A star rating of 3 out of 5.
Woody laments that while toys are just for playing, technology now dominates kids’ lives, reflecting how much things have changed. After being loved and outgrown by Andy, and surviving some scary adventures like daycare and a road trip, the toys from Toy Story now face their biggest challenge yet: competing with screens for kids’ attention.
The last movie seemed like a farewell for Woody, the cowboy doll voiced by Tom Hanks, as he chose to stay with Bo Peep and gave his sheriff’s badge to Jessie. Now, we find Jessie leading things in Bonnie’s bedroom – Bonnie is eight years old now – with Buzz Lightyear happily helping her as deputy.
Bonnie doesn’t have many friends, which worries her parents, so they hesitantly buy her a tablet. The tablet features Lilypad (voiced by Greta Lee), a character who quickly dominates Bonnie’s attention, causing her to lose interest in other things and become even more isolated. When Jessie tries to help Bonnie, she’s accidentally sent to a former address. There, Jessie finds lots of forgotten toys and meets Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris), who could become a friend for Bonnie.
I really enjoyed Toy Story 4 – it felt like a perfect revisit with Woody and the others, and honestly, it could have been a beautiful ending. But now, with this fifth movie, I’m starting to feel like they’ve maybe stretched the story too far. It just doesn’t quite have the same magic, you know?
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Toy Story 5 benefits from the expertise of Andrew Stanton—a long-time Pixar director known for films like WALL-E, Finding Nemo, Finding Dory, and his work on the first Toy Story sequels—and co-director Kenna Harris. The animation remains stunning, and overall the film is well-made.
Okay, so Woody definitely takes a backseat in this one, which makes sense. But honestly, the movie focuses a lot more on Buzz, and it’s kind of because of this weird side story. Basically, a bunch of new, super-advanced Buzz Lightyear toys crash land somewhere and become totally fixated on finding Star Command – it feels a little out of the blue, but that’s where the plot goes!
Jessie takes center stage, and while John Cusack is still excellent, her character’s story feels predictable – she cares for Bonnie and thinks about her past with Emily. Bonnie herself is a charming and endearing child, beautifully designed and animated, a significant improvement over the earlier, less realistic human characters in the series.
It’s important to talk about how technology affects kids’ imaginations and how they connect with the real world, and this movie series seems like a good place to do it. The film clearly encourages make-believe play, presenting it as something magical and wonderful.
Some of the film’s messaging feels overly preachy, and it’s questionable how audiences watching on personal devices will react to it, especially considering the sale of related merchandise. While the film raises important issues, it occasionally comes across as condescending and even a bit hypocritical, though the writers do eventually offer a more nuanced perspective.
Considering the first film came out a long time ago, Woody is often treated like an outdated toy. There are moments where this is played for laughs, like when he awkwardly tries to pull off a poncho, and it’s even shown he’s losing his hair when his hat is taken off.
This show has some great moments! The group of outdated gadgets calling themselves “the double A team” is particularly funny, especially with Conan O’Brien’s comedic creation, Smarty Pants, leading the way.
The movie has too many characters. While this means a lot of creative ideas, most don’t get enough screen time to develop – even enjoyable ones like Ernie Hudson’s updated Combat Carl. It feels like there’s an abundance of potential that isn’t fully realized.
It’s common for movie series to start losing steam after several installments. But the Toy Story films are made with so much care and creativity that even if one isn’t perfect, it’s still better than most animated movies out there.
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2026-06-16 19:39