Tyla lends her voice to Toy Story 5’s Sub‑Saharan African release

From childhood fan to animated cameo

The Citizen reports that Tyla grew up watching Woody and Buzz and was convinced her toys came alive when she left the room. Being invited to join the franchise, she said, “stopped her in her tracks” and she kept asking her manager every day, “What’s happening with Toy Story?”

A different recording experience

According to The Citizen, Tyla described the recording process as unlike her music sessions. She sat in a studio with headphones and a microphone while someone guided her remotely from Pixar’s California base, watching scenes and voicing lines in real time.

Why the role matters to her

The Citizen quotes Tyla saying the permanence of film appealed to her:

“The fact that my voice is going to be in something that will live on forever… it’s a film that generations have watched.”

She also told The Citizen she hopes the cameo will inspire people from Africa to “dream bigger,” saying that going from “a girl from South Africa to having my voice in a global film like Toy Story” shows that “anything is possible.”

About the film (as reported)

The Citizen reports that Toy Story 5 places the familiar toys against a contemporary threat: high‑tech smart devices represented by a new character, Lilypad, a frog‑shaped smart tablet voiced by Greta Lee. The film reunites returning voices Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz and lists Andrew Stanton as director alongside co‑director Kenna Harris.

Recording and legacy

For Tyla, The Citizen says, the chance to be part of a film that “generations have watched” and to have her voice preserved in that context was a defining draw. She told The Citizen she leaned on the team during recording because they were the experts and she enjoyed “letting go and being guided through the process.”