Toy Story Characters: Names, Voices and Where They First Appear

The Toy Story characters are the toys in Andy's room and later Bonnie's, the rivals and rescuers they meet, and the humans who decide where the toys end up. Between Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 5 the cast has gained at least one memorable newcomer per film, so a name you half remember probably belongs to a sequel. If you are choosing a film for a child who loves one particular toy, the film by film notes below say where each character first appears.

The core group is Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Bo Peep, Rex, Hamm, Slinky Dog, Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head. Woody is the cowboy doll and trusted leader of Andy's toys, voiced by Tom Hanks and billed first in the first four films. Buzz Lightyear is the space ranger action figure who arrives as a birthday gift, voiced by Tim Allen in the main films. Jessie, the cowgirl voiced by Joan Cusack, debuts in Toy Story 2 and is billed first in Toy Story 5, where she leads the effort to win Bonnie back from a screen.

The rest of the ensemble fills out the room. Rex is voiced by Wallace Shawn and Hamm by John Ratzenberger, and both sit in the top billed cast of the first three films. Mr. Potato Head was voiced by Don Rickles, with Estelle Harris as Mrs. Potato Head from Toy Story 2. Slinky Dog was voiced by Jim Varney in the first two films and by Blake Clark in Toy Story 3. Bullseye, the horse who joins in Toy Story 2, returns in Toy Story 5.

Woody's friends are the toys in Andy's room, led by Buzz Lightyear, and later the toys he meets in Bonnie's room and on the road. In Toy Story (1995) that means Buzz, Rex, Hamm, Slinky Dog, Mr. Potato Head, Bo Peep and the army men led by Sergeant (voiced by R. Lee Ermey). Toy Story 2 adds Jessie, Bullseye and Barbie, and Toy Story 3 brings in Ken. By Toy Story 4 the circle includes Dolly (Bonnie Hunt) and Trixie (Kristen Schaal), who are credited again in Toy Story 5.

The toy Woody grows close to is Bo Peep, voiced by Annie Potts in Toy Story (1995), Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 4. In Toy Story 4 she returns as a lost toy living without an owner, and Woody meets her again in a small town, alongside her sheep and the tiny police toy Giggle McDimples (Ally Maki). The two grow close again over the course of that film.

The girl characters in Toy Story are a mix of toys and children. Among the toys are Jessie, Bo Peep, Mrs. Potato Head, Barbie (Jodi Benson, from Toy Story 2), Gabby Gabby, Giggle McDimples and, in Toy Story 5, the frog shaped tablet Lilypad. Among the humans are Hannah (Sarah Rayne, in Toy Story (1995)) and Bonnie, who takes over as the toys' owner. Harmony appears in Toy Story 4, and Blaze lives in the home of Jessie's first owner, Emily, in Toy Story 5.

Each sequel brings in a handful of characters who shape its story. In Toy Story 2 the newcomers are the Woody's Roundup set, Jessie, Bullseye and Stinky Pete the Prospector (Kelsey Grammer), plus the toy collector Al McWhiggin (Wayne Knight), who steals Woody.

Toy Story 3 introduces Lotso, a strawberry scented teddy bear voiced by Ned Beatty who welcomes the toys to Sunnyside Daycare, along with Ken (Michael Keaton), Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) and the Aliens, voiced by Jeff Pidgeon. Bonnie arrives here too, voiced by Emily Ricks.

The new characters in Toy Story 4 are Forky, Gabby Gabby, Ducky, Bunny, Duke Caboom and Giggle McDimples, with Bo Peep returning after her absence from the third film. Forky is the toy Bonnie builds from a spork and craft supplies, voiced by Tony Hale, who believes he is trash. Gabby Gabby is a doll voiced by Christina Hendricks who wants a child of her own. Ducky and Bunny, the carnival prize toys, are voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, and Keanu Reeves voices Duke Caboom. Bonnie is now voiced by Madeleine McGraw.

Disney has not published a count of new characters in Toy Story 5, but the two newcomers at the center of the story are Lilypad and Blaze, and the film also adds a large group of high tech Buzz Lightyear toys. Lilypad is the tablet voiced by Greta Lee who becomes Bonnie's favorite thing, and Blaze, voiced by Mykal-Michelle Harris, is the girl who loves toys and imagination. The credited cast also lists Smarty Pants (Conan O'Brien), Snappy (Shelby Rabara) and Atlas (Craig Robinson). Scarlett Spears now voices Bonnie, and John Hopkins takes over Mr. Pricklepants from Timothy Dalton. In the credits, Bad Bunny's character, Pizza With Sunglasses, leads a short musical interlude.

The humans matter because the toys' whole world is organized around who owns them. Andy is the boy of the first three films, voiced by John Morris, and his mother is voiced by Laurie Metcalf. Sid, the destructive neighbor in Toy Story (1995), is voiced by Erik von Detten. Bonnie takes over in Toy Story 3 and stays at the center of the toys' lives in Toy Story 4 and Toy Story 5, where her parents are voiced by Jay Hernandez and Lori Alan. The rivals have their own write up in toy story villains.

Lightyear (2022), directed by Angus MacLane, is a spin-off presented in Toy Story as the movie Andy saw that made him want a Buzz Lightyear toy, and in it Buzz is voiced by Chris Evans, not Tim Allen. The cast includes Uzo Aduba as Alisha Hawthorne, Keke Palmer as Izzy Hawthorne, Peter Sohn as the robot cat Sox, Taika Waititi as Mo Morrison, Dale Soules as Darby Steel and Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Commander Burnside. James Brolin is credited as Zurg and Old Buzz. The film is covered in full at Lightyear.

In my opinion, the series keeps its heart because every new character is a mirror for Woody's fear of being left behind. Jessie in Toy Story 2 is the clearest case: she was loved by a child, then boxed up, and her panic at the thought of another shelf is what makes Woody's choice to go home to Andy cost something. Lotso in Toy Story 3 is the same wound turned sour, a bear who was replaced and decided to rule Sunnyside like a dictator instead of grieving. Gabby Gabby in Toy Story 4 is the third version, a doll who was never chosen at all, and it could be argued that she is the most generous resolution, since she finds a child of her own at the carnival.

Lilypad in Toy Story 5 fits the pattern too, with one difference that I like. Where Lotso never repents, Lilypad is overcome with guilt, throws herself onto a donation truck, and is welcomed into the group at the end, playing alongside the toys instead of competing. That being said, Forky is my pick for the funniest newcomer, because a spork who insists he is trash turns Woody's old leader instinct into a babysitting job.

There is a practical takeaway for parents. Younger children tend to latch onto Buzz, Rex or Forky for the jokes, while the sequels reward older viewers who notice how Woody, Jessie and Bo Peep each handle being outgrown. Voice casting supports this: Tom Hanks and Tim Allen anchor all five main films, so even with Bonnie voiced by three different actors (Emily Ricks, Madeleine McGraw and Scarlett Spears), the toys always sound like themselves. Lightyear is the odd one out, with Chris Evans voicing a human sized Buzz in a story that the toy version only references.

No cast, characters or release date for Toy Story 6 have been confirmed. The Toy Story 5 credits scenes tease a high tech Zurg toy, but they do not confirm a sequel. For the characters in context, see the toy story cast, the toy story timeline, or the toy story movies in order guide.