Thomas Jordan, the visual effects supervisor for 'Toy Story 5', disclosed during a SXSW London panel on Friday that he has known about Taylor Swift's song for the film since February. The track, titled 'I Knew It, I Knew You', marks Swift's return to her country roots and was released on Friday ahead of the film's June 19 premiere.
Jordan revealed that Swift, a self-proclaimed 'Toy Story' fan, requested to see an early version of the film, wrote the song, and then offered it to the team. 'We said, "Uh, yes! Yes we do." That was in February, so we've had to keep it a secret ever since then,' he said.
To maintain secrecy, the team created a decoy version of the film without the song for press and other Pixar and Disney staff. Jordan noted that only a small group knew about the song, and the rest of the crew only learned of it last week.
The fifth instalment of the franchise follows Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Jessie as they confront the threat posed by technology to playtime, embodied by a smart device named Lilypad. During the panel, Jordan showcased behind-the-scenes footage, including the animation of 50 Buzz Lightyears and a horse named Daffodil, emphasising that all animation was human-made with no use of AI.
