‘Toy Story 5’: Meet the Voices Behind Each Animated Character

“There’s a snake in my boot!” Tom Hanks returns as Woody, the pull-string cowboy doll he has voiced in every Toy Story film. The loyal leader of the toys, Woody drew attention in the trailer when fans noticed he appeared to have a bald spot — though more than 30 years have passed since the original Toy Story was released.

The 69-year-old is a two-time Oscar winner, earning back-to-back Academy Awards for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. His other notable credits include Big, Apollo 13, Cast Away, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail.

To infinity and beyond! Also along from the start is Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear, a sci-fi action figure who began in the franchise as Woody’s enemy but then became his best friend. His voice acting won him an Annie Award in 2000. The beloved character even got his own spinoff movie, Lightyear, in 2022. But instead of Allen voicing it, Chris Evans took over as the animated spaceman.

From 1991 to 1999, Allen starred in eight seasons of the ABC sitcom Home Improvement, which earned him a Golden Globe in 1995. He also starred in Galaxy Quest and played Scott Calvin/Santa Claus in Disney’s The Santa Clause trilogy.

Joan Cusack voices cowgirl rag doll Jessie, who was introduced to the franchise in 1999’s Toy Story 2 and has been a core cast member ever since. She won an Annie Award in 2000 for her voice work. Yee-haw!

Cusack is known for her performances in Working Girl (1988) and In & Out (1987), both of which nabbed her Academy Award nominations. The actress won an Emmy in 2015 for her role as Sheila Jackson in Shameless. She’s also appeared in Grosse Pointe Blank, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Ice Princess, School of Rock, Addams Family Values, one season of Saturday Night Live and lent her voice to Disney’s Chicken Little.

Conan O’Brien voices Smarty Pants, a motion-activated toddler’s potty-training gadget in Toy Story 5, officially joining the franchise. He’s previously lent his voice as the Riddler in The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) and as Glaxxon 5000 in The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021). Though the comedian is best known for hosting late-night talk shows, starting with Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1993–2009), then The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (2009–2010) on NBC and Conan (2010–2021) on TBS. He’s also worked as a writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons and hosted the Oscars for the last two years in a row.

Musician Bad Bunny joins Toy Story 5 to voice Pizza With Sunglasses, an abandoned toy that looks like a slice of pizza. Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, is a singer-songwriter from Puerto Rico. He’s won six Grammy Awards and he performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in February. As far as acting, he appeared in 2022’s Bullet Train opposite Brad Pitt, last year’s Adam Sandler-starrer Happy Gilmore 2 and Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing, opposite Austin Butler.

Greta Lee plays Lilypad, a new character and frog-shaped smart tablet, that serves as an antagonist and a new technological threat to Woody, Buzz and the rest of the toys. Lee previously lent her voice as Lyla in the two Spider-Verse films. She also starred in the Oscar-nominated film Past Lives, and Tron: Ares, A House of Dynamite, The Morning Show, Problemista and Russian Doll.

Craig Robinson voices a new character, Atlas, a cheerful hippo GPS navigation toy. Robinson is best known for playing Darryl Philbin on The Office and for starring in the NBC sitcom Mr. Robinson. His additional on-screen credits include Hot Tub Time Machine, Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, This Is the End, Mr. Robot, Ghosted, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Killing It, and The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. Meanwhile, Robinson’s voice acting résumé includes roles in Shrek Forever After, Sausage Party, The Bad Guys franchise, American Dad!, The Cleveland Show and Big Mouth.

Alan Cumming plays the evil version of Jessie’s trusty horse, fittingly called Evil Bullseye. Toy Story 5 marks the first time the character speaks. The 61-year-old Scottish actor is known for his work on stage and on-screen. Notably, he starred as the Emcee in Broadway’s revival of Cabaret. Cumming earned a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his performance, which he reprised in 2014. On screen, he’s played Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United and will reprise the character in Avengers: Doomsday, set to release in theaters Dec. 18. Additionally, Cumming has been in the James Bond film GoldenEye and Spy Kids trilogy. He currently hosts the reality game show The Traitors.

Keanu Reeves made his debut in the Toy Story world with the fourth installment, and now he’s back for the fifth. The action star voices stuntman toy Duke Caboom. Reeves also voiced the villain Shadow in 2024’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and will return for next year’s fourth film. But Reeves is best known for starring in The Matrix and the John Wick franchise. In addition, his notable credits include Speed, Point Break, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Something’s Gotta Give, Knock Knock and Good Fortune.

Scarlett Spears, the 9-year-old actress, plays Bonnie, a child who receives the Lilypad tablet and slowly fades away from playing with traditional toys. Introduced in 2010’s Toy Story 3, Spears is the third actress to voice Bonnie, taking over the role from Emily Hahn and Madeleine McGraw. Notably, Spears played young Glinda in last year’s Wicked: For Good.

Another returning character in Toy Story 5 is Slinky Dog, a toy dachshund with a stretchy, spring body. Blake Clark has voiced the pup since Toy Story 3, taking over from Jim Varney, who died in 2000. Clark is also known for 50 First Dates, That’s My Boy, The Waterboy, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry and Grown Ups.

Wallace Shawn returns to voice one of the franchise’s original characters, Rex, the nervous green Tyrannosaurus rex toy. Throughout his career, Shawn’s notable roles have included The Princess Bride, Clueless, Young Sheldon, and Gossip Girl. He’s also lent his voice for The Pink Panther, Teacher’s Pet, Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Pixar’s The Incredibles.

John Ratzenberger has also been a key character in the Toy Story films since its original. He voices Hamm, a wisecracking piggy bank. Ratzenberger is well known for playing Cliff Clavin on the NBC sitcom Cheers. As for voice acting, his résumé is stacked with roles in Pixar films such as Cars, Monsters Inc., Ratatouille, Up, WALL-E, The Incredibles, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Inside Out and Luca.

Annie Potts returns as Bo Peep, who has been a part of the toy group since the beginning. She’s also Woody’s love interest. The 73-year-old actress has also appeared in Ghostbusters, Pretty in Pink, Designing Women and Young Sheldon.

Bonnie Hunt’s Dolly, the sassy rag doll with purple hair and mismatched button eyes and leader of Bonnie’s toys, returns for the fifth installment after appearing in the third and fourth films of the franchise. Her previous voice work includes Zootopia, Cars, Monsters, Inc. and A Bug’s Life. On screen, her credits include Jumanji, The Green Mile, Rain Man, Beethoven, Jerry Maguire and Cheaper by the Dozen. She also co-created and starred in the sitcom Life with Bonnie and hosted her own talk show, The Bonnie Hunt Show.

Jeff Bergman joins the franchise for Toy Story 5. He stepped in as Mr. Potato Head after the original voice actor, Don Rickles, died in 2017. Bergman is famous for his voice work, most notably Bugs Bunny in the Looney Tunes franchise. He’s also lent his voice for Family Guy, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, The Cleveland Show, What If…? and several late night shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Tony Hale returns after Toy Story 4 as Forky, a talking plastic spork. He also voiced the character in the animated short series, Forky Asks a Question on Disney+. Additionally, the actor is known for appearing on Arrested Development and Veep, for which he won two Emmy Awards.

Melissa Villaseñor voices Karen Beverly, another handmade toy by Bonnie, who used a white plastic knife. She is best known for appearing on Saturday Night Live for six seasons, from 2016 to 2022. Her credits also include Ralph Breaks the Internet, Hubie Halloween and Hoppers.

Mykal-Michelle Harris voices Blaze, a young girl who lives at Jesse’s old farm, where Emily, Jesse’s original owner in Toy Story 2, used to live. She becomes best friends with Bonnie. Harris has appeared in Big Little Lies, Mixed-ish, the 2022 remake of Cheaper by the Dozen, Raven’s Home and Wizards Beyond Waverly Place. She’s also voiced the title character in Disney Jr.’s Little Mermaid spinoff series, Ariel.

Actress and dancer Shelby Rabara voices Snappy, an eager toy digital camera. Her acting credits include Goliath, 17 Again, Glee, Fame, 2 Broke Girls, Awkward., Dollface and The Mindy Project. In addition, she’s lent her voice to play Peridot in Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe franchise.

Kristen Schaal is the voice behind the blue plastic Triceratops toy named Trixie. She joined the franchise for the third installment. The actress and comedian’s notable credits include Dinner for Schmucks, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, BoJack Horseman, Bob’s Burgers, What We Do in the Shadows, 30 Rock, Despicable Me 2, Shrek Forever After and The Last Man on Earth.

Matty Matheson voices Dr. Nutcase, a tiny stuntman toy shaped like a peanut. Matheson plays Neil Fak on FX’s The Bear and is a chef in real life, owning several restaurants across Canada and the U.S.

After being introduced in Toy Story 2, Mrs. Potato Head has been a core cast member ever since. Anna Vocino voices the character, taking it over from Estelle Harris, who died in 2022. Vocino has worked as a voice-over artist, sketch actress and comedian on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and has also narrated the series Snapped: Killer Couples.

Ernie Hudson voices Combat Carl, a G.I. Joe-inspired military action figure. Toy Story 5 marks his debut with the franchise, and he took over the role from Rocky star Carl Weathers, who died in 2024. Hudson is best known for playing Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters films. His credits also include The Crow, The Family Business, Boston Blue and Oz.

John Hopkins voices Mr. Pricklepants, a stuffed toy hedgehog. He took over the role from Timothy Dalton, who voiced the character in the third and fourth films. Hopkins has appeared in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland as well as the TV shows Midsomer Murders, Poldark, Catastrophe and Masters of the Air.