Taylor Swift reveals inspiration behind her 'Toy Story 5' song
Taylor Swift is sharing the inspiration behind "I Knew It, I Knew You," her original song for Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story 5."
In an interview aired on "Good Morning America" Friday, the Grammy-winning singer said an early screening of the film sparked the idea for the track, which was inspired by Jessie, the beloved cowgirl first introduced in 1999's "Toy Story 2."
"We've seen her have her heart broken. Like, we've watched, you know, the car pull away," Swift said. "I get really emotional talking about this."
A "20/20" special, "'Toy Story': 30 Years and Beyond" is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
"Toy Story 5" arrives in theaters on Friday June 19. The four previous "Toy Story" movies are available to stream on Disney+.
Jessie's backstory was memorably told through Randy Newman's Oscar-nominated song "When She Loved Me," one of the most emotional moments in the "Toy Story" franchise.
Swift also credited Newman, whose music has helped define the franchise since the original film debuted in 1995.
"Randy's the only person who's ever written the scores, he's the only person who's ever written the songs," Swift said. "He's been amazing and supportive and encouraging."
"This just kind of felt very natural, to be honest," she added.
After seeing an early screening of the film, Swift said she called longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff with an idea for a song.
"I called him up and I just really quickly blurted out, like, I got to see the new 'Toy Story.' I have to tell you all about the film, but we need to write this song. We need to write this song," Swift said. "It was just, I was so excited. It was such a frenetic form of excitement."
The pair wrote the song after Swift said the film reignited their shared love of the franchise.
"We talk about 'Toy Story' all the time and how that really shaped our childhood."
According to Swift, "Toy Story 5" gives Jessie a new chapter.
"In this film, watching her have a different, have it turn out a little differently, there's a different arc, there's lessons she's learned," Swift said. "That really made me feel like I knew exactly what I wanted to write for her."
The country-leaning ballad explores themes of friendship, memories and reconnecting with people from different chapters of life.
"What means a lot to me about this song is that in life you have friendships, you have memories with people, you form bonds, and then sometimes a path takes you a different way," Swift said. "Sometimes you see somebody again down the road and you're just like, 'Man, it's been a while.' Like, but you're the same person that I had all these memories with."
Swift recently performed "I Knew It, I Knew You" at the film's premiere and joined Newman for a rendition of the franchise's signature song, "You've Got a Friend in Me."
"Toy Story 5" follows Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie as they face a new challenge when Bonnie receives a frog-shaped tablet named Lilypad, whose ideas about play threaten to upend the toys' world.
Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack reprise their roles as Woody, Buzz and Jessie. The voice cast also includes Conan O'Brien, Scarlett Spears, Shelby Rabara, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Craig Robinson, Bonnie Hunt, Lori Alan, Jay Hernandez and John Ratzenberger.
The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of Pixar, ABC, ABC News, Disney+ and Hulu.
