Book Review - The Art of Toy Story 5
- 8 minutes ago
- 6 min read
June 17th 2026
Animated movies are the norm in 2026, there are multiple releases each year that deliver experiences for everyone to enjoy. However, that once wasn’t the case, until in 1995 when the first feature length animation hit the big screen with the original Toy Story from Pixar. Fast forward over 30 years and Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the game are back, now older, but no less iconic.
It wouldn’t be a Pixar movie without another artbook from Chronicle Books, sharing a look at the early artwork that helps bring the toys to life. The Art of Toy Story 5 was released on May 26th in the US and comes to the UK on June 25th. A little ahead of its release here, a copy has joined the collection, so find out if it’s everything we hoped it would be!
Build Quality
As consistent as ever, Chronicle Books have created another well-made 160-page volume of artwork to the surprise of no one. The 28.5 x 23.5cm hardcover has strong binding, high-quality paper, and a vibrant print finish. The publisher has been making these books for a long time and so fans have come to expect nothing but excellence, in which they continue to deliver.
The cover art as always is a nice choice, showing Jessie, Bullseye, and Smarty Pants from artist Carlos Felipe León. His art is also on the back in the same pastel-like style showing Jessie and Lillypad. Underneath there is no artwork, but has a debossed logo of the movie on a plain green hardcover.
Content
The praise continues as inside is what I was anticipating, but as that bar was high, I’m happy to say I was not let down. The artists that have worked on Pixar movies are endlessly talented and able to capture the magic seen on-screen in a single image. The Art of Toy Story 5 is full of artwork like this, each one easily pictured coming to life in the world of animated toys, making it a joy to sit with.
It begins with a foreword from Director Andrew Stanton and an introduction from co-director and artist Kenna Harris that reflect on the history of Toy Story, before moving on to the fantastic artwork that follows the narrative of the movie. This approach to going through the movie with its art allows the spreads to have a varied mix of content that I like here, rather than separating each element into chapters.
You will find hundreds of pieces for characters, locations, set dressing, and storyboards, giving a peek at all the elements it takes to put the movie together visually. It goes without saying that the art is spectacular, all of which carries the Toy Story magic regardless of the art style and technique. From the pencil sketches and loose strokes of colour, to concepts that utilise outlines and others with more detail, the variety you see in the previews here are found throughout and showcase the skills of each artist.
Personal highlights for me include the sequence seen in the trailer for Forky’s wedding in a pastel textured style. It’s made this way in the movie to show Bonnie’s imagination and looks liked it was pulled right off the page from the work of artists Carlos Felipe León and Maria Lee.
There is also a small ‘booklet’ of art inside that is cut into the shape of Lillypad to highlight some designs for the tablet. This is a nice inclusion that shares how the team approached her look like you would for the real world, with a product design approach that included physical features and on-screen characters. The updates for the returning characters are all great to see too, with Buzz, Woody, and Jessie getting their fair share of space for artwork. Other new characters also get to shine, but as the book is out before the movie, I won’t spoil those here.
My favourite section is titled ‘Out of Picture’ and features concepts for early ideas not used in the movie, including early versions of the story as seen in the photo below. I will always be drawn to these chapters of an artbook because I find the earliest concepts and ideas to be the most fascinating. Getting a look at how different the movie could have been isn't the type of thing that is always shared by studios, but all Pixar ideas are worth seeing and shouldn't be hidden away in draws and on hard drives.
Some insights are shared throughout by members of the creative team alongside the art, giving details about what you are seeing on the page and what their goal was when creating the images. These are most frequently seen on the storyboard pages, in which the artist or director talk about each sequence. It’s always good to get some insider perspective and details you wouldn’t otherwise know, such as Smart Pants being designed by on of their summer interns, Naomi Urey.
Between the wonderful mix of styles for the characters and locations, the number of storyboard sequences shared, the unused ideas, and the extra details shared by the team, The Art of Toy Story 5 has a lot for fans to pore over and has everything you want from an 'Art of' book.
Credits
It’s business as usual for Chronicle Books and Pixar, as every image and photo is given an artist credit on the page, including the materials used, such as digital and pencil. Even a photo of Kenna Harris as a child was credited to her dad, giving everyone the recognition they deserve no matter what. It’s always appreciated as a reader and certainly the case for the team.
Use of Space
The book takes a simple approach to page design, using plain backgrounds and keeping images from overlapping each other. It’s a common way to design the pages because it puts all of the focus on the artwork, which works brilliantly here. Each spread is full as well, there is no wasted space and the image sizes give each piece room to show their details. There is very little artwork crossing the centre fold, but thanks to the binding, there is no image loss where this happens.
Outside of storyboards, the concepts do not follow a set layout, mixing it up based on what is shown and at the same time giving space to the written text and credits. The no-nonsense approach puts the talent of the team front and centre, so I was happy with how its 160 pages were used.
Value
A look at the art behind Toy Story 5 comes with an RRP of $50 or £40, which is a price that has steadily increased for Chronicle books, putting it up there with other publishers when it was once the cheaper. It may not be as big in terms of size and page count as others, but the quality is undeniable and not something you have to worry about. Fans won’t be let down at this price point, but discounts are frequent for the Pixar artbooks and worth looking for.
Weeks after launch in the US and a over a week before hitting shelves in the UK, discounts are already available. Using Amazon as always for consistency, in the US the book is down to $46.23, a small drop, but a sign that bargain hunters can find reductions. In the UK it is already under £30, a huge 25% off and a very attractive price point. Though the full price is not going to upset you, I think £30 or $40 is a price you should jump on if you see it.
Verdict
The Art of Toy Story 5 was a book I was looking forward to, because it was expected that I would like it having been a fan of previous Pixar artbooks. As you can already tell, I was not disappointed and enjoyed seeing more from the talented people that help bring personality and charm to animated movies.
I grew up with Toy Story like so many others, so no matter how old I get, it will always be a special movie series. Seeing the care and artistry behind it more than 30 years on makes this artbook worth adding to the shelf for fans old and new, with many likely reaching for a pencil and paper to draw themselves. No one is too old for Toy Story or art, and no fan can go wrong with picking up a copy of The Art of Toy Story 5!
If you enjoyed the review and previews and would like to add a copy to your own shelf, you can do so here;
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