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Back in 2019's Toy Story 4, everyone had their hearts broken when Woody decided to stay behind at the carnival with Bo Peep and the other lost toys, and his best pal Buzz returned to Bonnie's room without him.
Seven years later, Buzz and Woody reunite once again in Toy Story 5. But, while it might seem like the duo has been apart all this time, director Andrew Stanton says that's actually not the case.
"It's been a little under a decade. People come back and visit, and it's like a nice visit. I hope you don't spend that long waiting till you see your old friend again," he jokes to GamesRadar+ when we meet in London to talk about the film. "It wasn't yesterday."
Indeed, by the sounds of things, Buzz and Woody have stayed in contact since they parted ways. "I always knew at the end of [Toy Story] 4, they'd keep in touch, they'd send a postcard, they have the walkie-talkie system," Stanton explains. "Woody says, 'It's a good thing we were in town.' It's relatives that you like keeping in touch with, you know? I wanted to believe that through all those years between that last movie and this one, they've visited."
Producer Lindsey Collins also sees Buzz and Woody as being alternative but necessary kinds of support for Jessie, who is at the heart of the new film. "Each of them play a very different role for Jessie in her life. Buzz has obviously always had this unrequited love, and he's never gonna leave Jessie. It's fun to watch that in this film, how much he's like, 'Oh my god, I love her so much,'" she says. "And then you have Woody, he's like her mentor, right? He's her confidant, and so when she's having this massive bout of insecurity, it just made so much sense that he's who she would call just to be like, 'Woody, is it me? I'm failing,' and have her seek out his counsel. Not to come back – and that's a total misunderstanding – but just to actually be the one to be like, 'Is it bad out there? Is it all going downhill?' And have him be the one to try to calm her down."
While Jessie goes off on a quest of her own in an attempt to make Bonnie some friends, she entrusts Buzz with being her deputy – something the space ranger takes very seriously, especially since he has quite the crush on the cowgirl. "She trusted him to be [deputy], that was a big deal," says Tim Allen, voice of Buzz. "Had to remind [Woody] several times, love that scene. And yes, he is smitten with her."
Allen also appreciates that Buzz and Woody get a heartfelt reunion after their farewell in the fourth film. "They added that scene, which I love, that we hugged each other," he says. "I said, 'I missed you' real quick and got it over with. But, I really wanted that, because it was real difficult to say goodbye when we were in [Toy Story] 4."
You'll be able to see Buzz and Woody together again when Toy Story 5 arrives in theaters this June 19.
In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming movies and new Disney movies on the way to fill out your watchlist.
