By: Lauren Williams
Craig Robinson has built a career on making people laugh, but in a candid conversation about his role in “Toy Story 5,” the comedian and actor revealed a depth that goes far beyond punchlines. As the voice of Atlas, a GPS navigation toy shaped like a hippo, Robinson brings warmth and wisdom to the beloved Pixar franchise. Off screen, he is just as thoughtful, whether he is talking about the pull of endless scrolling, the six months he spent studying real hippos in Africa, or the grace it takes to end a relationship with love. His reflections are funny, honest and surprisingly moving.
How has technology affected your personal life, and do you have a strategy for managing screen time?
I feel so bad about it, but yes, I have to have a cutoff. You can get completely lost. On the other hand, you are waiting for a flight and then a game or a YouTube video pulls you right in. My cutoff is not really a set time. It is more of a moment. That moment when you suddenly realize you have been scrolling for 45 minutes and somehow two hours have passed. It has to be a moment of self-awareness. My advice? Set an alarm. Boom. Get out. Will I actually listen to it? Probably not. I will just skip right past it.
As a Black man with a long career, how did you bring your own experiences to voicing Atlas, a character who is not human or Black?
With this character, I went and I saw who he was. I was able to go from there, see what the script said and kind of live it. And then I spent six months in Africa studying the hippos. They accepted me as one of their own. So I came back and I was like, I got this.
The hippos in the film wear GPS trackers. Did that detail surprise you?
Yes. Yes. Yes. It was so weird.
There was a huge crowd of Black kids at the Atlanta screening who were screaming with excitement. What does it mean to be part of a franchise that reaches them?
Unbelievable. Watching the premiere and just how striking and beautifully shot it was, the music, the story. To be a part of that, it is really special.
The film touches on the idea that toys are meant to be present for a season and then released with love. Has that idea shown up in your own life?
Oh yeah. My last three romantic relationships. Yeah, it was time. And I let them go with love. Of course. The feeling was mutual too, very amicable. I could probably teach a class on it, but it is mostly, you know, therapy. Therapy does the work.