I went inside Mattel and saw how Toy Story 5 toys are built — and made interactive

With Toy Story 5 set to hit the big screen on June 19, 2026, it might come as no surprise that there’s a whole bunch of toys — Jessie, Rex, Buzz, Woody, and Slinky, among others — getting ready to hit retailers' shelves.

There are some newcomers as well, including Lillypad — a kid-safe learning tablet 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 master licensee for Toy Story and a key partner of Disney at large — they’ve been making Toy Story toys since the second film. And ahead of wave one launching, and the film hitting the screen, I traveled to Mattel’s headquarters to get a peek behind the curtain.

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