Taylor Swift upstages the movie at LA premiere of Pixar's 'Toy Story 5'

"Toy Story 5" is probably Pixar's most anticipated film since, well, "Toy Story 4" (no disrespect to "Inside Out 2"). However, at the Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday night, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen took a back seat to the world's biggest pop star, Taylor Swift.

Last week, Swift released her song for the movie, "I Knew It, I Knew You," and set a Spotify record for the most streamed country song by a female artist on a single day. According to Tom Hanks, the song was kept top secret from even the cast members, who weren't aware of it until hours before its release.

At the premiere, Swift met up with voice talent Hanks and Tim Allen, bringing an old VHS copy of "Toy Story" for them to sign. Then, after the screening, Swift emerged to perform her single on piano, followed by a duet with Randy Newman of "You've Got a Friend in Me," the franchise's theme song. According to Variety, she said of the movie: "It's insanely beautiful. It's a masterpiece."

"Toy Story 5" is slated to hit theaters June 19. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, who directed and co-wrote "Wall-E" and "Finding Nemo" and who had a co-writing credit on each of the "Toy Story" movies. The gang of old characters is still in the picture, with Allen, Hanks and Joan Cusack returning as Buzz, Woody and Jessie. But an ominous new toy has entered the bedroom: Lilypad, a tablet voiced by Greta Lee. Conan O'Brien also joins the cast as a potty training toy named Smarty Pants.

Early reactions from critics are overwhelmingly positive, with some going so far as to say it stacks up against the first three films in terms of quality.

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 7:08 PM.