LOS ANGELES – Toy Story 5 might be one of the most anticipated movies of 2026, but it was nearly eclipsed by Taylor Swift at its Los Angeles premiere.
The global pop icon made a surprise appearance at the June 9 event, where she performed an acoustic version of I Knew It, I Knew You, the original country-pop song she sang and co-wrote for the soundtrack.
Opening in Singapore cinemas on June 18, the film continues the billion-dollar franchise that began with Toy Story (1995), an animated action comedy in which a young boy’s toys come to life, and new action figure Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) replaces cowboy doll Woody (Tom Hanks) as his favourite plaything.
And the fifth instalment sees the older toys facing another existential crisis as their current owner, eight-year-old Bonnie, becomes obsessed with a frog-shaped electronic tablet named Lilypad (Greta Lee).
After Toy Story 5 was screened at the premiere, the curtain rose to reveal Swift, 36, sitting at a piano on stage and wearing a floor-length gown in the same shade of yellow as the Toy Story logo.
She proceeded to perform I Knew It, I Knew You, co-written with American singer-songwriter Jack Antonoff – a project she had been teasing to fans since April, and finally confirmed on June 1.
Swift then addressed the audience, which included Hanks, Allen and other members of the star-studded American voice cast.
The latter includes actor Tony Hale, who reprises his role as the clueless plastic spork Forky, and talk show host Conan O’Brien, who plays a new potty-training toy named Smarty Pants.
“It means the world to me to be a small part of the universe of these films,” said Swift, who is engaged to American football player Travis Kelce, 36.
“Toy Story 5 is my favourite of all the Toy Stories. I’m so lucky that I get to be a part of this.
“And I want to thank all the creators at Disney and Pixar for all the work they put into this film,” she added, referring to the Hollywood studios behind the franchise.
“It’s insanely beautiful, it’s a masterpiece. Your work is amazing and I hope you’re all so proud of yourselves if you worked on this film.”
The pop star also singled out the 63-year-old actress who voices Jessie, the feisty cowgirl doll character that inspired I Knew It, I Knew You.
“Joan Cusack has done such an extraordinary job – it was an honour to write for her.”
Swift also praised 82-year-old American singer-songwriter Randy Newman, whom she described as “the architect of the Toy Story musical universe” and who composed one of the most recognisable tunes from the franchise, You’ve Got A Friend In Me (1995).
And in another surprise, Newman then appeared on stage in front of his own piano and did a duet of his Oscar-nominated song with Swift, who said, as she walked up to him: “This just feels like a really good day, personally.”
On the red carpet, Cusack – who has voiced Jessie since 1999’s Toy Story 2 – said she was glad that her character gets more time in this chapter.
“I was so excited because I felt like there was a Jessie story in there, and I knew if they were going to do it, it was going to be really good,” said the actress, who starred in comedy films such as Working Girl (1988) and School Of Rock (2003).
The tomboyish Jessie is also someone many young female viewers will connect to.
“There’s a lot of little girls that aren’t Cinderella… that aren’t feeling that beauty thing all the time, and that want to play and be part of everything – and I think she speaks to them,” Cusack said.
Joan Cusack voices Jessie in Toy Story 5.
PHOTO: THE WALT DISNEY CO
And while Toy Story 5 explores the clash between modern technology and screen time versus traditional play, Hanks believes the franchise’s core message is unchanged.
“These movies are really about deep, long-lasting friendships, and how adversity comes along but everybody can get together and help the other person out when they need a hand,” said the 69-year-old Hollywood veteran, who won Best Actor Oscars for the legal drama Philadelphia (1993) and comedy-drama Forrest Gump (1994).
“These stories about toy slinky dogs and marionettes and styrene spacemen end up being a lesson for us all in the real world.”
Toy Story 5 opens in Singapore cinemas on June 18.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.straitstimes.com ’
