By The Toy Story franchise is one that has kept defying the odds. Traditional wisdom holds sequels are rarely better than their originators. After all, topping the concept that started it all while still feeling like a follow-up to the story is a tight rope to walk. Yet Toy Story 2 and 3 both found new things to say in the world of talking toys, with 3 being a perfect cathartic capstone to a decade and a half of storytelling.
Then, nine years later, 4 came. While derided by some as disrupting the perfect ending of 3, 4 did receive critical acclaim. Finding one last thing to say, it sent Woody’s character off into the sunset a second time and seemingly officially retired the cowboy.
Yet, Disney could not let sleeping dogs lie and thus arrives Toy Story 5. With many already feeling like 4 was a stretch, there is a natural antsyness with 5. How many more endings can Woody have?
Toy Story 5 sidesteps that problem by not feeling like an ending and deciding to not have as grandiose of a story. In fact, Woody and Buzz feel included mostly out of obligation and a better script likely would have jettisoned Woody entirely, as he has no impact on the story. Instead, Jesse headlines as the main character in a repeat of some of her Toy Story 2 beats while also throwing in the modern problem of kids playing more with electronics than traditional toys.
It’s a decent idea and likely the only truly impactful way of saying something new in this universe in 2026. Because it is Pixar, and because it is Andrew Stanton writing and directing, even a more average day for them is still decent. But Toy Story 5 is undoubtedly the weakest entry in the franchise so far.
The script certainly feels like it jammed together those two aforementioned story ideas, part of why 5 suffers overall. The nature of an iPad generation of kids is certainly something worth exploring in a family movie and a deep dive into how parents and their progeny wrestle with finding balance in a world where the screen babysitter is so tempting would have been interesting. Unfortunately, 5 stops short of actually saying anything about that concept and leaves the questions as surface level as the screens that serve as the movie’s antagonist.
Instead, the film spends much of its time with Jesse off at another house wondering if she has any worth left. While lip service is paid to the electronic concept with Jesse conflicting with some older electronic toys, that too is more window dressing than substance. Conan O’Brien provides a hilarious performance as a potty training toy, but Jesse’s disagreements with them seem more a parallel to racial prejudice than themes of electronic ingress.
There are certainly decently emotional beats to mine from Jesse trying to find her way back to Bonnie and form a real friendship for her. At its core, Toy Story 5 continues the ideas of meaningful connections being important in solid ways. Jesse’s emotional catharsis at the end does stir the heart.
But none of it feels truly new anymore. We’ve seen those ideas before and they are well-trodden ground in this franchise. Without anything unique to say, 5 often feels an exercise in redundancy despite what works. When in consideration with the clunky script beats, including a subplot involving a small army of Buzz Lightyears that serve no other purpose than to be literal plot devices, 5 finally feels like the first cheap, overdone sequel.
To be clear, Toy Story 5 is a solid movie. The animation continues to dazzle, there is plenty of humor, and there is something comforting in the well-seasoned vocal performances from Joan Cusack, Tom Hanks, and Tim Allen. One can appreciate that it at least tries to touch on what “play” means to kids today. But in the end, 5 makes Toy Story feel played out.
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