I went behind the scenes at Mattel — and its new Woody and Buzz feel like they stepped out of Toy Story

We’ve seen countless versions of Woody and Buzz Lightyear in the years since Toy Story first hit the big screen in 1995 – I remember having a rag doll like Woody and a plastic Buzz growing up. Aside from a few voice lines and some lights on the Space Ranger’s suit, it was all left to my imagination, though.

Now, though, it’s 2026, and toys have come a long way. And Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the whole crew from Toy Story are getting ready to hit the big screen with film number five — Toy Story 5 — and will take on a new friend, foe, or some kind of mixture of both: tech.

This time around, akin to the leaps and bounds we’ve seen from animatronics of fan-favorite characters from animated films at Disney Parks, Mattel and Disney have created a whole host of toys ...