is designed to bring new and notable characters to life with sound, not only offering iconic phrases to relive moments from the films, but also recognizing and speaking to each other.
At $21.99, they hit a more affordable price point while still including those interactive features. The voice boxes inside not only feature real lines from the film’s voice actors other than Woody, as Tom Hanks gives that role to his brother, Jim Hanks, but they also offer interactivity.
Each has 12 sentences, whether it’s Jessie explaining what a sheriff does (remember, Bonnie made her sheriff) or Forky asking what the point is, but the figures can also interact with each other. I then heard Jessie explain the role of a sheriff after Forky was placed next to her at a table and asked what a sheriff does. It’s really pretty and speaks to value. Mattel can bring these experiences to its most basic offerings, and that’s a real win for kids and toy fans. You get a more surprising and fun experience with a figure.
I would also highlight the meticulous details that Mattel’s design team is integrating here. You may remember that Woody’s voice box is removed in toy story 4so the Woody figure here has a rope to pull but he has stitches on his butt. He also doesn’t have the sheriff’s badge, as Jessie now has it. It’s really the little details that show how much care is put into the toys.
The classic toy story The gang can even interact with newcomer Lillypad; here Mattel has created a smaller version of the learning tablet and, ironically, it doesn’t feature an actual screen. It has a speaker so you can chat with the push of a button or when you’re 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 start a sort of random dance. It slides quite well.
Of course, there are other toys that Mattel is preparing, but also included in the first wave are themed Hot Wheels cars and new mini collectibles. These arrive in a backpack that the main figures can wear (including Jessie, Woody and Buzz) and are stylized versions of the characters. These look very cute and are definitely Mattel x toy story jumping on the mini collectible bandwagon.
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