As an audience, we just can’t seem to get enough of toys with existential issues. Over the past 31 years, Pixar has made it unbelievably easy to identify with pieces of vinyl and plastic by imbuing them with humanity and souls. While we thought the best was over after 2010, the fact that the studio still continues to do quality work 16 years later is nothing short of astonishing, as proven by Toy Story 5.
To a degree, many will argue that 2010’s Toy Story 3 was the perfect conclusion to Pixar’s beloved franchise. However, that shouldn’t diminish the heart at the centers of subsequent chapters. While Toy Story 4 was a pleasant epilogue to Woody’s story, Toy Story 5 serves as a perfect companion piece to 1999’s Toy Story 2, providing wonderful closure for Jessie. While not as perfect as the first three films, the latest chapter in this pentalogy is still just as delightful.
With Woody now being off on his own (something Bonnie never seemed to notice after these past few years – what a waste for Andy to even have given him to her), Jessie is now looking after Bonnie and the rest of her and Andy’s toys. When she, Buzz, and the rest of the crew notice Bonnie’s trouble making new friends as a kid who prefers playing with toys to being addicted to her phone or tablet, they try to find a way to connect with others. Unfortunately, their ambitions are interrupted by the arrival of a new tablet device called Lilypad, which is determined to ensure that Bonnie’s connection with others is rooted in her generation’s dependence on screens. It’s up to Jessie and the gang to ensure that the age of toys doesn’t end.
Despite the marketing’s emphasis on technology versus toys, the film is ultimately about Jessie’s struggle with self-worth and abandonment. While this is, in some ways, thematically similar to what we’ve seen with Woody’s journey, it hits a lot harder for a character like Jessie because she’s never received any sort of resolution or reconciliation regarding her past in previous installments. She’s simply had to repeat the cycle of being tossed aside thrice, to the point where it’s affected her self-worth. It was a smart move for Pixar to finally explore this in greater depth, especially since Jessie really hasn’t had as much to do since Toy Story 2. It not only adds more depth to her character and a clearer understanding of her traumas, but also serves as the emotional center of Toy Story 5. It’s the purest part of the movie and the best, especially a scene involving a lunchbox that becomes one of the finest and most emotional moments in the entire series.
That doesn’t mean that the “toys vs. tech” storyline isn’t important. In a movie all about self-worth, Jessie’s journey is inherently and intelligently tied to two other parallel characters: Bonnie and Lilypad. Throughout the movie, both characters question whether or not they’re good enough for the people they are trying to impress. Bonnie is trying to impress her dance classmates so she can have actual friends, questioning everything that makes her the imaginary, fun, and creative individual who loves to play. Lilypad questions whether or not she’s doing right by Bonnie. It becomes Jessie’s job to help them both through the course of the movie, but we find she can’t do this until she’s finally healed of the traumas that make her question her own self-worth, and accept her actual importance; to Emily, Bonnie, Lilypad, and herself.
The need to understand one’s self-worth and internal value couldn’t be more relevant in the age of social media. So Pixar commenting on this in a film about technology and, in a way, cyber bullying makes a 31-year-old franchise feel even fresher and more relevant than ever. It’s the smart thing to do with well-known characters and beloved franchises: use them to say something important about today’s world. And if, along the way, it helps you resolve or explore loose plot points from previous installments, all the better. It proves that, thankfully, in the case of Toy Story, Pixar at least continues to find reason and purpose for adding chapters to their beloved franchises (I certainly hope they continue to do this with the previously announced Incredibles and Coco sequels).
Where Toy Story 5 stumbles, however, is in some of the other narrative plot threads that don’t connect as well. For instance, since 1999, I have honestly felt like Pixar has not known what to do with Buzz Lightyear. They, for whatever reason, keep going back to the “delusional space ranger” thing. Toy Story 2 saw Andy’s Buzz battling a delusional space ranger. Toy Story3 saw Buzz temporarily reverting to “astro nut” form. Now Toy Story5 gives us an army of delusional space rangers. While I understand how critical that plot thread was for the first film and how much it defines Buzz as a character, continuing to play those notes feels a bit stale. The subplot with the army of Buzz figures also feels incredibly disconnected from the rest of the storyline until the absolute final moments of the movie. It provides great comic relief, and the payoff is spectacular in a way. However, until a deus ex machina (which, in a way, serves as a reminder of the positive aspects of tech), it goes nowhere for much of the movie.
The same can be said for the film’s use of Woody. Granted, I’m less concerned with this aspect of the movie, because the character’s story (as previously stated) ended perfectly with Toy Story 4. Having him as a supporting player in Jessie’s story works well enough, especially given his own lessons in accepting Andy’s maturation. However, aside from mostly being the butt of old-man jokes and continuing to spar with Buzz, there’s not much to his involvement in this one.
As such, it ends up making aspects of Toy Story 5 feel a bit superfluous, in a way we were worried it would. Thankfully, the positives outweigh the flaws as the film still manages to find witty and genuinely funny moments from Woody and Buzz’s involvement. Furthermore, none of it truly subtracts from the central emotion and heart of Jessie’s story, so these shortcomings can be forgiven.
Every Toy Story film has introduced new characters with each installment, and Toy Story 5 is no exception. The scene stealer of the entire film, in this case, is Conan O’Brien’s Smarty Pants – a toddler’s potty training digital toy that runs on AA batteries. He, along with Craig Robinson’s GPS device, Atlas, and Shelby Rabara’s digital camera Snappy, provides some of the film’s biggest laughs and introduces the audience to the new character of Blaze Manoukian. O’Brien’s snarky and goofy character, however, stood out as the clear MVP of the film’s new toys, inciting huge laughs every scene he’s in, whether he’s being tortured by Jessie’s addiction to his built-in digital game or making infantile potty jokes. He’s a perfect addition to the cast and one of the biggest highlights of the fifth chapter.
On a technical level, the film’s animation truly sings. Once more, the wizards at Pixar’s animation and rendering department have pushed the boundaries of their skills, making Toy Story 5 the most beautiful installment in the franchise from a technical level. Sequences of the Buzz figures washing ashore and exploring islands give them a chance to flex realistic details that make the environments surrounding these characters feel like live-action settings. Water feels real. Animals like crabs and horses feel real. And that considerably adds to the “wow” factor of the film.
Another aspect of the film that absolutely works is Randy Newman’s score. Toy Story simply wouldn’t feel like itself without Newman’s score and involvement. Being as synonymous with the franchise as John Williams is to Indiana Jones or Star Wars, Newman knows exactly how to evoke sympathy and rousing excitement in the Toy Story films, both through newer themes and by knowing when to use familiar ones. His use of “So Long” from Toy Story 3 during times when Bonnie needs to recognize the importance of her toys, as well as the classic “When She Loved Me” to highlight and redefine Jessie’s relationship with Emily, gives the best scenes in the film the perfect emotional gut punch while also contributing to the journeys of these characters and their growth throughout the film. Additionally, Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” is damn catchy, and a lovely anthem for Jessie!
Overall, as a big fan of Toy Story 2, I fully embraced Toy Story 5. It’s a worthy inclusion to this legendary franchise that finally does far more with Jessie, truly evolving her in a way that reminds us why this is one of the most human film series ever. Like with all chapters of the franchise, there are huge laughs – largely thanks to Conan‘s scene-stealing Smarty Pants! However, the biggest highlight is the film’s huge heart and emotion. Not everything works elegantly from a narrative perspective; some characters’ development and subplots feel superfluous (specifically Buzz and Woody). However, it doesn’t negate the charm and heart of this delightful installment and its themes.
The latter half of this franchise seems to be about letting go, and Toy Story 5 plays those notes terrifically; because of that, it’s hard to think of an age when we’d ever outgrow this series. After Hoppers and now this, we’re looking at Pixar’s brightest year in a long time. Here’s hoping it indicates a true renaissance for one of the greatest animation studios of our time!
Rating: 8/10