New Delhi, June 10 -- The curtain came up, and there she was.

which is to say, the stage where the Oscars are handed out - in a full-length gown, a banjo-driven intro filling the room, performing a song she had written for a Pixar film about a toy cowgirl. The premiere audience, which included a cluster of Academy members, had been told to expect nothing. What they got was the opening act of what the industry is now describing as the most deliberately constructed awards campaign in Hollywood in years.

Toy Story 5, directed by Andrew Stanton and opening nationwide June 19, had already generated exceptional buzz from critics and industry insiders in attendance Tuesday night at the Dolby. The film, which centers on the displacement of toys...