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For objects of children’s entertainment, Buzz and Woody have been through a lot. In the first Toy Story movie from 1995, the cowboy Woody had to face potential replacement by the flashier space man Buzz Lightyear. Since then, they’ve been kidnapped by Wayne Knight, sabotaged by a rogue antique, and, uh… almost sent to Hell.
The latest trailer for Toy Story 5 brings the toys back to their roots, with a threat of replacement that goes deeper than Woody’s worry that Andy has outgrown him. The toys’ new kid, Bonnie, has been given a tablet called Lilypad (Greta Lee), and Lilypad can keep Bonnie’s attention—for better or for worse. To mount a rescue mission, Jessie has to call in some backup, bringing Woody and all of the original toys back together again.
As that summary suggests, Toy Story 5 faces a unique challenge. As Pixar‘s flagship franchise, Toy Story carries a level of prestige on top of the nostalgia it invokes, especially as the movie’s first audience has now grown up and many have their own children. Andy may also be an adult, and Buzz and Woody may have matured beyond their initial conflicts, but the series cannot completely abandon those characters.
On the other hand, what more is to be said about characters deeply indebted to the childhoods of Baby Boomers? It’s not just today’s kids who didn’t grow up with Buck Rogers and Howdy Doody, some of the inspirations for Buzz and Woody—the concepts are just as unfamiliar to their parents and, in some cases, their parents’ parents. How can Toy Story 5 be as relevant as the four movies that precede it?
The new trailer gives some hints about the movie’s approach. First of all, there’s the emphasis on Jessie, who has been a dynamic supporting character since her introduction in Toy Story 2, but who has never received the attention she deserves. Then, there’s Bonnie’s family, which did play a background role in Toy Story 4. However, that film took the family on the road, giving us less time to see their full milieu.
Most importantly, there’s Lilypad. More than just a new character, Lilypad gets at the central issue of the Toy Story franchise. These movies have always told us that toys care about their owners and bring out the best in their owners. Clearly, Lilypad can connect with Bonnie, but the trailer also shows us that it’s making her inert and uncreative.
In other words, Lilypad threatens to replace Buzz and Woody just like Woody threatened to replace Buzz. But where Woody found a way to be second best to his space-age pal, the toys likely cannot co-exist with Lilypad, a device that threatens to make Bonnie dull and lazy. Will that switch be enough to animate Toy Story for a new generation? We’ll find out this summer.
Toy Story 5 arrives in theaters on June 19, 2026.
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