Swift's Secret Soundtrack
Taylor Swift Secretly Wrote Toy Story 5 Theme in Eight Hours, Surprising Cast
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Tom Hanks said Taylor Swift’s end-credits theme involvement was kept “top secret,” describing how the cast were ushered into a soundproof room and told: “Tonight at 9pm, the true end titles song is going to drop, and it’s by Taylor Swift,” after they had previously watched the movie with only a “dummy thing” in the end titles; he added, “They surprised us as well, to a delight.”
In her studio-day Instagram update, Swift said it was 6:57pm and that Disney CEO Bob Iger and “Tom from Pixar” would hear the track “in two hours,” adding: “We have not recorded it yet.”
Ahead of release, Swift posted on X: “TOMORROW WE GET TS5. Oh, how I love this phenomenal movie. Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5 is in theatres everywhere tomorrow (!!!!!)” and shared studio images/video tied to the end-credits theme.
ABP Live reported the film began screening in India on June 19 and detailed broader format options—2D and 3D in addition to 4DX and IMAX—plus noted the release timing relative to Swift’s own music cycle, saying the song comes on the heels of her latest album, The Life Of A Showgirl, which dropped last October.
Taylor Swift wrote and recorded her Toy Story 5 end-credits theme, "I Knew It, I Knew You," in roughly eight hours — start to finish, in a single day. She caught a private screening of the film at around 11 a.m., felt what she called "the songwriter zoomies," and had a finished track ready for Disney CEO Bob Iger to hear the same night, SPIN Magazine reported.
The song, written from the perspective of cowgirl Jessie, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after its June 5 release and topped charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Music News reported Swift described the day as "hectic" but "one of the most fun" she has ever had. Toy Story 5 opened in theaters on June 19, 2026.
From Movie Screening to Studio in Under an Hour
Swift saw Toy Story 5 at a private screening around 11 a.m. She went straight home and began writing. By early afternoon she had lyrics and a melody. By late afternoon, she and longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff were in the studio building the full arrangement, Finger Lakes 1 reported.
At 6:57 p.m., Swift posted an Instagram update from the studio. "We have now produced it, and I'm doing vocals," she wrote. Then came the kicker: "In two hours, Bob Iger and Tom from Pixar are coming to hear it. We have not recorded it yet." Iger and the Pixar executive arrived at 9 p.m. for the first playback of the finished song.
Even Tom Hanks Had No Idea Until That Night
The entire collaboration was kept secret — not just from the public, but from the film's own cast. Tom Hanks described being ushered into a soundproof room and told: "Tonight at 9 PM, the true end titles song is going to drop, and it's by Taylor Swift." The cast had watched the film with only a fake placeholder in the end credits. Hanks said, "They surprised us as well, to a delight."
Disney used a decoy version of the end-credits sequence throughout production to prevent leaks. The strategy worked. Swift's name did not surface publicly until June 1, 2026, when she announced the song on social media — weeks after billboards teasing "TS" had already sparked fan speculation.
A Return to Country Roots Through Jessie's Eyes
Swift has said the song marks a return to her country roots. She wrote it from the perspective of Jessie, the cowgirl character voiced by Joan Cusack — a figure Swift has described as a childhood favorite. Director Andrew Stanton said her grasp of the character was immediate: "It felt like it had always belonged there," SPIN Magazine reported.
The track follows Swift's 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, which dropped in October 2025 and sold 4 million copies in its first week in the US alone. "I Knew It, I Knew You" became the most-streamed country song in a single day by a female artist in Spotify history on June 5, its release date.
Toy Story 5 Opens Big With Swift's Chart Rocket Behind It
Toy Story 5 opened globally on June 19 in 4,425 locations across 2D, 3D, IMAX, and 4DX formats. India saw the release on the same day, with dubbed versions in Hindi and Tamil, ABP Live noted. The domestic opening weekend is projected between $173 million and $175 million — which would challenge Incredibles 2 ($182 million) as the highest Pixar opening ever.
Analysts say Swift's involvement is a direct play against "sequel fatigue" for a franchise on its fifth installment. The song is already being flagged as an early frontrunner for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. A win would give Swift her first Oscar. Swift posted on X ahead of opening day: "TOMORROW WE GET TS5. Oh, how I love this phenomenal movie."
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