Taylor Swift has said writing a song for the new Toy Story film “felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time”.
The pop superstar returns to her country roots for I Knew It, I Knew You, a song she penned for toy cowgirl Jessie, voiced in the film by Joan Cusack.
Swift, 36, said she was a “Toy Story kid from the age of 5”. The first film in the Pixar franchise was released in 1995.
In a post on Instagram, which accompanies a home video of her as a child dressed in a cowgirl outfit, she said: “Writing this song felt like a musical departure and coming home at the same time.
“Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once.
“And being a @toystory kid from the age of 5 til now… is an adventure I plan to be on, to infinity and beyond.
“Thank you to the brilliant Andrew Stanton for imagining me for this, all those years ago when you wrote this newest film.
“Thank you to the incomparable @randynewmanofficial for the gorgeous sonic tapestry of songs and scores you’ve meticulously woven over the years.
“You created the Toy Story musical world, and we are lucky to get to live in it.
“By we, I mean myself and my pal @jackantonoff. We wrote this with so much adoration for these characters that made us laugh and helped us learn lessons and think outside the backyard all throughout our childhoods.”
The song marks a reunion between Swift and her long-time collaborator Antonoff, who was absent from her most recent album The Life Of A Showgirl.
Swift finally confirmed her involvement in Toy Story 5 on Monday, after a number of clues hinted an announcement was imminent.
Among the evidence that sparked the rumours was a series of “TS” billboards – a play on Toy Story and Swift’s shared initials – appearing in various cities including London, Mexico City and Los Angeles, featuring the same blue and white cloud imagery that is synonymous with the film.
One video of a TS billboard shared by Pixar featured Jessie dancing in front of it. The post was captioned: “She’s making those moves up as she goes!” which refers to a Swift song lyric.
The billboards all feature 13 clouds – a nod to Swift’s favourite number.
