"It's such a fun feeling to say yeehaw. And when someone tells me good news, I will text them, 'Yeehaw,' " Cusack tells PEOPLE
Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Joan Cusack says recording Jessie’s signature “yeehaw” became a joyful part of her life over time
- Jessie’s character has become one of Cusack’s most iconic roles, shaped by her voice and Chicago accent
- Toy Story 5 explores parenting and technology and recently broke box office records after its opening weekend
Joan Cusack has delivered an impressive number of “yeehaws” since her animated cowgirl Jessie first galloped onto screens in 1999’s Toy Story 2.
"When you do those [recording] sessions, they would always ask me to say, 'Yeehaw.' And I was like, 'Oh my God. Don't you have enough yeehaws in the bank somewhere? Why do I have to keep saying yeehaw?' " Cusack, 63, tells PEOPLE with a laugh in this week's issue. "And then something happened and I came to love saying yeehaw."
"It's such a fun feeling to say yeehaw. And when someone tells me good news, I will text them, 'Yeehaw.' She's part of me," she adds.
Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage
Cusack’s fearless Pixar character has unexpectedly become one of the defining roles of her career, thanks to how the actress’s expressive voice and unmistakable Chicago accent have shaped Jessie’s heart and humor.
When Cusack was first approached to join Tom Hanks’ Woody and Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear in the sequel to 1995’s groundbreaking Toy Story, she was delighted. Her boys — Dylan, 29, and Miles, 26, with her husband, Richard Burke, an attorney— were “really young and loved Buzz,” she recalls.
"Buzz was just so great and so cool," she says. "So it's been fun for me to keep doing the movies."
Jessie became an audience favorite, returning in 2010’s Toy Story 3, 2019’s Toy Story 4 and now as the heroine of Toy Story 5, which tackles the challenges of modern parenting as Jessie squares off with a smart tablet named Lilypad for a kid’s attention.
Credit: Disney/Pixar
“It’s a really special movie about girls and about tech and about human connection,” Cusack says of the sequel, which just broke records at the box office after opening on Friday.
"I'm just really overwhelmed that this is such a beautiful movie and I get to be part of it," she adds, while speaking to her love for Jessie: "I thought yeehaw was it for me. That's what I love. I love her spirit and her joy. And this movie is just unbelievable to me."
The latest iteration of Toy Story includes the return of Tony Hale as Forky, Blake Clark as Slinky Dog, Wallace Shawn as Rex and John Ratzenberger as Hamm.
New characters Lilypad, Smarty Pants, Evil Bullseye and Pizza with Sunglasses are voiced by Greta Lee, Conan O'Brien, Alan Cumming and Bad Bunny, respectively.
Toy Story 5 is now in theaters.
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