The creators of Toy Story 5 made a decoy version of the film to keep Taylor Swift’s involvement a secret for months.
Taylor unveiled the secret on June 2, revealing that she had contributed an original song titled “I Knew It, I Knew You” for the fifth installment of the beloved franchise, delighting both music fans and longtime followers. Just days later, on June 5, the track was released as part of the movie’s official soundtrack.
READ: Is Taylor Swift in ‘Toy Story 5’? Here are the clues that keep Swifties guessing
Speaking during a panel at SXSW London, Visual effects supervisor Thomas Jordan revealed that he first learned about Taylor’s contribution back in February after the singer was given an early screening of the unfinished film.
According to him, the Grammy-winning singer’s love for the franchise played a major role in how the collaboration came together.
“Turns out, Taylor Swift is a huge ‘Toy Story’ fan like many of us,” he said, as reported by Variety.
“She actually saw an early version of the film. She requested to see it before it was finished, and she wrote the song and then asked us if we wanted it. And we said, ‘Uh, yes! Yes we do.’”
With the song becoming a major surprise element of the project, the Toy Story 5 team took extra precautions to keep the information from spreading.
Thomas explained that only a small group of the Pixar and Disney teams knew that the global superstar had written an original song for the movie, prompting the studio to develop a “decoy version” used for screenings shown to members of the press and most employees.
“There was a very small group that knew about it,” he said.
“The crew that made ‘Toy Story 5’ did not know about this secret until last week,” he added.
READ: Taylor Swift on writing 'I Knew It, I Knew You' for 'Toy Story 5': 'Felt like coming home'
Beyond discussing the surprise collaboration, Thomas also gave attendees a glimpse into the making of the film’s visual effects, emphasizing that the animation was created entirely by human artists and not by Artificial Intelligence.
“We are an artist-driven studio, and we are also founded in technology,” Thomas said. “So we find AI fascinating, we’re learning about it and we have done experiments with it. But so far, nothing lives up to the standards and expectations that we have for the quality of our work.”
The revelation comes as Taylor’s contribution to the film continues to generate buzz online.
“I Knew It, I Knew You” recently set a new Spotify record after becoming the most-streamed country song in a single day by a female artist on the platform.
READ: Taylor Swift’s ‘I Knew It, I Knew You,’ makes Spotify history for a country song
In an Instagram post, the global superstar opened up about the experience of writing for the iconic franchise, describing it as both a creative challenge and a deeply personal project.
“Writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time,” she shared. “Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once.”
In a previous post, Taylor said contributing to the franchise was a dream she had since childhood.
“I’ve always dreamed of getting to write for these characters who I’ve adored since I was a 5-year-old kid watching the first ‘Toy Story’ movie,” she said. “I fell instantly in love with ‘Toy Story 5’ when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages, and I wrote this song as soon as I got home from the screening.”