Toy Story 4 is one of the biggest movies of the summer and the next installment in the iconic Toy Story franchise. Madeleine McGraw, 10, is the voice of Bonnie, the young girl who owns Woody, Buzz, and the other toys. HollywoodLife talked EXCLUSIVELY with Madeleine about how she felt when she learned she was going to join the Toy Story family. “My mom was on the phone and then she told me and I was just blown away. I was so excited that I was going to get to be in Toy Story 4. I started running around my dining room,” Madeleine said. “It’s amazing because not many people get to do this. I’m so grateful.”
Madeleine started recording for the role of Bonnie when she was 5 years old, so this movie has been years in the making. The recording process was such a fun experience for Madeleine. “It’s really cool getting to see all the work that they’ve put into the movie over all these years,” Madeleine continued. “When I was recording them, I got to go to Pixar Studios in Emeryville, and I got to see just this whole storyboard of all the Toy Story characters. It was like a secret room that they had.”
The young actress noted that her favorite aspect of Bonnie is her “big imagination.” Madeleine continued: “Her imagination is so big. Me and my sister’s imaginations are super big, too. We play everything.” Madeleine’s sister, Violet, is also an actress. She’s known for her roles in The Haunting of Hill House and Jett. Madeleine said she would love to work with her sister someday and actually co-starred alongside her brother, Jack. “I love working with my family,” Madeleine gushed. “On Toy Story 4, my older brother Jack, he played young Andy and it was so fun getting to see him do it.” She said it was “cool” starring in the same movie as her brother “because we learned from each other when we saw each other doing the recording.”
The one co-star she was looking forward to meeting the most was Tim Allen, who plays Buzz Lightyear. Madeleine revealed the story behind when they first met at the Toy Story 4 premiere. “At the end of the premiere, when we were leaving, Tim was right there and I said, ‘Hi, I play Bonnie.’ And then he just looked at me and my brother and said, ‘Isn’t it such an honor to be a part of something so big and special?’ My brother and I looked at each other and we were like, ‘Yes, we’re super grateful.'” Toy Story 4 is now in theaters.