Every Pixar Character Recast in Toy Story Movies

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I’ve been a huge Toy Story fan for over 30 years, and it really is something special! The movies are just so well-made, with perfect voice acting and humor that works for everyone, but honestly, the themes often hit adults even harder than kids. A lot of people think it’s the best animated franchise ever made, and it totally makes sense – Toy Story is what really launched Pixar, and now it’s here to help them out again after Elio didn’t do so well. I’m really curious to see if all the characters from Toy Story 4 will be back for the new movie, Toy Story 5. Apparently, some of them were just for that one film. And it’s a little sad, but a few returning characters will actually have different voice actors this time around. It’s happened before in the series, so I wanted to look into just how many times characters have been recast throughout the years in this franchise we all love.

We’re only considering changes in actors for full-length movies. This means we didn’t include video games or the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command TV series, but we did include the show’s first, movie-length episode, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins. Also, we didn’t count replacements made for short films.

10) Woody

While Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins mainly features new characters, some familiar ones make appearances, including Wallace Shawn as Rex, R. Lee Ermey as Sarge, and Joe Ranft as Wheezy.

Two characters returned in the new project, but with different voice actors. Notably, Woody was voiced by Tom Hanks’ brother, Jim Hanks, who has also played the role in other projects like Toy Story Treats, Lamp Life, and various Toy Story video games. Jim previously served as Tom Hanks’ body double in Forrest Gump and provided Woody’s voice for the Toy Story Midway Mania! ride at Disney parks.

9) Hamm

John Ratzenberger has famously voiced the character Hamm in nearly all of the Toy Story films and shorts. He’s become a reliable voice actor for Pixar, having appeared in every movie they made until Soul. While he didn’t voice a character in every film since then, he did return for Inside Out 2 and is set to be in Toy Story 5, making him a long-standing part of the Pixar family.

As a huge Pixar fan, I always loved the voice of Hamm in Toy Story – it’s instantly recognizable! That voice actually belonged to the same actor who played Cheers on TV, and he did Hamm in all the main Toy Story movies, plus those fun shorts like Hawaiian Vacation and Partysaurus Rex, even the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command show. Interestingly, when they made The Adventure Begins, Andrew Stanton, another Pixar regular, stepped in to voice Hamm for that one.

8) Bonnie Anderson

Andy donating his toys to Bonnie is a memorable moment in film, marking both the end of a beloved trilogy and a symbolic passing of the torch to a new generation. Bonnie, who is four years old and voiced by Emily Hahn, continued to be voiced by Hahn in the later Toy Story Toons shorts: Hawaiian Vacation, Small Fry, and Partysaurus Rex.

In Toy Story 4, Bonnie was a six-year-old character voiced by Madeleine McGraw, who has since appeared in The Black Phone and its sequel. Now, for the upcoming Toy Story 5, Bonnie will be played by a new actress, Scarlett Spears (known for her role as Young Glinda in Wicked: For Good), as the character has aged to eight years old.

7) Combat Carl

Combat Carl, specifically the version voiced by Carl Weathers, joined the Toy Story universe a bit later on. He first appeared in Toy Story of Terror!, where Weathers provided the voice for both Combat Carl and his son, Combat Carl Jr. (There was an earlier, less prominent version of the character in the first Toy Story movie.)

Six years after appearing in a 2013 TV special, Carl Weathers returned for Toy Story 4, which became his last film role. He continued acting afterwards, notably as Greef Karga on The Mandalorian until 2023. Now, Ernie Hudson will be taking over the role. Many viewers will recognize Hudson from his work as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters movies, or from his appearances on shows like Oz and Grace and Frankie. He’s also known for memorable performances in films such as Congo and Miss Congeniality.

6) Mr. Pricklepants

Though best known as James Bond, Timothy Dalton proved to be a surprisingly perfect fit for the role of Mr. Pricklepants, a charming hedgehog toy. He first voiced the character in Toy Story 3 and continued to do so in several subsequent shorts and films, including Hawaiian Vacation, Small Fry, Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure, Partysaurus Rex, Toy Story of Terror!, Toy Story That Time Forgot, and Toy Story 4.

Robin Atkin Downes voiced the character in the short film series Forky Asks a Question, which came out the same year as Toy Story 4. For Toy Story 5, John Hopkins will be taking on the role. Hopkins is known for his recent work in Masters of the Air and A Very Royal Scandal.

5) Slinky Dog

Slinky Dog is a fan favorite from the Toy Story movies, and actor Jim Varney truly brought the character to life. He voiced Slinky in the first two films, but sadly passed away from lung cancer in 2000, shortly after Toy Story 2 was released.

Since then, Blake Clark, a frequent actor in Happy Madison films, has taken on the part. He and the previous actor, Varney, were good friends.

4) Mr. Potato Head

Don Rickles, famously known as “Mr. Warmth,” was the original voice of Mr. Potato Head. He voiced the character in the first three Toy Story movies and continued in the role until his death in 2017 at age 90. For Toy Story 4, filmmakers used existing recordings to allow Rickles to reprise the part one final time.

Jeff Bergman, a seasoned voice actor with a wide range of credits – including iconic characters like Yogi Bear and Bugs Bunny, as well as more recent roles like Odin and Joe Biden – will be taking on this role.

3) Mrs. Potato Head

Estelle Harris, best known for her role on Seinfeld, originally voiced Mrs. Potato Head in Toy Story 2 and continued to play the character until she passed away.

Harris was the voice of the character in Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4, as well as the shorts Hawaiian Vacation, Small Fry, and Partysaurus Rex. For the upcoming Toy Story 5, Anna Vocino will take over the role following Harris’s passing. Vocino has also lent her voice to video games like The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road, Psychonauts 2, and The Last of Us: Part II.

2) Buzz Lightyear

Before Lightyear came out, many people thought it wasn’t a film that needed to be made, and that’s how most felt after seeing it. While Chris Evans is a great actor, it was difficult for audiences to accept anyone other than Tim Allen as the voice of the character.

You know, it’s funny, this isn’t even the first time Buzz Lightyear has had a different voice actor! I remember Tim Allen doing the voice in that Buzz Lightyear of Star Command movie, but then Patrick Warburton took over for the TV series that followed. So, while this recent recasting for a feature film feels new, it’s actually happened before!

1) Emperor Zurg

Speaking of the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins pilot, one key character had a different voice actor than in Toy Story 2. While Buzz himself wasn’t recast, Evil Emperor Zurg was. Andrew Stanton originally voiced Zurg in the 1999 movie, but Wayne Knight – who also appeared in Toy Story 2 – took on the role for the TV movie.

James Brolin replaced the original actor for the character Zurg in the movie Lightyear. The rest of the cast consisted of characters new to the Toy Story series.

Who’s your favorite character from Toy Story? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-02-27 01:14