Toy Story 5 Review: New Film Is A Return To Form For Pixar And Toy Story

Few and far between are the movie franchises that make it to their fifth instalment, and, let’s call a spade a spade, by the time most series limp their way to pentalogy status, we’re more often than not in cash-grab territory than we are at a creative peak.

Given the somewhat lukewarm response to 2019’s fourth Toy Story film – at least, that is, compared to the original trilogy – you’d be forgiven for thinking that the newest instalment might follow this trend.

We’re happy to report, then, that Toy Story 5 is not just a return to form for the beloved animated series, but for Pixar in general, after a hit-and-miss run for the once-untouchable studio.

Fast-forwarding a few years on from where things were left in Toy Story 4, the newest movie reintroduces us to Bonnie, now eight-and-a-half, whose world still revolves around her toy companions, led by new sheriff Jessie (since Woody parted ways with his pals at the end of the last movie).

We quickly discover that, outside of her world of play, Bonnie is having trouble making friends in the real world. Jessie thinks she’s come up with a solution – but, unfortunately, so do Bonnie’s parents, who think the best way for her to connect might be online and gift her with her first electronic tablet, Lilypad.

As has already been well-established, this forms the basis of the film’s main plot, as the regular toys struggle to adjust to a world where the allure of technology is making them increasingly obsolete in children’s eyes.

Toy Story 5 has a lot to say about the invasion of tech in young people’s lives over the last decade, both for better and for worse, and it makes its points without judgement or condescension. A lot of ground is covered in a short space of time, most notably the very real dangers of tech that parents should be aware of (including cyberbullying, isolation and the general zombie-fied state that our oh-so-alluring devices can leave us in).

It’s a world that we’re all – whether you’re an adult, child or, indeed, toy – struggling to keep up with, and this is conveyed brilliantly across the film. But even outside of these themes, Toy Story 5 also touches effectively on the difficulties so many of us feel when trying to make connections, and the unique joy that comes with finally achieving it.

Part of what makes the film such a success is that it feels like a case of the Toy Story universe being used to tell a story, rather a plot being clumsily shoe-horned into existing IP to make a quick buck. Toy Story 5 certainly justifies its own existence, and has a unique – unusually contemporary, for a Disney film – point of view.

Toy Story’s enduring popularity has long been attributed to in its cross-generational appeal – particularly with its most recent instalments – with many viewers who were Andy’s age when the first film hit cinemas now taking their own children to see the action unfold on the big screen.

Toy Story 5 makes walking this famously difficult line look effortless. The animation, always one of Pixar’s strongest suits, is captivating regardless of how old you are, as is its multi-layered humour. The combination of silly moments and visual gags will keep little ones laughing throughout, while relatable gags about everything from Zoom meetings and wedding-related stress to the perils of ageing are guaranteed to raise a smirk from adults in the audience, too.

Even new character Smarty Pants, a talking potty-training device voiced by Conan O’Brien, could be grating, juvenile and offputting in the wrong hands, but somehow ends up swerving all of those pitfalls to become one of the film’s more charming additions, despite his obvious penchant for toilet humour at every available opportunity.

In fact, the voice work is great across the board, with no audible indication that Tom Hanks and Tim Allen have been playing these same characters for more than 30 years. The MVPs of the piece, though, are undoubtedly Toy Story newcomer Greta Lee (who voices Lilypad) and franchise regular Joan Cusack (who plays Jessie), taking the lead for the first time.

Jessie has always been a more multi-layered character than many of her Toy Story peers, but this new story allows her voice actor to show even more personality than ever before.

And yes, this being a Toy Story film, you can expect to shed plenty of tears, too, although that probably goes without saying at this stage of the game.

If we’re being picky, we could say that Toy Story 5 does rush a little towards showing the positive sides of Lilypad – and, therefore, tech in general – so her inevitable inclusion into the main gang by the end of the film does feel a little unearned (though it will undoubtedly come as a comfort to any millennial parents grappling with their own kids’ screentime).

Part five also has the toy characters interfering and meddling with their human kids’ lives more than ever before, with real-world consequences in their lives, which we could imagine some Toy Story purists taking issue with at a time in cinema when “lore” and a franchise’s in-universe “rules” and “logic” mean more than ever.

However, these are tiny, negligible quibbles in a movie that was otherwise a complete joy to watch. For the avoidance of doubt, Toy Story 4 was far from a disaster, but this follow-up is much more up to the gold standard Pixar set for its flagship franchise with the original trilogy.

See you in a few years for Part Six: Revenge Of Lilypad.

Toy Story 5 hits cinemas on Friday 19 June.