Tom Hanks Addresses Woody's Viral Bald Spot in “Toy Story 5” Sneak Peek
Tom Hanks Addresses Woody's Viral Bald Spot in “Toy Story 5” Sneak Peek
Madison E. GoldbergWed, April 29, 2026 at 3:15 AM UTC
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Tom Hanks; Toy Story's WoodyCredit: Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty; Disney/Pixar -
Tom Hanks explained the reason behind his Toy Story character Woody's changes
The Pixar character was notably seen with a bald spot in a sneak peek of the franchise's fifth installment
Toy Story 5 hits theaters on June 19
Woody is going through some changes in Toy Story 5 — and Tom Hanks, the voice behind the beloved Pixar character, is addressing one of them.
Hanks, 69, shed some light on the viral glimpse of what appeared to be a bald spot on the toy cowboy in the upcoming film. "He has been played with to excess," Hanks said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly published on Tuesday, April 28.
"You put a rubber hat on top of a rubber head again and again and again and again, something's gonna chafe," Hanks elaborated. "So, yeah, he does have… let's say a worn area on the back of his head."
Hanks went on to discuss why Woody's body has also changed since the first film in the franchise, which was released in 1995.
"He is not shaped plastic," the two-time Academy Award winner explained. "He is made of stuffing and cloth, and that stuff settles over time."
In the trailer, a poncho-wearing Woody removes his cowboy hat to unveil his hairless spot, which hilariously attracts the sunlight that ricochets off his plastic patch of baldness and into the eye of his now-blinded toys.
Woody in Toy Story 5Credit: Pixar
"Ooh! Ouch!" the toys say collectively as the light shines in their eyes. "Someone needs a brown marker," Trixie, the blue plastic Triceratops, quips about coloring in Woody's bald spot to match his hair.
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During Disney's D23 expo in August 2024, director Andrew Stanton revealed that the upcoming fifth film will cover a variety of contemporary issues, most notably, the impact of modern technology on how children play.
“In Toy Story 5 the toys' jobs get exponentially harder when our toy crew goes head to head with what kids are obsessed with today: electronics,” Stanton said at the time.
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Woody in Toy Story 5Credit: Pixar
The concept art and teaser trailer unveiled in 2024 depicted the toys looking on despondently as the child who owns the toys is engrossed in an activity on a tablet.
The franchise, which began in 1995, has long examined the unique relationship between children and their favorite childhood toys, nostalgia, and the growing pains of adolescence. The upcoming film will chart new territory in its examination of the technology kids are picking up today.
The fifth installment of the movie franchise hits theaters on June 19.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
