Jen Tan – Creative Director for Consumer Products at Pixar – on 30 years of Toy Story

Jen, it’s great to catch up. What’s keeping you busy?
There’s so much going on! There’s Elio coming out in June, Hoppers coming out in March of 2026 and then Toy Story 5 arriving in June 2026. And this year is Toy Story’s 30th anniversary!

On that, has there been much new creative to support the milestone?
Yes, we’ve worked with Disney Consumer Products on a bunch of style guides; each very different. Some of it harkens back; it’s inspired by 90s’ graphics and colour palettes. We’ve even pulled out some of the old style-guide artwork! It’s now ‘retro,’ but really charming. Then there are some that centre on western themes because of Woody and Jessie – the western aesthetic has been really popular for a while now. The guides are really just celebrating all the different characters from all the films – even the Toy Story shorts.

In terms of product that’s been revealed, RSVLTS did a great collection. They’ve used some new patterns as well as some development art from the original film, so that’s a great new line. Other collaborations include adidas, ColourPop and Ray-Ban Kids. We worked with Mattel on some fun figure sets, and a line of collectible stylised figures called Click Figs. We also have lots more on the way.

Amazing! What makes an effective style guide these days?
The core thing that’s maybe changed for us in terms of style guides is that we’re now more open to exploring different trends. With something that’s been around for 30 years, like Toy Story, we can have fun with different art styles, colour palettes and graphics. We can play around with things more now. That means we have a real variety of style guides today and can reimagine the characters in different exciting ways. That allows us to target specific partners and retailers, and give them something really special, unique and ownable.

Are there any characters in Toy Story that are ‘underserved’ when it comes to licensing?
There are lots of opportunities with some of those ‘supporting’ characters. Recently we’ve seen a lot of interest in Sid’s toys, especially in Asia. Asia’s been doing a great job with Toy Story in general, but especially in exploring different characters. Sid’s toys skew a little older, a little darker, but humorous. They lend themselves to some fun opportunities. Then there’s Lotso from Toy Story 3…

A personal favourite, by the way!
Well, that pink, strawberry-scented bear has sparked a world of its own in licensing. And I think 2026 will be the Year of the Horse, so we’ve looked at doing a style guide specific to Bullseye to celebrate him. We did something similar for Rex during the Year of the Snake. And companies have launched collectible figures of Andy in the past – they’ve always gone down well…

So yes, beyond Buzz and Woody there’s a lot of potential to expand upon the other characters and explore what it would look like for them to own their own style guide. And even locations too… Pizza Planet has blown up in different ways. People love that kind of aesthetic, and I think there’s definitely something to explore further there.

And is there a wider Pixar brand that you feel is maybe underrated licensing-wise?
Monsters has a lot of love, but I feel like there’s more we could do. And Inside Out is another one – because the sequel did so well, I think there’s more we can do there. And two favourites of mine are Coco and Turning Red. They’re different and unique.

Great picks! Away from Toy Story, in which categories do your other brands thrive?
Last year, for Inside Out 2, we looked at different product categories than those we targeted for the first film – namely the tween audience. Bubble Skincare came out with a line of Inside Out 2 products – and they did really well for us. There were different products based on different characters and their unique personalities… It was fun. We also did toys, but were more selective than we were for the first Inside Out. That worked out really well for us, so that’s actually informed our approach moving forward.

Then a lot of our work is to support our heritage legacy brands… Cars and Toy Story are evergreen franchises, and every year we come up with new themes for those. For Cars, we’ve done Neon, we’ve done a Transcontinental Race of Champions, and recently a Global Racers Cup theme with a new backstory and new looks… With Up, Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc., there has been a lot of interest and nostalgia… As the years have passed, they’ve grown their own fanbases. Up does well in the accessories category. We’ve seen a lot of interest in the Carl and Ellie aspect, alongside the house and balloons. It’s been great.

A few years back, RSVLTS did a Monsters, Inc. range. One of the shirts used artwork from the opening sequence, with all those animated Saul Bass-style doors. How do you assess what could thrive in product?
With Pixar, all the films have The Art of… books, where they go into all the development artwork and sketches. Some of them become iconic! There’s a rough concept drawing of Buzz Lightyear by Bob Pauley – just in blue pencil… For me – and a lot of Pixar fans – that’s the iconic ‘Buzz’ – and it’s not even the CG version! With Pixar fans, there’s a lot of love for the art and creativity behind the films. Pixar fans notice these details so it makes sense to bring them into product where we can.

We have an amazing team of archivists at Pixar and they’re located in a pristine facility just off campus. Sometimes we’ll take licensees there to pull out special pieces they might be interested in. There are items there that’ve never been seen before. It’s like our very own museum. There are so many pieces that’ve caught the eye of licensees, as they search for a way to build their own unique collection of Pixar products.