TOY STORY 5 Review: Tech Is the Enemy

Thirty years ago, I watched a crowd of happy, boisterous children reduced to terrified silence at a screening of Toy Story.

They'd never seen a cartoon that rich, that funny, that disturbing. For that matter, their parents hadn't either. Years of bland Disney features had taken the magic out of animated movies. By treating fear honestly, by embracing joy, by taking its characters seriously, Toy Story connected with viewers in ways most movies couldn't.

Toy Story was the first in a string of remarkable Pixar movies that won over adults as well as kids. Each sequel advanced digital animation techniques, as well as fleshing out complicated and appealing characters. At its height, Pixar was the best studio in the world.

The studio's recent output has declined, perhaps inevitably, from those early successes. Knock-offs like Lightyear and endless Cars sequels have diluted the brand. Other animation programs have caught up to Renderman.

Toy Story episodes seemed immune, expanding on the original while deepening the premise's emotional stakes. Toy Story 4 threatened to break up the gang for good while permanently damaging key figures.

Toy Story 5 shifts the focus of characters to Jessie, the cowgirl voiced by Joan Cusack. In the absence of Woody (Tom Hanks), she's taken charge of the toys, meanwhile ignoring the lovelorn Buzz (Tim Allen). It's an idyllic life until Bonnie (Scarlett Spears), their owner, has a life-altering revelation.

Worried about Bonnie's isolation from other children, her parents buy her a Lilypad (voiced by Greta Lee), a screen designed for kids. Inside its supposedly sheltered universe, Bonnie encounters mean girls who ridicule her toys. Lily campaigns to take over Bonnie's life by banishing the toys to the garage.

Jessie summons Woody via walkie talkie for help (ironically relying on another form of tech). At the same time, hordes of Hi-Tech Edition Buzz Lightyears are heading their way from the desert island where their cargo container washed up.

But it's too late for Bonnie, who is so ashamed of herself that she returns Jessie to her original home address. That's where she finds Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris), a slightly older girl who's similarly worried about being an outcast. Can the two girls find a way past their problems?

Andrew Stanton, the director (along with co-director Kenna Harris), has worked on all five Toy Story episodes. Here he guides the overcrowded cast and thick plotting carefully through their expected paces: quick quips from blink-and-you'll-miss toys, heartbreaking montages of growth and loss, extended chases, and wrenching moments when a toy realizes how expendable it is.

While it never reaches the existential fury of Toy Story 4, this entry finds its heart in Joan Cusack's Jessie, a headstrong woman who keeps getting beaten down by the world. (If you're like me, you'll despair when her hat falls to the ground—these toys suffer damage and loss.)

In today's fragmented world, the idea of acceptance, of rejecting shame, could not be more important. Even if you have to swallow platitudes about "good" tech along with it.

Photos courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

The film opens Friday, June 19, only in movie theaters, via Disney/Pixar. Visit their official site for more information.