The Toy Story franchise is undoubtedly Pixar’s most iconic franchise — it’s the one that started it all, with almost all the films making or even exceeding billions of dollars at the box office. A lot of people, especially on the internet, have claimed that the series should’ve ended at 3, saying the movie ended perfectly with Andy giving his toys to Bonnie.
Even with the 4th film focusing a lot more on Woody’s story and his arc ending off at him leaving the toys to go with Bo Peep, the audience figured that this was also a fitting conclusion to the series.
So, why not end there? Well, the mouse sure loves its money, but based off of what we got in this film, Pixar obviously still has more stories to tell with these characters. Let’s dive into what this tale for the toys has to offer.
The film this time around follows Jessie (Joan Cusack), Buzz (Tim Allen), Woody (Tom Hanks) and the rest of the toy gang as they come face-to-face with Lilypad (Greta Lee), a brand-new tablet device that arrives with her own disruptive ideas about what is best for Bonnie, posing the question: will playtime ever be the same?
The story at hand about electronics taking over the lives of kids over toys is quite literally our reality now. Not only do the film’s themes rely on being relevant to our culture, they also present some interesting storylines.
This fifth installment takes a new swing and focuses heavily on Jessie’s character, who has clearly been part of the main three characters since the second film. In Toy Story 5, she shines with a really unique character arc.
Bonnie also gets a lot more screen time here, arguably the most a kid has gotten ever in the Toy Story franchise. It feels similar to Inside Out 2, where human characters like Riley got as much attention as the emotions/toys.
However, one of the few criticisms of this film is that side characters (Rex, Hamm, Slinky, Potato Head) are put on the backburner, where in previous installations, they had more prominent roles. Even Woody and Buzz, who are fun here, also take on somewhat of a backseat.
However, this movie still manages to incorporate a great mix of heart and humor as most Toy Story movies do. The scenes with new faces in the franchise are particularly funny, as well as a random side plot involving Buzz Lightyear clones.
But, it also manages to be challenging in the way they discuss a character like Lilypad, seeing the harm in how distractions in tech can cause kids to not know how to balance screen time and how parents somewhat enable it.
It also works because of the idea of how Bonnie has progressed from Toy Story 4 to 5. Specifically, the theme of losing what she loved doing in the past, which was playing with her toys.
In many ways, this is a theme lot of older people can also relate to. A hobby we loved as a kid, whether it was playing a sport or playing games, can slowly fade away as we grow older.
The ending especially is very touching, finding that fine line between between what it means for electronics to keep up with people while not letting it wrap us into its addictive world that distances us from reality. It urges the audience to still use their creativity but also use it to their advantage, because when we’re kids, we’re at our peak creativity and our imagination is used to its fullest.
Ultimately, Toy Story 5 is another successful effort in the franchise and goes to show that this franchise still has staying power. On top of being heartfelt and humorous, it provides a new step in growth for this series. While Pixar and other franchises generally need to create more original projects, this proves if you still have more stories to tell with these characters, then tell them.
So let’s hope that wherever this franchise goes, it travels far, even, to infinity and beyond.
