Toy Story 5 and What's Making Us Happy

In Disney’s Toy Story 5, Jessie, Woody, and Buzz are back to confront a new threat – screen time. When their kid Bonnie gets a new tablet called Lilypad, she forgets about the rest of her toys. But Jessie is determined to win Bonnie back, even after a series of events separates them. Toy Story 5 features a familiar and beloved voice cast with Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack reprising their roles. Are you a fan of all things Pixar? Check out these episodes! Top 5 Pixar movies, ranked by listeners https://www.npr.org/2025/06/24/1254640147/top-5-pixar-movies-ranked-by-listeners Nature needs a little help in the inventive Pixar movie ‘Hoppers’ https://www.npr.org/2026/03/09/nx-s1-5737566/nature-needs-a-little-help-in-the-inventive-pixar-movie-hoppers Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour: Letterboxd https://letterboxd.com/nprpopculture/ / Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pchh Our weekly newsletter https://www.npr.org/newsletter/pop-culture Support Pop Culture Happy Hour+ https://plus.npr.org/happy See pcm.adswizz.com https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  This message comes from Data IQ Agent Management. Most enterprises can't count their AI agents, let alone manage them. Data IQ Agent Management lets you do both from a single view. Visit dataiq.com to learn more.

• 0:19Aisha Harris?

  In the fifth installment of the Toy Story franchise, playtime is so over and screen time is in. Jessie, Buzz, and the rest of the crew face yet another existential crisis, but this time, the threat is not the arrival of a shiny space ranger or a kid going off to college. Nope, it's dun, dun, duh, tech.

• 0:40Stephen Thompson?

  And with that comes the introduction of new and colorful characters voiced by the likes of Greta Lee and Conan O'Brien. Can analog and digital coexist? We'll see. I'm Stephen Thompson.

• 0:51Aisha Harris?

  And I'm Aisha Harris. Joining us today on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour is Regina Barber. She's a host and reporter for NPR's science podcast, Short Wave. Hey Regina.

• 1:01Speaker 03

  Oh my gosh, I'm the only non-pop culture happy hour person here. I am so honored and I'm so glad that I am your animation person, basically.

• 1:09Stephen Thompson?

  Aww. You're more than just our animation person, Regina.

• 1:13Aisha Harris?

  Aww, yes.

• 1:15Stephen Thompson?

  You've got a friend in us.

• 1:16Aisha Harris?

  Yes, you've got a friend in us. Yeah. Well, in Toy Story Vibe, we are revisiting all of our friends. And at the start of the movie, much of the gang are still together, including cowgirl Jessie and space ranger Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Joan Cusack and Tim Allen. Now, they're happily fulfilling their playtime duties with their eight-year-old kid Bonnie, who's voiced by Scarlett Spears. That is, until Bonnie is given a tablet called Lily Pad and remains glued, zombified to its screen. Lily Pad is voiced by Greta Lee. Jessie instantly becomes a very vocal opponent to everything tech and won't accept the sudden abandonment without a fight. But a series of events separates her from Bonnie and the rest of the forgotten toys.

• 1:59Aisha Harris?

  It's going to take a lot to get Jessie back where she belongs, with, of course, some help from Buzz and Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks. But she's also going to need to begrudgingly work with some new smart toys she meets. Along the way, including a quirky potty training gadget. Didn't even know that those existed, but that's cool. And a bubbly digital camera. Toy Story five is in theaters now and Steven, I'm going to start with you, bud. We did, and our, our listeners helped us rank the Pixar movies last year. And I'm not going to ask you to put this Toy Story five, like I'll give you a little more time to think about where you might rank this overall in the Pixar oeuvre. But I am curious, did you at least have a good time at Toy Story five? Does it still feel, if not fresh, at least still delightful to engage with?

• 2:45Stephen Thompson?

  I think so. I enjoyed myself enormously. I fully laughed, fully cried, had a great time. I think it's, it's really interesting when we talk about the fifth installment in a franchise. You start to get into this mindset of where does it rank? Not only like among other Pixar movies, but among other Toy Story movies. And I think if you were to rank particularly four and five, the ones that kind of come after that initial trilogy. It's really easy to sort of view them as less than. Instead of just viewing them as pleasurable viewing experiences. Because is it the best Toy Story movie? Of course it's not. It's the fifth one. But it's still is working with a very, very, very sturdy metaphor.

• 3:31Stephen Thompson?

  And still working off of just sort of like the many challenges and existential crises of childhood. And one thing that really occurred to me watching this film, kind of even in comparison to the other Toy Story movies. All of these movies are built around metaphor. But it had never really been quite so clear to me how much the Toy Story movies are metaphors, not for childhood, but for parenthood. And how often these films are fixated on obsolescence, going all the way back to Toy Story two. Obsolescence is a really, really key ache that runs through these films. It's interesting, you know, part of it is like, as you get older, you're going to kind of have different relationships with these films and kind of view them from different perspectives.

• 4:17Stephen Thompson?

  This film in particular, I found it a little. Cluttered, we've now added so many characters that trying to juggle them all is a fool's errand. And so many of the characters introduced in Toy Story four are almost completely sidelined here.

• 4:31Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 4:32Stephen Thompson?

  In part to make room. And so I have a bunch of quibbles with some of the B plots and some of the clutter in this film. But I found its central story very moving and I was entertained throughout.

• 4:42Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, not to mention like a hundred more Buzz Lightyear.

• 4:46Stephen Thompson?

  So many more Buzz Lightyear.

• 4:47Speaker 03

  I was like clapping in the theater. I was actually sitting next to Steven and I was like, yes.

• 4:52Stephen Thompson?

  Just clapping like a train seal.

• 4:54Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 4:55Aisha Harris?

  I love the point you make, Steven, about parenthood and the metaphors that are coursing through this series. I would even say that I would argue that the first Toy Story is also about obsolescence. Because it's Woody. It's Woody feeling as though here comes Buzz Lightyear.

• 5:10Stephen Thompson?

  He's an old fashioned cowboy with a pull cord.

• 5:12Speaker 03

  It's almost as if these stories make an arc, you know?

• 5:16Aisha Harris?

  Yes. Well, Regina, please, I know you love the mini buzzes. What do you think of the whole movie?

• 5:22Speaker 03

  Yeah, I'm going to go in the absolute opposite direction as Steven and just be like super judgy. And I am going to actually rank them and I'm going to be less meaningful because those kids, those mean girls were dumb and I did not like them. I had like PTSD from when like my daughter had like bullies, you know?

• 5:41Aisha Harris?

  The quote unquote friends, the really frenemies of Bonnie, who we see in the movie. Yeah.

• 5:46Speaker 03

  Right, right. And I actually thought that this movie, Toy Story five, was equivalent to Toy Story three. Cause I'd watched them all again recently and I was like, wow, this is, I think, just as good. My partner was like, he even thought it was better than three.

• 6:00Aisha Harris?

  Wow.

• 6:00Speaker 03

  Cause like I said, I'm judgy and I, we rank.

• 6:03Aisha Harris?

  Okay.

• 6:04Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 6:05Aisha Harris?

  Let's not get too wild here.

• 6:07Speaker 03

  I thought it was really tight. Unlike Steven, I didn't think it was too cluttered. I didn't know it was Conan O'Brien until the very end. And I was like, this is amazing.

• 6:15Aisha Harris?

  As the potty training, Smarty Pants is his name, the potty training gadget thingy.

• 6:19Speaker 03

  It's the role he was born to play, you know? And there was a scene in the movie where um, his character is like, they're playing make believe. And his character has like fake hair. And I'm like, that kind of looks like Conan O'Brien. And I, and then at the end I was like, oh. But I, I like the idea of, you know, these kids finding a friend and what a real friend is. But um, we walked away also thinking, did that movie just shame just a ton of kids that are screen kids? And I was like, eh.

• 6:50Aisha Harris?

  So what?

• 6:51Speaker 03

  Ashamed of me. I stopped looking at my phone that day a lot more, so.

• 6:56Stephen Thompson?

  I mean, I mean, these whole movies are centered on the anthropomorphization of objects. And if you are a neurotic anxious person, I was a very neurotic and anxious child. I'm a neurotic and anxious adult, to feel guilt about the way you handle your toys.

• 7:13Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 7:13Stephen Thompson?

  Is a byproduct of this franchise.

• 7:16Speaker 03

  Yeah, I pulled out my childhood teddy bear that night, like literally. But Aisha, how did you feel?

• 7:24Aisha Harris?

  Well, look, I am on record, I think, as like being very skeptical of sequels. I do think that three was a perfect number. It ended perfectly and I'm not sure we needed four.

• 7:36Speaker 03

  Same.

• 7:36Aisha Harris?

  I can confidently say I would rank four as the least of the Toy Stories, in my opinion.

• 7:41Speaker 03

  Same.

• 7:41Stephen Thompson?

  I like four a lot, but go ahead.

• 7:43Aisha Harris?

  I really enjoyed myself at this. Like I, one of my notes at the end of it was just like, cute. It's very cute.

• 7:48Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 7:49Aisha Harris?

  And I don't mean that in a shady way. I mean that in like, I was delighted. I had a good time.

• 7:54Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 7:54Aisha Harris?

  Given that like, I don't think any of the Toy Story movies, even four, which I'm not very high on, like, it's Toy Story and so far I think they've proven that even if they keep returning to this well, they are gonna find at least some creative ways into it. And as you kind of alluded to, Regina, like what I liked about this is that it's, yes, it's about tech taking over kids and playtime and interrupting playtime in a way that is maybe a little concerning. What I also appreciated about it is the way that it also is not too, like, part of the other underlying thing that's happening here is not just that tech has taken over and Bonnie is obsessed with it, but it's also the idea that she's having trouble making friends because she is still imaginative and wants to play with toys.

• 8:39Aisha Harris?

  And that's the bullying, right, that comes out.

• 8:41Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 8:42Aisha Harris?

  She's like invited to a sleepover and the girls all have their lily pads.

• 8:46Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 8:46Aisha Harris?

  She has her lily pad too, voiced by Bradley, but then she also brings Jessie and Bullseye, the horse, Jessie's horse. And the way that one of the girls says to her, oh, you still play with toys?

• 8:58Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 8:58Aisha Harris?

  It reminded me of being five or six years old. I was in kindergarten and then I moved like midway through the year. I moved up to first grade. In between all of that, like all the transition, whatever, I was still into Barney. Yes, this was the early 90s Barney was the thing. I was still into Barney and I got teased for that because I was still into Barney. All the first graders were not and I was like, you know, I'm still in kindergarten at least emotionally, if not, you know, academically and the way, oh, you still play with toys. It hit me and that that is the thing about these movies, right? That is the thing about Toy Story is that they're gonna get you, I'm not a parent, but they are gonna get you regardless of where you sit on.

• 9:37Speaker 03

  Somewhere.

• 9:37Stephen Thompson?

  They'll hit your kid self, they'll hit your adult self, they'll hit your anti-self.

• 9:43Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 9:43Stephen Thompson?

  They'll find a way in.

• 9:44Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 9:45Aisha Harris?

  I really just adored those moments and appreciated how, yes, is it a cash grab? Yes, is it playing very hard on nostalgia? But also the creators of this have found a purpose in a way, even if it is rehashing aloud the same themes that we've seen over and over again.

• 10:02Speaker 03

  I wanna echo what you said, Ayesha. I was made fun of in middle school for watching Batman, the animated series. So this was in the 90s as well, but they're like, you still watch cartoons? And I was like 12. One, this is a very good cartoon. Like, okay.

• 10:18Speaker 03

  But yeah, no, I mean, it's the same thing of this bullying for like kids. And it's so funny because they're like, these kids are a little different. What they actually mean is that these kids are actually creative and not boring. And I was just like, I love how this makes like kids who don't have imaginations feel like maybe they should.

• 10:35Aisha Harris?

  Hmm, yes, yes, especially the playtime scenes where we're inside Bonnie's head. The animator is deliberately.

• 10:42Speaker 03

  Oh, they're so good.

• 10:43Aisha Harris?

  The way it's animated is so beautiful.

• 10:46Stephen Thompson?

  They do such a gorgeous job.

• 10:48Speaker 03

  I love it.

• 10:49Aisha Harris?

  This sort of pastel chalk looking. And so those moments are just really vividly rendered, yeah.

• 10:56Stephen Thompson?

  And there's there's such energy to the animation in those scenes that does a great job making play kind of imaginative playtime seem way more fun than it actually is.

• 11:07Speaker 03

  Do you know what was kind of reminiscent of Princess and the Frog? When she has that scene where she's thinking about her restaurant?

• 11:13Aisha Harris?

  Absolutely.

• 11:14Speaker 03

  And it's kind of like art deco and it's like brighter.

• 11:17Aisha Harris?

  Almost there. Yes, the song. Yes.

• 11:19Speaker 03

  It was kind of like that and I really liked that.

• 11:21Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, yeah. I do want to ask though, I both love this, but then I also kept wondering, was this movie too late?

• 11:29Speaker 03

  I was also thinking that.

• 11:30Aisha Harris?

  And is it too late to save the children?

• 11:32Stephen Thompson?

  I'm glad, I'm really glad that you asked this question because I did, even watching the commercials, I had this feeling of like, are we railing against the LeapPad learning system?

• 11:42Speaker 03

  It was like my kid. She's 17.

• 11:45Aisha Harris?

  Yeah.

• 11:45Speaker 03

  She had a little keyboard.

• 11:46Stephen Thompson?

  They had different devices and our kids had the LeapPad learning system. It's like, I'm DJ Leap. And I was like, oh god. I feel like these movies could have made it clearer how annoying some of this tech is for the parents, who I think are well represented as like well meaning and kind of trying to do right by their kid and help their kid hold on to childhood. I definitely had these feelings of like, this film should be against AI, not tablets.

• 12:13Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 12:14Stephen Thompson?

  Was kind of the feeling I had is that it's a little bit behind.

• 12:17Speaker 03

  It wasn't totally against tablets.

• 12:18Stephen Thompson?

  No.

• 12:19Speaker 03

  I do want to just like push back a little that I was surprised on how it was nuanced. It was like, hey, like this is a good device to help connect with people, with people you do want to connect to.

• 12:30Aisha Harris?

  Right.

• 12:30Speaker 03

  It straddles the line of like, where is tech useful and where does it suck you in? And all those scenes where the kids like are looking at the screens in the blue light? I think that's still very, very apt right now.

• 12:41Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, it's apt. It just feels also a little like, not that it's too late because there's always going to be new children in the world.

• 12:49Speaker 03

  I hope.

• 12:50Aisha Harris?

  Even when I was a kid, like I remember I did have like a toy, at least one toy that was like a teaching toy. Like it had, it was a robot. It was the 60s version idea of what a robot might look like.

• 13:03Speaker 03

  I love those.

• 13:03Aisha Harris?

  And then by the time I was 11, I had a Tamagotchi. So like, it does feel as though the obsolescence, again, I don't know how many more existential crises these toys can have.

• 13:15Stephen Thompson?

  I think limitless.

• 13:16Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 13:16Stephen Thompson?

  It's about childhood. And parenthood and there those are completely universal things. As you said, there are always new children being born. And there are always new forces encroaching on and trying to shrink our childhood. And that is absolutely universal. That was true, even even in the before times when I grew up.

• 13:35Speaker 03

  In the land before time, twenty five.

• 13:37Stephen Thompson?

  We played with triceratops, not plastic dinosaurs, but actual dinosaurs.

• 13:41Speaker 03

  Real ones. He rode them, Arlo.

• 13:43Stephen Thompson?

  And the other kids were always like, ride the dinosaur. And it's like, no, I'm still too small.

• 13:47Speaker 03

  Right.

• 13:48Stephen Thompson?

  I definitely felt watching this more than I did with four, I felt watching this like, oh, there's room for more sequels.

• 13:53Speaker 03

  I thought that too.

• 13:54Stephen Thompson?

  To me, I'm just like, bring them on, give me more of them. Do I have quibbles along the way? Did I need a B plot about Buzz wanting to marry Jessie?

• 14:04Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 14:05Stephen Thompson?

  No.

• 14:07Speaker 03

  I I thought it was cute. I liked the Buzzes.

• 14:11Aisha Harris?

  I mean, it was cute. I I mean, it was funny a little bit, but I don't know if I needed like the full on Bambi sequence with like the multiple Buzz Lightyear's in the woods where like you hear Love is a Song, like the instrumental of Love is a Song from Bambi, but then it turns into the ominous man's theme when a family is.

• 14:29Speaker 03

  It was theatrical.

• 14:31Aisha Harris?

  Well, it was theatrical, but it also felt like it was leaning a little too hard into let's reference other Disney movies.

• 14:37Speaker 03

  Oh, I hadn't even thought of that.

• 14:38Aisha Harris?

  And it's not that they haven't referenced them in the past, but they were usually a little more subtle. Like, it might be like, you might see a flash of like a toy.

• 14:46Speaker 03

  Or a keychain or something.

• 14:48Aisha Harris?

  A keychain or something that's referencing a Disney movie or another Pixar movie. It did feel as though this is like where we're coming up on like, okay, we're a franchise now. So like, we have to be a little bit more self referential. I will say, the one thing that kind of like became clear to me, just to like go back really briefly to this idea of like the children and parents. There's also a moment where Jessie is just really kind of despondent and like almost about to give up because that always that's what's gonna happen before they save the day again.

• 15:15Stephen Thompson?

  Always lost.

• 15:15Aisha Harris?

  But she says something along the lines of like, I can't keep doing this. Like, I can't love another kid just to find out I never really mattered. And then I was like, this is not just a metaphor for childhood and parenthood, it's also a metaphor for like anyone who's had who. Like is having a really sucky time at trying to find a romantic partner or trying to find like friends and like.

• 15:32Stephen Thompson?

  Oh god, do I have to start over?

• 15:34Speaker 03

  Yeah.

• 15:35Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, the the whole like starting over part and again, I don't know how many more times I need to see them keep learning how to start over. At the same time, if we're gonna keep doing it, I think these same creative impulses, they are finding interesting ways into it. And I do think that like the choice to focus so much on Jesse and kind of let Buzz and Woody kind of take a backseat. Was kind of exciting, like Joan Kiesak is so, she's she's just really good in this role.

• 16:02Stephen Thompson?

  There's also a very funny visual gag about Woody.

• 16:05Aisha Harris?

  Yes, yes.

• 16:07Stephen Thompson?

  I think is so funny.

• 16:09Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, yeah.

• 16:10Stephen Thompson?

  Before we leave this conversation though, Aisha, I don't know if you were gonna ask, but I do think we need to discuss the song.

• 16:19Speaker 03

  Oh, the Taylor Swift song?

• 16:34Aisha Harris?

  I heard it during the credits and then I instantly forgot about it.

• 16:37Speaker 03

  I'm gonna plus one that, Aisha.

• 16:41Aisha Harris?

  But let's be real, the Toy Story franchise, You've Got a Friend in Me, obviously a classic.

• 16:46Stephen Thompson?

  When She Loved Me is one of the best movie songs ever.

• 16:49Aisha Harris?

  When She Loved Me is is a banger and we get a little bit of that in this movie too. We we hear that.

• 16:54Stephen Thompson?

  This movie is just a movie length extension of that song.

• 16:57Aisha Harris?

  Yes, it is, because Emily, Jesse's owner, is is very much looming over this entire movie. But Stephen, tell us, what what do we think of the Taylor Swift song? What is it called again? I forget.

• 17:09Stephen Thompson?

  I Knew It, I Knew You, it's fine. I was a little surprised going in because there had been a lot of discussion about how the song might be integrated into the film. In the past, a lot of the Toy Story songs are integrated into the film. You've Got a Friend in Me is part of kind of a montage. When you think about When She Loved Me, like that is central to Toy Story 2. That is the central poignant, most poignant moment in Toy Story 2. Uh, I can't let you throw yourself away from. Toy Story four, Oscar nominated Randy Newman song about Forky constantly throwing himself away. That's integrated into the film.

• 17:44Aisha Harris?

  It's cute.

• 17:45Stephen Thompson?

  I was lightly shocked when this song just like rolled harmlessly over the closing credits and wasn't integrated into the film.

• 17:54Aisha Harris?

  Like a tumbleweed.

• 17:55Stephen Thompson?

  And to me, that made the song seem slighter. And I was, I had listened to the song a few times in kind of the, the run up to seeing the film, just because I'm in the world. And I'm like, this is nice, but I wanted to see it kind of gather a little bit of kind of narrative heft, and this movie does not let it do that.

• 18:12Aisha Harris?

  It, it also seems strange, given it's Taylor Swift and she is like a walking autobiographer when she is writing songs.

• 18:21Stephen Thompson?

  So. She's nothing if not full of lore.

• 18:23Aisha Harris?

  Yeah. So it, it does seem a little strange that this would be one of those songs that just plays at the end. And it does kind of make it feel more just like, okay, this is her shot at getting an Oscar nomination and eventually getting an EGOT. That's why someone like Taylor Swift does these movies. True. But we really, we really like Toy Story five as a whole. You should definitely go check it out and ideally in, in the theaters because it looks gorgeous and you will have a good time. And up next, what's making us happy this week?

• 18:52Speaker 04

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• 19:19Speaker 05

  This week on Up First, we're in the final days before the midterm elections. And this is one of the wonderful things about politics, one of the wonderful things about humanity. We have all this data, we have all this information, and nobody really knows what's gonna happen. We're gonna follow it day by day through Election Day and beyond. And you can listen to Up First every morning on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 19:44Speaker 06

  Oh, Kevin, it feels good to be back. It sure does, Casey. And what a time. The world is talking about AI and what's going on in Silicon Valley. And we are here with a new show to tell you all about it. That's right, Kevin. On our new show, Machine Gods, twice a week, we'll be bringing you the biggest news in tech and bring you unmatched access to the real titans of this industry. You can find Machine Gods from NPR on the NPR app. Or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 20:08Aisha Harris?

  And now it's time for our favorite segment of this week and every week. What's making us happy? Regina, we're gonna kick it off with you.

• 20:15Speaker 03

  Yeah, and I am going to break the rules and always talk about two. I am so sorry. I watched my first K-drama ever. It's called Bon Appetit, Your Majesty, and it's on Netflix. And it's about a chef that goes back in time to the 1500s in Korea. And it is ridiculous and like funny and also super bloody. I loved it.

• 20:37Aisha Harris?

  Super bloody, okay. Yes, go, keep going.

• 20:40Speaker 03

  And it's like, you know, great food. And my daughter, my 17 year old daughter, is making me watch an anime called Haikyuu. And it's about volleyball. That's all it's about. These kids are failing school because all they care about is volleyball. And it is incredibly compelling and I had no idea you could do this.

• 20:57Aisha Harris?

  Wow.

• 20:57Speaker 03

  It's also on Netflix.

• 20:59Aisha Harris?

  Okay, so that is Bon Appetit, Your Majesty.

• 21:02Speaker 03

  Yes.

• 21:03Aisha Harris?

  The K-drama. And then what is the other one?

• 21:06Speaker 03

  Haikyuu, the anime on Netflix. It's about volleyball. That's it.

• 21:11Stephen Thompson?

  Volleyball anime, alright.

• 21:13Aisha Harris?

  And they're both on Netflix. Alright, thank you Regina for that. Steven, what is making you happy this week?

• 21:21Stephen Thompson?

  What is making me happy this week is the new mixtape from the wonderful Philly rapper and singer Tierra Whack. Just announced just like a couple of weeks ago, out for Juneteenth. If you don't know Tierra Whack, just endless, endless wellspring of weird ideas. I fell in love with Tierra Whack when she put out this kind of quote unquote album called Whack World, which was a 15 minute album, 15 one minute songs. And you just got a sense of just ideas just springing out of every second of her music. She's kind of gone on to perform what I think is one of the all time great Tiny Desk Concerts, which includes a cameo appearance by the Philly Fanatic.

• 22:05Aisha Harris?

  Why guess?

• 22:06Stephen Thompson?

  Her music is best accompanied by her videos, which are just like wildly inventive and fun to look at, just full of bright colors and wild imagery. This new mixtape will also be accompanied by videos. I have not seen them yet. I've only heard the songs. And I will say that I'm sure the videos will only add to just the wild technicolor. Geyser of Ideas, that is her new EP. Let's actually hear a little bit of the song Wiggy Whack.

• 22:57Stephen Thompson?

  You just hear that warped arrangement kind of wobbling underneath her.

• 23:03Aisha Harris?

  Very 90s.

• 23:04Stephen Thompson?

  She continues to just be a wonderful, wonderful font of creativity. And I'm just delighted that she's got this new record out for Juneteenth. That's Tierra Whack. Her new mixtape is called Wax Museum.

• 23:18Aisha Harris?

  Love it. Thank you so much, Stephen. That's awesome. Well, I'm gonna keep it in the musical realm. Underscores is an artist who's new to me because musically speaking, I tend to be late to everything except Charli XCX. I was on that bandwagon way before everyone else. But Underscores has a new album, a newish album, came out a few months ago called You. And I am just obsessed with this. This is like drill, hyperpop EDM, songs that zig and zag and start in one place sonically and then evolve into like a different movement by the end of it. It's a type of music that I want to actually listen mostly to in my headphones because you want to hear the many harmonies and the stacked vocals in this empty space that like

• 24:02Aisha Harris?

  punctuates some of these songs. Some of my favorites on this album are Music, Love Field, which sounds kind of like a spiritual successor to, I think, to Janet's Velvet Rope album. It could have been on like the Velvet Rope in the 90s. Do It, which is really kind of Timbaland and Justin during like the future sex love sounds era. But I think my favorite at this moment is probably The Pace. That's P-E-A-C-E. And it's just kind of like this song about an unhealthy attachment to another person as told through like sharing a smoke with them. And let's actually hear just a little bit of that song.

• 24:57Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, I love the emptiness and the chopped harmonies and the spareness and all of that.

• 25:02Stephen Thompson?

  You just listened to that sample and my pupils are darting all over the place.

• 25:05Aisha Harris?

  I know.

• 25:06Speaker 03

  That's good. What was the name again?

• 25:08Aisha Harris?

  The name is Underscores. That's the artist. And she's actually from the Bay Area. But that song was The Peace, and the album is You. It's just the letter U, very Prince-like. So yes, that is what is making me happy this week. And that brings us to the end of our show. Regina Barber, Stephen Thompson, thanks so much for being here. I love that we all enjoyed Toy Story 5. Because

• 25:34Stephen Thompson?

  We did.

• 25:34Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, we need this. We needed this.

• 25:36Speaker 03

  It was great.

• 25:38Speaker 03

  Thank you.

• 25:38Aisha Harris?

  This episode was produced by Hepsa Bathama, Liz Medsker, and Mike Katsif, and edited by our showrunner Jessica Reedy. Hello, Kim Min provides our theme music. And thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. I'm Aisha Harris, and we'll see you all next week.

• 25:57Speaker 00

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