How Woody's showing his age – and why it's OK – in 'Toy Story 5'
How Woody's showing his age – and why it's OK – in 'Toy Story 5'
Brian Truitt, USA TODAYThu, June 18, 2026 at 1:15 PM UTC
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Age comes for everyone, even beloved "Toy Story" characters.
Some parents and grown-up fans of the Pixar animated franchise may feel extremely seen in the new "Toy Story 5" (in theaters June 19) with the presence of Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks since the character's first big-screen appearance in 1995. The do-gooding cowboy, who helps out other toys on the regular, returns in the latest film to see his old friends wearing his signature hat and a new poncho.
They give him grief for that, but it's also made quite apparent that he's getting older. Woody's now rocking a bit of a bald spot on the back of that plastic noggin, and he's even got a bit of a paunch, too.
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Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) returns to see his friends with a bit of a paunch in "Toy Story 5."
"What are you, some sort of old man toy?" the antagonistic tablet Lilypad (Greta Lee) snarks at him. "She thinks you're old because you're bald, Woody," deadpans Forky (Tony Hale), in case he didn't hear. Because he's old.
Adults can "without a doubt" relate to Woody in a new way now, Hanks says. "There's such a thing as mileage that becomes synonymous with age. That bald spot comes from that hat that just has gone on and off way too many times, and it wore away the organic material inside there.
"I would like to say that he's aged because he's just been so damn busy solving problems and saving the day," the actor adds. "Look, he doesn't have any threads coming loose. So as long as he remains solvent in that way, all will be well. But a bald spot can be covered by the right shade of Sharpie pen, right?"
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In an interview with his longtime "Toy Story" costar, Tim Allen (who plays Buzz Lightyear) throws out "burnt orange" as a color option while Hanks thinks "rust" could work. "What's wrong with going in that direction?" Hanks asks. "It's all cosmetic anyway."
Tim Allen is still hot about the time Tom Hanks stole his French fry
Talking about age and their characters finds Hanks and Allen reminiscing about their early days in the "Toy Story" movies. The media tour leading up to the release of the first film was "classic me," says Allen, a sitcom star at the time with "Home Improvement." "I was new at this. (Tom) wasn't new at this, so I was kind of learning from him without asking him just what you do. (He) told me to shut up and just answer the questions. Otherwise, it takes longer."
Allen tells the story of how, on a lunch break, Hanks once ate a French fry off his plate, leaving Allen aghast. "I come from a very large family, mostly men – seven boys, two girls – and we didn't do that," he says. "I mean, you really didn't do that. He goes, 'I'm just taking a French fry.' And I go, 'No, might as well take the plate. I don't want to touch the plate again.' "
Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) renew their friendly rivalry in "Toy Story 5."
Adds Hanks: "Isn't that Woody and Buzz in a nutshell right there? And we weren't even trying."
He remembers being as "amazed" as everyone else about how good the OG "Toy Story" turned out.
"We had never seen anything like this before," Hanks says. "We had gone in, we recorded it but alone, and then they go off and they turn it into this thing that was just undeniable. It was just a brand-new movie experience. It was kind of like seeing Technicolor for the first time, or seeing sound for the first time.
"I couldn't quite put my finger on why it was just so delightful, but it was delightful."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Toy Story 5' star Tom Hanks says Woody's aging. Fans will feel it.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
