To state it plainly, having been around for 30+ years, Toy Story has maintained its status as one of the best ongoing franchises in cinema history. It’s a major bright spot for Pixar as a company, and continues to show there’s plenty of life to be found in these old toys when it comes to the wacky hijinks they get up to. Of course, on top of that are the deeper themes rooted in ideas concerning friendship, growing older, nostalgia, and even a question of one’s own sentience (thank you, Forky). It should almost be no surprise that Toy Story 5 continues this successful run, whether one is in it for the laughs or the feels. This picture offers both, along with an assortment of fun new characters, first-rate animation, and all of the other areas this series has proven to excel at.
This time around, with the status quo having shifted thanks to Woody (Tom Hanks) essentially retiring to greater pastures with Bo Peep (Annie Potts), Jessie (Joan Cusack) is now the leader of young Bonnie’s toys. Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) is still happy to serve as second-in-command, even while nursing his feelings for Jessie beyond friendship. However, things enter dire territory, as the now-eight-year-old Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) becomes enamored with her new tablet, named Lilypad (and voiced with glee by Gretta Lee). Lilypad seems well-meaning, having helped Bonnie forge new friendships. Meanwhile, with the toys ruled “uncool” and no longer played with, it will be up to Jessie, Buzz, and a visiting Woody to figure out a way to get Bonnie out of the grips of tech.
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There are a couple of specific choices made that really allow this film to stand out, and not just feel like more of the same. One has to do with something I’ve enjoyed about Toy Story 4 and 5 in general: really establishing Bonnie as a character in her own right. I’ve never bought into the idea that the films needed to end at Toy Story 3 because we reached the end of Andy’s story, because Andy was barely ever a character in those films. As of late, however, there’s a true personality on display in how Bonnie plays with toys and interacts with the world around her, separate from them. I’d go as far as to say I appreciate and believe in the actions taken by Bonnie as a reflection of the plot much more than the way Riley is utilized and manipulated in the Inside Out films, but that’s a whole other conversation.
The other aspect of Toy Story 5 that really helps give it purpose is the placement of Joan Cusack’s Jessie in the front seat. While certainly involved and enjoyable in the last two entries, she’s never really shone as much as she did in her introductory film, Toy Story 2 (still the best entry of the bunch, as far as I’m concerned). This time around, however, we are watching a story that deepens the audience’s investment in her as a character with a past and in the actions she’s willing to take regarding her and the other toys’ future. And, without even getting into the female empowerment aspect of what’s going on (without drawing attention to it), there’s a lot of smart writing involved to make a Jessie-centric story play out with critical moves drawing on the past, while still establishing this as its own unique story.
Directed by Pixar mainstay Andrew Stanton, who had a hand in writing all of the previous films, and co-directed and co-written by Kenna Harris, the big curiosity I had concerned what ambitious moves would be made in this film, outside of just showing the strength of the animation and how far things have come with the studio’s flagship franchise. Ultimately, it comes down to the nature of forging relationships, particularly between female groups, and to the acceptance of how standard living evolves. In this instance, it’s the tablet and the prevalence of technology that proves to be an obstacle for our heroes. Still, thanks to a nuanced approach to the human side of the film and what Bonnie’s going through, it’s not just a simple matter of seeing some ridiculous way in which toys overtake technology and prove it to be “bad.” Instead, we see a stronger handle on these sorts of matters.
Now, without delving too far into what exactly goes down, and why it involves a hilarious Conan O’Brien as Smarty Pants, a potty-training tech toy, along with a fleet of discarded Buzz Lightyear toys, I will say I wasn’t quite as enthralled by this subject matter compared to previous films. The emotional throughlines of the other entries are enough to really hit me, even when just thinking about what occurred. Granted, I’ve only seen Toy Story 5 once so far, but if I had to split hairs and justify what’s pulling this film slightly behind the others, it’s whether I fell for the supposed high stakes in this entry. Of course, all that said, others may be much more invested in the plight of Jessie, Bonnie, or the tech situation.
Still, just because enlightenment wasn’t one of my key takeaways doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of other elements working to ensure we continue to understand why Pixar is so widely revered. The voice cast is tremendous, with everyone bringing proper energy to the proceedings. Allowing the plot to wind itself around a variety of ideas and keeping it all very clever is a feat that I cannot see as being easy. Plus, the animation is top-notch in a way that may not be all that apparent in some instances. Still, you see features like the long, curly hair one of the girls, Bonnie, meets, or the work that went into making Woody look older in both comedic ways and others that speak to the level of detail at play.
As an animated adventure, we’re still in cream of the crop territory, which includes being comforted by another playful Randy Newman score. Toy Story 5 achieves plenty thanks to feeling like a well-thought-out project that continues to put real care into every aspect. By taking some new chances by way of investing in a different lead character (with Allen and Hanks, in particular, willingly feeling less active here), it also shows not only how malleable of a franchise this is, but just how important it can be to tackle new ideas by way of characters it would make more sense to have front and center. And these are just some of many reasons why Toy Story 5 is the full package, all accessories included, as far as what major studio pictures can offer.
Toy Story 5 opens in theaters and IMAX on June 19, 2026.
