It was revealed on May 18th that actor and member of the group "M!LK," Hayato Hayato Sano, will be providing the voice for the Japanese version of the Disney & Pixar animated film "Toy Story 5" (directed by Andrew Stanton and co-directed by Kenna Harris, released on July 3rd). He made the announcement himself at an event that day, emerging from a delivery box.
Sano has publicly declared herself a huge fan of the "Toy Story" series, and after auditioning at the US headquarters, she was finally chosen for the role, which she said made her "really happy." She also added, "It had been quite a while since I last auditioned. I haven't been auditioning much lately. It was probably my first time auditioning for a voice role, so it was a different experience than usual. There was a scene where I got to talk to Jessie (the cowgirl doll), and it felt like a dream. I've been watching the series since I was little."
Sano voices Smarty Pants, one of the four new toys introduced in the latest film, a high-tech toilet training toy. With a white body resembling toilet paper and colorful push buttons, it's a talkative, sarcastic high-tech toilet training toy. Forgotten by its owner, it had been "sleeping" for a long time, but its encounter with Jessie prompts it to venture out into the world for the first time in a while.
"Toy Story" was Disney & Pixar's first feature film, with the first installment produced in 1995 and released in Japan in 1996. The story of a boy named Andy's toys coming to life and going on adventures when humans aren't looking, and the full CGI that brought toys like Woody and Buzz Lightyear to life, became a worldwide hit. The second installment was released in 1999 (2000 in Japan), the third in 2010, and the fourth in 2019. Throughout the series, actor Toshiaki Karasawa voices Woody in the Japanese version, and entertainer George Tokoro voices Buzz Lightyear.
In the latest installment, "Toy Story 5," Woody and his friends are busy helping abandoned toys. Jessie, a cowgirl doll, has taken over as the "sheriff" of Bonnie's room, leading the other toys and watching over the shy girl Bonnie as she grows up. Worried about Bonnie, who is struggling to make friends because the other kids are moving on from toys and are engrossed in tablets, her parents give her a state-of-the-art tablet, the "LilyPad." Seeing Bonnie so absorbed in the screen that she loses her smile, Jessie asks Woody for help, and together with Woody and Buzz, who team up once again, they rise up to try and win back Bonnie's spirit...and that's the story.
"Toy Story 5" will be released nationwide on July 3rd.
