Rex Toy Story: Voice Actor, Films and Toy Story 5 Status

Rex is a dinosaur toy, a tyrannosaurus rex, and one of the ensemble toys in the Toy Story films. He is credited as "Rex (voice)" in all five main films, and Wallace Shawn is the credited voice in the first three. He first appears in Toy Story (1995), directed by John Lasseter.

Who voices Rex? Shawn is the credited voice actor in Toy Story (1995), Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, so there is no recasting to track in those films. That is unusual for this series, because Slinky Dog changes voice between the second and third films (Jim Varney in Toy Story 2, Blake Clark in Toy Story 3), while Rex keeps one performer through the first three.

His place in the credits shows where the filmmakers put him. Shawn is billed fifth in Toy Story (1995), seventh in Toy Story 2 (1999, also directed by Lasseter) and fifth in Toy Story 3 (2010, directed by Lee Unkrich). Each time he sits among the toys who return every film, close to Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog and Hamm, and just below the stars. He is also credited in Toy Story 4 (2019) and Toy Story 5 (2026), lower down the cast list.

Partysaurus Rex is a separate Toy Story short, not a feature film, so it has no film page of its own.

For the full lineup, see the toy story characters index, or the toy story cast page for every voice actor.

Rex's closest ties are with the group of toys who share his billing across the first three films. Their owner is Andy, the boy who loves Woody best and who, in Toy Story 3, hands his toys over before leaving for college.

Woody and Buzz Lightyear lead the group. Hamm, voiced by John Ratzenberger, is billed directly after Rex in all three films (sixth, eighth and sixth), so the pair sit side by side in every cast list. Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) and Slinky Dog also appear in all three of those films.

Sunnyside gives the ensemble a different kind of relationship, because the toys meet Lotso, who first seems friendly and then proves otherwise. The story of that stretch centers on Woody, Buzz and the Aliens rather than Rex.

The last relationship in Rex's run is with Bonnie. Andy gives all of his toys to her at the end of Toy Story 3, and Rex is credited in that film. For more on the toys who carry on after that handover, see Jessie, Bo Peep and Forky.

In my opinion, Rex's best moments are the group moments the first three films hand to the whole toy box. The stories center on Woody, Buzz and Jessie, so it could be argued that the value of a regular like Rex lies in making the cast feel full.

My first pick is the finish of Toy Story (1995), when Woody and Buzz race after the moving truck, use the rocket Sid had strapped to Buzz and land in the family car. The chase pays off the friendship the film has built, and it is the cleanest example of the series turning a rescue into a set piece.

My second pick is the Aliens rescue in Toy Story 3. After the landfill and the incinerator, the toys are nearly destroyed before the Aliens save them with a crane, and the whole group is in danger together.

My third pick is the Andy and Bonnie goodbye at the end of Toy Story 3. Andy takes a last moment to play with his toys before handing them over, and the ensemble is at its most affecting because every toy in the room has history. If you are choosing a Toy Story film to watch with a young child, that ending is the one to save for last.

A smaller pick is the blooper reel in the credits of Toy Story 2, which includes Flik and Heimlich from A Bug's Life and was added to the film on December 25, 1999. For where to start, see the toy story movies in order list.