The fifth installment of the Toy Story franchise is as polished and seamless as one might expect, as glitch-free as future episodes would be. As a piece of family entertainment, it boasts the immaculate sheen of a brand-new smartphone. Yet at its core, it feels lifeless. Despite the intensive creative effort poured into every frame, the film lacks jeopardy, novelty, ideas, and passion. The crucial Toy Story theme of mortality feels underpowered, and it even loses courage with its central concept: the sinister impact of addictive tech on children's imaginative play with traditional toys.
A Creepy Tablet Enters the Scene
A sinister device called Lilypad, voiced by Greta Lee, enters the children's world, but ultimately proves capable of sentimental self-sacrifice for their mental health. Really? At least Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear from Toy Story 3 had conviction in his villainy.
We return to the secret lives of toys, hilariously independent when kids aren't watching. Jessie the cowgirl (Joan Cusack) still belongs to Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) from the fourth film, alongside Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), who is sheepishly in love with Jessie. Meanwhile, Woody (Tom Hanks) lives a feral existence away from human control, romantically paired with Bo Peep (Annie Potts). Woody now sports a bald patch and a growing paunch—human flaws that mysteriously don't affect Buzz or Jessie.
Bonnie's Struggle with Tech
Shy Bonnie is ostracized for being the only kid who still plays with toys. When she gets a Lilypad, she is thrilled by the connection but soon lured into online bullying. Jessie, through a convoluted plot involving a rogue platoon of Buzzes, meets Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris), a horse lover and toy enthusiast who could be Bonnie's best friend. A new group of heroes arises: obsolete battery-powered devices like Smarty Pants (Conan O'Brien), suggesting tech isn't all bad.
Recalling the Iconic Moment
The franchise's legendary moment from Toy Story 2—Jessie's heart-wrenching song "When She Loved Me"—is revisited in Toy Story 5, prominently through a new song by Taylor Swift. However, the plot point is revived and resolved in a spurious, unsatisfying way. It's incredible that the series is over 30 years old, a pillar of Pixar's golden age, but now it feels played out, with IP exhaustion setting in.
Toy Story 5 releases on 18 June in Australia and 19 June in the UK and US.
