In the fifth movie of a saga with more than 20 years of history, what might seem like a cliché is handled with the tenderness that only Toy Story can deliver.
Seven years after Toy Story 4, Bonnie is now eight years old and still has the same creativity that brought Forky to life in 2019. This time, her personal growth shares the spotlight with the development of the toys we already know. While she struggles to make friends, Jessie, Buzz, Woody (now back), and others compete for attention with something that seems to be there to stay: Lilypad, an electronic device that promises to do far more than any traditional toy ever could.
The movie does not intend to trivialize technology, as it might seem at first glance. Over its one-hour and-forty-minute runtime, it positions itself as the perfect bridge between the old and the new.
What is the animation about this time?
Lilypad captures all of Bonnie’s attention from the moment it is unboxed, especially after revealing its potential to connect her with friends, even from afar.
Meanwhile, Jessie and Bullseye mistakenly end up at the home of the cowgirl’s “first child.” As she rediscovers herself on an emotional journey, she and her new friends face a dual mission: find their way back home and introduce Bonnie to Blaze, a young girl who also loves to play with toys. In parallel, Woody, Buzz, and a massive group of patrol toys from the new model set out to rescue Jessie.
The feature successfully wraps up by tying together all the loose ends of its various narrative arcs: Bonnie makes a real-life friend, no one (not even Lilypad) gets discarded, and Jessie finally comes to terms with the trauma of being abandoned.
SAME MORAL TOLD DIFFERENTLY
The saga has always treated obsolescence as its mean theme. In Toy Story (1995), the arrival of Buzz Lightyear worries the toys; in Toy Story 2 (1999), Woody has nightmares about being thrown away after ripping his arm during playtime, ending the film with the bittersweet certainty that Andy will one day grow up and donate them. We also learn Jessie’s backstory, as she was once left behind by her owner. In Toy Story 3 (2010), Andy grows up and passes his toys on to Bonnie; and in Toy Story 4 (2019), Forky struggles to recognize his purpose as a toy, driving a plot in which the other characters constantly stop him from throwing himself in the trash.
Two decades and five feature films later, we can clearly grasp what Toy Story stands for: the importance of valuing what has shaped your history and understanding the highs and lows of having a purpose. Toys that look and feel obsolete are reminded of their worth in every installment, always destined for a different adventure. This theme can easily be translated into countless everyday human experiences.
It is also nothing new that technology and traditional ways of playing are often at odds. At least two generations have been caught in this “conflict”, which has become the foundation for numerous biopsychosocial studies. The impact of technological overstimulation on children’s cognitive development is plain to see.
Through Bonnie’s relationship with Lilypad, Toy Story 5 encourages parents to reflect on how early exposure to technology can influence the way children interact with the world around them. Once again, the franchise hits the mark in delivering its message, this time weaving it seamlessly into contemporary issues.
Toy Story 5 (2026) was directed by Andrew Stanton and has become the biggest-box office opening of the year in the United States, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Spielberg’s Disclosure D. The film was released on June 19 and is currently playing in theaters worldwide.
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The article above was edited by Rafaela Mina.
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