Hanks calls toy story 5's 'heartbreaking' scene a 'prescient' reflection of childhood
Tom Hanks has delivered a surprisingly poignant assessment of Toy Story 5, revealing a scene he deems among the most emotionally devastating in the entire Pixar franchise. The legendary actor, speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, described a moment centered around a young girl grappling with the sting of online bullying – a surprisingly contemporary theme for a children's film.
A moment of unexpected depth
Hanks emphasized the scene’s particular resonance, stating it’s “one of the most heartbreaking scenes I’ve ever seen” in any of the Toy Story installments. Pixar, renowned for its ability to elicit genuine tears, apparently tapped into a deeply unsettling reality: the isolating pain of adolescent rejection, amplified by the relentless scrutiny of social media. The narrative unfolds when a young girl, struggling to understand why others are criticizing her, experiences a profound sense of hurt – a situation Hanks deemed “very prescient” for today’s youth.
“There’s one of the most heartbreaking scenes I’ve ever seen in any of the Toy Story movies — when that little girl is getting her feelings hurt by what other people are texting about her, and she doesn’t understand why,” Hanks recounted. “She doesn’t know what she did wrong, but it hurts, and that is a very prescient thing to have in a motion picture today about little kids and toys, don’t you think?”
Toy Story has consistently pushed the boundaries of animated storytelling, notably with Toy Story 3, a film saturated with bittersweet goodbyes. Even the original 1995 release, with Buzz Lightyear’s shocking revelation as a toy, provoked a visceral response from audiences. But according to Hanks, Toy Story 5 may have surpassed them all. He admitted to a particular fondness for the characters, noting, “They always take me to some other emotional place that I’m both happy to [go] and mad that they’re going to make me do this.”
“But [Tim Allen] and I have done this enough. When I saw the first scene where 500 Buzz Lightyears come up out of the water, I just said, ‘Oh, Tim’s gonna have a field day on this.’ Thank goodness he has to voice 500 of these things, and I don’t,” Hanks quipped, showcasing a wry appreciation for the project’s scale. The film is slated for release on June 19, 2026, and anticipation is already mounting.