Toy Story 5 Co-Director Kena Harris on the Transition from Jesse Superfan to Pixar Filmmaker — and the Two-Week Rewrite That Changed the Sequel

Long before co-directing Pixar's Toy Story 5, Kena Harris spent childhood afternoons drawing Jessie, painstakingly reproducing details from Toy Story 2 and even imagining Woody giving the cowgirl flowers. Decades later, the character helped Harris navigate a daunting first feature — including halting production for two weeks to revise a story that still […]

Long before co-directing Pixar's Toy Story 5 , Kena Harris spent childhood afternoons sketching Jessie, painstakingly reproducing details from Toy Story 2 and even imagining Woody giving the cowgirl flowers. Decades later, the character helped Harris navigate a daunting first feature — including stopping production for two weeks to revise a story that still wasn't working.

"She was my cowgirl," Harris said Friday at the View conference in Turin. RELATED STORIES James Van Der Beek 'Ghost' 'Dawson's Creek' Show Creator Kevin Williamson Says 'He Faced Cancer With Such Grace and Courage' Marisa Tomei and Rosanna Arquette to Star in 'It's Crazy' NAMI Benefit in Memory of Chris Hovan

Stanton tapped Harris to co-direct in late 2022, after working on "Luca," "Ciao Alberto" and "Inside Out 2." Harris agreed, then asked him to write the screenplay, despite the fact that a screenplay was never written. "Who was I to put myself in such a precarious position to fail against the man who wrote my entire childhood?" Harris recalled. This collaboration eventually earned Harris a screenwriting credit alongside Stanton. Popular in Variety

This willingness to take risks extended to Jessie and Buzz campaigning to kiss in the middle of a dangerous action sequence. "I just think there should be a ton," Harris recalled telling Stanton, who agreed. Another image—Jesse riding a real horse—helped inspire the farm setting and the new character, Blaise.

The filmmakers also had to find the right approach for the LilyPad, a tablet that threatened Bonnie's dependence on traditional toys. Harris rejected the notion of an irredeemably evil device: the story must acknowledge how difficult it is for children and adults alike to escape the clutches of technology. But the early versions still failed to provide an engaging emotional journey.

"We stopped production for two weeks and focused on the main theme of the film at that time," Harris said. "Our first operation didn't work." The first week was dedicated to diagnosing the problem. During the second, Harris and Stanton raced for rewrites.

At first, Jesse's main goal was simply to get back some playtime with Bonnie, especially after breaking up with her at a dance class. But early screenings showed that audiences were unmoved by the conflict, which mirrored the first film's competition for a child's attention. "The risk of losing playing time was very mild," Harris explained.

Success was turning Bonnie's loneliness into an emotional engine. Jesse, whose painful history with his former owner Emily already exists, instead tries to help the shy girl find a real friend. Blaze, which used to be more of a side adventure, became essential. "That was the moment that turned a good movie into a good movie," said Harris, recalling the noticeable improvement in reactions at domestic screenings.

Another dropped approach was Jesse meeting elderly Emily at her former home. Harris felt that he handled the character's pain too neatly. The filmmakers instead reverted to Toy Story 2's spinning tire tree and created a lesser climax around a time capsule. Harris recalled seeing the revised ending at a screening and realizing, "There's no way we're going to change it."

The decision to put Jesse front and center was contested. "Part of the danger of this movie was Jesse as the protagonist," Harris said, recalling questions about whether audiences would rather watch Woody and Buzz. Those characters remain important, the filmmakers were adamant, but Jesse's emotional history gave the sequel its purpose.

Harris also helped shape the film's fictional sequences, pushing Pixar's artists toward more spontaneous, painterly imagery rather than the studio's meticulous realism. "We wanted to lean toward something that felt more ephemeral and ephemeral," Harris said. Rapid experiments in lighting, movement, and effects became part of a process the crew called "playtime weeklies."

This approach reflected a larger lesson in directing: learning to delegate, invite others to make tough decisions, and leave room for play. Stanton's guiding idea for the film was that "our limited time with others can affect a lifetime," a theme that references both Jesse's journey and Harris' own time at Pixar.

"I wanted people to know I was here," Harris said of wanting to leave a personal mark on a beloved franchise. By the end of the production, this fear had given way to confidence. "I look back now and I can see that I was here."