Tom Hanks and Tim Allen have spent nearly 30 years as Woody and Buzz Lightyear, and the friendship between the two Pixar characters eventually followed them outside the recording booth.
While promoting Toy Story 5 during a SiriusXM Front Row event hosted by Julia Cunningham, Hanks said the emotional weight of Woody and Buzz’s friendship helped push him and Allen to build a real connection. Just Jared reported that Hanks said the two actors began meeting and talking about Toy Story, their careers, and life beyond the franchise.
Their characters began as rivals in Pixar’s 1995 original before becoming one of the studio’s defining friendships. Hanks and Allen now say the offscreen bond has lasted through five movies, decades of promotion, and regular lunches away from the cameras.
Toy Story 5 brings them back as Woody and Buzz in a new story about toys facing a tech-obsessed world. Disney and Pixar list the movie for theatrical release on June 19.
Hanks Said Woody and Buzz Helped Start the Real Friendship
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Hanks said the “wicked importance” of Woody and Buzz’s friendship made the actors pay attention to what Pixar was building around them. According to Just Jared, he said that realization helped lead to conversations with Allen about the movies, their work, and other parts of life.
The friendship has continued in a very ordinary way. Hanks said he and Allen still get lunch about every three or four months, and the scene can become strange for fans once they realize Woody and Buzz are sitting together over a club sandwich. He joked that people sometimes come over after their “head just exploded.”
Allen Says Their Bond Feels Almost Like Family
Allen described the friendship in even more personal terms during an interview with Us Weekly. “We completely, whether surface or subsurface, completely connected as two individuals,” he said. “Almost like we’re related.”
He also said their connection goes beyond Hollywood nostalgia. Allen told the outlet that he and Hanks share interests in books, philosophy, metaphysics, military history, and respect for veterans. That gives the friendship a more specific shape than two actors who simply return for the same franchise every few years.
The French Fry Story Sounds Like Woody and Buzz
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Allen also remembered one early moment that still annoys him in a funny way. He told Us Weekly that Hanks once ate french fries from his plate, and Allen was not amused. Hanks noticed Allen did not like it and kept doing it anyway.
“He goes, ‘Yeah, I can see that.’ And just kept on it,” Allen said, laughing, according to Us Weekly. The story has the same teasing rhythm fans recognize from Woody and Buzz: irritation, timing, and a friendship strong enough to survive the joke.
They Still Ask Whether Another Toy Story Movie Has a Reason
Hanks said he and Allen do not automatically agree to another Toy Story movie just because Pixar calls. According to Just Jared, the two talk to each other when another installment is proposed and ask whether there is a real reason to continue the story.
For Toy Story 5, Hanks said Pixar passed that test. The new movie brings Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the toys into a “Toy meets Tech” story as Bonnie becomes attached to Lilypad, a smart tablet voiced by Greta Lee. Pixar’s official synopsis says the toys’ jobs are challenged by the electronics children are obsessed with now.
The cast has also been talking about the movie’s larger theme. In a Guardian interview, Allen said the film is “spot on” about technology, while Hanks said Jessie asking for help becomes part of the story’s emotional pull.
Hanks and Allen’s friendship gives the new movie an extra layer before audiences even get to the plot. Woody and Buzz have changed across three decades of movies, and the actors behind them now have their own long-running history of lunches, jokes, phone calls, and returning only when the story gives them a reason.