Long before co-directing Pixar’s “Toy Story 5,” Kenna Harris spent childhood afternoons drawing Jessie, painstakingly reproducing details from “Toy Story 2” and even imagining Woody offering the cowgirl a flower. Decades later, the character helped Harris navigate a daunting first feature — including a two-week production pause to overhaul a story that was not yet working. Stanton invited Harris to co-direct in late 2022, after work on “Luca,” “Ciao Alberto” and “Inside Out 2.” Harris accepted, then asked to co-write the screenplay despite never having tackled a feature script.
The collaboration ultimately earned Harris a screenwriting credit alongside Stanton. That willingness to take risks extended to campaigning for Jessie and Buzz to kiss amid a perilous action sequence. Another image — Jessie riding a real horse — helped inspire the ranch setting and a new character, Blaze.
Harris, production designer Bob Pauley and the story team visited BreyerFest, a Kentucky convention devoted to model horses, for research. The filmmakers also had to find the right approach to Lilypad, the tablet threatening Bonnie’s attachment to traditional toys. Harris rejected the notion of an irredeemably evil device: the story needed to acknowledge how difficult it is for children and adults alike to escape technology’s grip.
But the early versions still failed to deliver an emotionally compelling journey. Initially, Jessie’s overriding goal was simply to win back playtime with Bonnie, especially after becoming separated from her during a dance class. But early screenings showed that audiences were unmoved by a conflict that echoed the first film’s competition for a child’s attention.
The breakthrough was to make Bonnie’s loneliness the emotional engine. Jessie, whose painful history with her former owner Emily was already established, would instead strive to help the shy girl make a real friend. Blaze, previously more peripheral to the adventure, became essential.
Another discarded approach had Jessie meet an elderly Emily at her former home. Harris felt it resolved the character’s pain too neatly. The filmmakers instead returned to the tire-swing tree from “Toy Story 2,” building a more understated climax around a time capsule.
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