TOY STORY 5
2026 | Dir. Andrew Stanton | 102 Minutes
"Toys are for play, and play is how she'll find the right friend!"
2026 | Dir. Andrew Stanton | 102 Minutes
"Toys are for play, and play is how she'll find the right friend!"
Hoping it will help Bonnie overcome her shyness and make new friends, her parents gift her an electronic Lilypad tablet designed for children. However, Bonnie's favorite toy Jessie and Lily are immediately at odds over what is best of Bonnie. As Bonnie's feeling of loneliness and alienation worsen, Jessie must confront her own trauma on her quest to help Bonnie.
Pixar further extends their premier Toy Story film series and centers the spotlight on Jessie in this fifth installment, addressing her trauma from abandonment head-on and allowing her to fully process it when her mission to help the socially awkward young Bonnie make friends with other children unexpectedly forces Jessie to return to her first home. The picture also examines the ever-changing landscape of electronic technology for kids, questioning the very definition of what it means to be a toy. While it would have been easy for filmmakers Andrew Stanton and Kenna Harris to completely demonize the use of tablets and phones, true to the thoughtfulness present in the best Pixar films, the narrative instead illustrates how electronic and non-electronic toys may play well together while stressing the importance of moderation. Where Toy Story 5 falters as a completely satisfying experience is in its occasionally stagnant pacing, with a large portion of the feature primary taking place at the ranch where Jessie is stuck, plus not exactly helping is the overall dourness in tone that permeates through the dual storylines of Jessie and the others toys' desperation to stave off obsolescence and little Bonnie's struggles with alienation and isolation as other kids her age mock her online for still playing with toys. Fortunately, a electronic potty training aid played by Conan O'Brien brings a ton of laughs, and an extended subplot involving a roving legion of high-tech Buzz Lightyears from a lost shipping container, though giving off the impression that it might as well be another film entirely, is both fascinating and very amusing.
Visually, the biggest highlights of Toy Story 5 are the imaginative and highly-stylized play sequences. Shifting to an appealing storybook aesthetic, these scenes significantly elevate the film while presenting and embellishing murder mystery, espionage, and soap opera genre tropes through the eyes of children. The scenes featuring the squadron of Buzzes are also very impressive. In particular, the moment the Buzzes receive their software update and gain drone capabilities is incredibly fun.
Joan Cusack as Jessie is the beating heart of Toy Story 5, capably taking on the lead role in this installment and hitting a wide range of emotions spot-on. Playing Buzz Lightyear, as well as fifty fresh-out-of-the-packing Buzz Lightyears, Tim Allen seamlessly reprises the role he's voiced for over thirty years as if he's never stepped out of the recording booth. Tom Hanks' Woody is a welcome presence for the sake of continuity if nothing else, though the cowboy's role in this particular story is decidedly inessential. Greta Lee really plays up the condescending tone of the tablet Lily until the plot takes an intriguing turn just before the final act, allowing her to demonstrate a good deal of nuance. The cast also features Scarlett Spears as the painfully insecure Bonnie, Mykal-Michelle Harris as Blaze - the spirited new kid in Jessie's first home, and Conan O'Brien dialing up his silly brand of comedy to the max as the Smarty Pants device.
Toy Story 5 exudes all of the heart and charm of the previous installments of Pixar's flagship film series, but its narrative momentum never quite picks up and lifts off to the heights of its predecessors. While the picture explores ideas regarding the nature of electronic devices and the impact screen time has on young children with a high level of sophistication, main characters Jessie and Bonnie are left stranded in intensely negative emotions for much of the story, making it a rather tough watch for much of its runtime. It's a good Toy Story film, well worth watching for those who are invested in its characters, but it may be a harder sell for everyone else.
MID-CREDITS STINGER
The legion of Buzz Lightyears land on a schoolyard of grateful children.
JOHN RATZENBERGER AS...
- Hamm the piggy bank
PIXAR INTERCONNECTIVITY
- As Jessie and her posse ride down a stretch of road to rescue Lily, the entire group pauses for a Pizza Planet truck zooming towards them
FRAGMENTS
- The voices of Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, and Carl Weathers are sorely missed
- Appropriate to Toy Story 5 being a Jessie-centric film, Randy Newman's score heavily references Sarah McLachlan's "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2, which is still far more memorable than Taylor Swift's widely-publicized single "I Knew It, I Knew You" that plays at the top of the end credits
Pixar further extends their premier Toy Story film series and centers the spotlight on Jessie in this fifth installment, addressing her trauma from abandonment head-on and allowing her to fully process it when her mission to help the socially awkward young Bonnie make friends with other children unexpectedly forces Jessie to return to her first home. The picture also examines the ever-changing landscape of electronic technology for kids, questioning the very definition of what it means to be a toy. While it would have been easy for filmmakers Andrew Stanton and Kenna Harris to completely demonize the use of tablets and phones, true to the thoughtfulness present in the best Pixar films, the narrative instead illustrates how electronic and non-electronic toys may play well together while stressing the importance of moderation. Where Toy Story 5 falters as a completely satisfying experience is in its occasionally stagnant pacing, with a large portion of the feature primary taking place at the ranch where Jessie is stuck, plus not exactly helping is the overall dourness in tone that permeates through the dual storylines of Jessie and the others toys' desperation to stave off obsolescence and little Bonnie's struggles with alienation and isolation as other kids her age mock her online for still playing with toys. Fortunately, a electronic potty training aid played by Conan O'Brien brings a ton of laughs, and an extended subplot involving a roving legion of high-tech Buzz Lightyears from a lost shipping container, though giving off the impression that it might as well be another film entirely, is both fascinating and very amusing.
Visually, the biggest highlights of Toy Story 5 are the imaginative and highly-stylized play sequences. Shifting to an appealing storybook aesthetic, these scenes significantly elevate the film while presenting and embellishing murder mystery, espionage, and soap opera genre tropes through the eyes of children. The scenes featuring the squadron of Buzzes are also very impressive. In particular, the moment the Buzzes receive their software update and gain drone capabilities is incredibly fun.
Joan Cusack as Jessie is the beating heart of Toy Story 5, capably taking on the lead role in this installment and hitting a wide range of emotions spot-on. Playing Buzz Lightyear, as well as fifty fresh-out-of-the-packing Buzz Lightyears, Tim Allen seamlessly reprises the role he's voiced for over thirty years as if he's never stepped out of the recording booth. Tom Hanks' Woody is a welcome presence for the sake of continuity if nothing else, though the cowboy's role in this particular story is decidedly inessential. Greta Lee really plays up the condescending tone of the tablet Lily until the plot takes an intriguing turn just before the final act, allowing her to demonstrate a good deal of nuance. The cast also features Scarlett Spears as the painfully insecure Bonnie, Mykal-Michelle Harris as Blaze - the spirited new kid in Jessie's first home, and Conan O'Brien dialing up his silly brand of comedy to the max as the Smarty Pants device.
Toy Story 5 exudes all of the heart and charm of the previous installments of Pixar's flagship film series, but its narrative momentum never quite picks up and lifts off to the heights of its predecessors. While the picture explores ideas regarding the nature of electronic devices and the impact screen time has on young children with a high level of sophistication, main characters Jessie and Bonnie are left stranded in intensely negative emotions for much of the story, making it a rather tough watch for much of its runtime. It's a good Toy Story film, well worth watching for those who are invested in its characters, but it may be a harder sell for everyone else.
MID-CREDITS STINGER
The legion of Buzz Lightyears land on a schoolyard of grateful children.
JOHN RATZENBERGER AS...
- Hamm the piggy bank
PIXAR INTERCONNECTIVITY
- As Jessie and her posse ride down a stretch of road to rescue Lily, the entire group pauses for a Pizza Planet truck zooming towards them
FRAGMENTS
- The voices of Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, and Carl Weathers are sorely missed
- Appropriate to Toy Story 5 being a Jessie-centric film, Randy Newman's score heavily references Sarah McLachlan's "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2, which is still far more memorable than Taylor Swift's widely-publicized single "I Knew It, I Knew You" that plays at the top of the end credits
