Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Andrew Sanford | News | June 17, 2026
I made many assumptions when Conan O'Brien was cast as some kind of technological device in Toy Story 5. First and foremost, I assumed that he would be the villain. The jury's not out on that one yet, and I won't know for certain until I see the film with my kids on Monday after they have the last day of their first year of school (sobbing). The other assumption I made is that he wouldn't be that big a part of the movie (villain or not) and therefore, not be so involved in the marketing. Thankfully, I was wrong about the latter.
Not only has Conan been doing marketing for the movie, but he's been doing it a bunch. And he doesn't seem... thrilled about it. But in the fun, curmudgeony way that Conan is known for. He's joked about having to say ridiculous things for 22-year-olds who are also social media executives, and made fun of the fact that his character is a tool for potty-training children. It's just been an absolute pleasure to witness, and he recently took things further with a hilarious description of working on the movie.
The greatest Oscars host ever recently sat down with Good Morning America to promote the film and first noted that Tom Hanks had warned him that it would be the hardest thing he would ever do. O'Brien took it in jest and went into the recording booth, only to realize how difficult the endeavor may be. He describes a scenario in which he is being told to yell like he's falling 45 miles per hour and hitting a rock and all these things, only to be told to do it again, but this time like he's falling 40 miles per hour.
It's that classic mix of what feels like Conan's real frustrations, filtered through a comedic lens, but also with him being quick to admit that the creators behind the film are brilliant. In another clip, he jokes about being told that the character he plays is at half power so to pretend he's drunk, with Conan saying that he went method and drank booze before recording. It's an absolute delight.
Employing Conan in this particular role is a really brilliant idea. There's something about his brand of jokey cynicism that makes you feel the opposite way. Reactions to the film have already been good, and I'm going to see it regardless, but I've also completely let my guard down for this fifth movie in a series that could easily feel like a cash grab (and I know people will call it that even if it holds the same standard of quality the films have to this point).
