Pixar movies have been entertaining audiences for decades, especially the Toy Story franchise. We were treated to another adventure with everyone’s favorite toys when Toy Story 5 hit theaters earlier this year, with the project now streaming with a Disney+ subscription. I’ve been wondering why that army of Buzz Lightyears spent so much of the film wandering around the woods, and now we finally have some answers behind that narrative choice.
Toy Story 5 reviews were positive, and plenty of folks liked the running gag of all the Buzz Lightyears roaming around the woods together. During an interview with Gold Derby, director/writer Andrew Stanton got real about why the squad of Buzz toys spent so much time in the wilderness. As he explained:
We wanted them in the woods because then they wouldn’t be constantly bumping into humans. And we just needed a nondescript shortcut to get wherever they’re going. But then somebody in my story group drew a Buzz Lightyear petting a bunny, and it was like watching an actor choose something that was instinctual. We all knew that deep down under that tough exterior that Buzz has such a soft heart. And animals can sense when you’re kind. And it just made sense that they would get along with cute woodland creatures.
Honestly, this makes a great deal of sense. We all know that toys in the animated franchise play dead whenever humans encounter them, hiding the secret that they’re actually alive. So when Toy Story 5 brought in an entire group of new Buzz Lightyears, they had to be put in a setting that allowed the action figures to continue guarding that secret.
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Toy Story 5 made fans appreciate Jessie, but the running gag of all the Buzz Lightyears was a delightful side plot during the movie’s 102-minute runtime. It was heartwarming to see the toys connecting with various animals in the woods, which also served as an A+ reference to Bambi. As the filmmaker went on to share:
And there’s something meta about woodland creatures and animation and Bambi, and it just felt like all these roads met at the same time to the degree that when we were putting the scene together and it was cracking us up privately by putting Bambi’s [‘Love Is a Song’] in there. I said we should look into getting the rights because it’s the one time I would be willing to go off script composer-wise, much to Randy Newman’s chagrin. But to really sell the joke and to sell the moment, it’s just this kind of animation history.
The Toy Story franchise is known for including easter eggs to other Disney projects, so the fact that the fifth movie went full Bambi shouldn’t have come as much of surprise. Still, I’m glad that we got some answers about why the Buzz squad was kept in the woods for the majority of the movie.
Toy Story 5 is streaming now on Disney+ as part of the 2026 movie release list. We’ll just have to see if the House of Mouse moves forward with a sixth installment of the beloved property.