From Pixar’s emotional surprise offer to improvising one of Snappy’s funniest lines, actor Shelby Rabara shares seven behind-the-scenes stories from making Toy Story 5.

I’m a pop-culture writer covering everything from TV and movies, to music, Broadway, books, and games.

One of the things I've always loved about Toy Story is how Pixar makes every toy feel lovable, and Snappy was no exception.

When I had the chance to chat with Shelby Rabara, the voice behind Snappy, I couldn't wait to hear how she brought the character to life. We chatted over Zoom about the emotional moment Pixar offered her the role, the behind-the-scenes magic of recording, and why Snappy means so much to her and her family.

Note: This interview has been modified for length and clarity.

(Shelby and her husband, actor Harry Shum Jr.)

Shelby: I was helping out at my daughter's school, and all of a sudden, I got this email that my agent forwarded. The attachment was a formal letter from [directors] Andrew Stanton, McKenna Harris, and [producer] Jess Choi. It said: "Dear Shelby, we are so excited to offer you this role in Toy Story 5..." 

At first, I honestly thought it was a joke because nobody had called me, and it was out of the blue. I was sitting in a parking lot thinking, "Am I getting punked right now?"

I called my husband, Harry. He stepped away from his meeting, I read him the letter, and he goes, "Babe, I think that's real!" I just started crying by myself in this random outdoor parking lot. It was truly one of those pinch-me moments.

It was a dream come true, and I felt so proud of everything I'd done in my career leading up to that moment. Peridot from Steven Universe has always been one of my favorite characters I've played, and this felt like another dream role. I was just elated.

Shelby: When I first saw the picture of Snappy, I was like, "This camera is so cute!" I immediately fell in love with her, her little yellow tripod legs, and her compact size with this huge, adorable lens.

I really wanted to bring this joyful, excitable energy to Snappy.

Cameras are such an amazing piece of technology because their purpose is to capture moments in time. That's what I kept coming back to as I created Snappy's personality. She gets to be part of Blaze's life by documenting these fleeting memories. I think that's why people connect so strongly with Toy Story 5 — because life is fleeting.

I'm a mom, and Harry and I have a 7-year-old daughter. She loves taking pictures, and I got her a Snappy camera. She's been playing with Jessie and Rex, and Smarty Pants and Atlas — she'll play make-believe and "record it" on Snappy the camera. It's reignited that sense of play in both Harry and me, and it's bringing so much joy to our family. 

That's what I focused on when creating Snappy's personality: the joy of reliving memories that mean everything to you.

Shelby: I drove up to the Walt Disney Studios lot and gave the security guard my ID. I was like, "I'm here for a Pixar recording," and the security guard did this "happy dance" with me. We did this little shimmy, and a fist-bump, and he goes, "Go get 'em, girl!" 

It was such a surreal moment. My heart was pumping because I was so excited. I got into the recording studio, and everybody was so nice — at that moment, it felt like an out-of-body experience. I met producer Jess Choi and then Andrew Stanton.

I am the biggest Andrew Stanton fan. He's directed films like Finding Nemo and WALL-E. He is just the nicest, most grounded person, and one of the pioneers of computer animation. They welcomed me with hugs and immediately made me feel like part of the Pixar family.

I had just lost my sister a few weeks prior. Pixar originally scheduled my first recording session just a few days after my sister's funeral, and I told them, "I'm so sorry, I'm not in the correct mental space to record." They were so understanding, and they told me to take all the time I needed. When I went in about a month later, one of the first things they asked was checking in on me.

(L-R: Andrew Stanton, Shelby Rabara, McKenna Harris, Jess Choi)

Shelby: The recording process was a dream come true. I was standing at the same booth that all of these legends and icons stood at, recording in this world-famous studio where history was made. 

What I loved most about working with both Andrew and Kenna was the rhythm that they created. When we started a scene again, I felt like I was doing a piece of choreography. I was so thankful for all of my dance and acting training. It felt like magic. This unspoken energy starts to flow, and you just get the groove of it.

When I watched the finished movie, I realized, "That's the rhythm Andrew and Kenna had been hearing all along." Seeing it all come together on screen was incredible.

Shelby: Reading with Andrew Stanton was a dream come true because he's voiced some iconic characters, like Crush from Finding Nemo. 

It was really neat that we were given the freedom to improvise a little bit. One of my favorite lines that made it into the film was when Snappy tries to spell "friends," but I misspelled it in the recording booth. I just kept rolling with it — and that line made it into the movie, which was really fun to see.

Shelby: I was definitely excited to see the "play" scene when Snappy is up on the chandelier, and she's talking to Jessie. We were playing this scene out in the booth, and I was imagining it in my head. 

I was thinking, "This is going to be this awesome Bridgerton-style scene, right?" I was so excited to see this super-abstract dreamland scene within the film. Seeing it fully animated was incredible because it looked almost exactly how I'd imagined it while recording.

I was also really curious to see the animation of Jimmy Dean [Blaze's pig] and Daffodil [Blaze's horse]. As I watched the film, I was thinking, "These animals are so beautiful," like Daffodil's little eyelashes.

Shelby: It's a stunning movie, and something that stands out is the animation of Blaze's hair. The fact that Blaze's family was mixed, Black and Armenian, meant so much to me as a Filipina American. Bonnie's friends were all of different ethnicities, and that just warmed my heart. One of the little girls was Asian, so my daughter got to see herself on screen, you know? That really meant a lot to me as a parent. 

It's definitely my new favorite film, and I'm just so proud to be part of the Toy Story family.

Toy Story 5 is in theaters now. Follow Shelby on Instagram, @shelbyrabara.