When Toy Story 5 was announced, I was very concerned. The first three films are easily one of the best trilogy out there with a beautiful and satisfying ending in the 3rd film. The 4th film, while not as good as the original three, it did still have a strong and emotional ending that felt like a nice wrap up for the whole series. Yet, here we are with a 5th entry that threatens to damage the whole poignant ending. Is this a necessary entry or is this a story not worth telling?
What this new entry tackles is something incredibly relatable to our current times. What if kids stop believing in playing with toys and started being more interested in tech? It’s an interesting dilemma and is something that the director, Andrew Stanton, takes a genuine deep dive into. The film doesn’t just portray the new tech, Lilypad, as a straight-up villain and there is a layered exploration of toys and tech. At the heart of this new story is Jessie. She struggles with what feels like her losing Bonnie to tech. She is afraid of Bonnie abandoning her just like Emily did in the past. Jessie undergoes a wonderful character arc that feels like natural evolution of her character that would definitely bring a tear to people’s eye. A big surprise is also Bonnie herself. There is a really meaningful journey for her as well, something that is a major motivator for Jessie, that leads to a genuinely heartfelt final act and ending.
In terms of writing, there is a perfect balance between the serious, humour and even romance. For example, jokes never ruin emotional moments or romance isn’t overshadowing the main plot. On that note, I do find the jokes to be well-executed and do mostly land. The voice cast also continue to do a great job. Special praise to Joan Cusack as Jessie who absolutely delivers some of her strongest voice performance yet. Randy Newton also returns to score the music for the Toy Story series and as usual, does a magnificent job. His music score elevates every moment and makes the story beats hit harder when it needs to. The animation is also easily the best the Toy Story franchise has ever been. This is especially noticeable when animals appear because they have never looked so close to real life than ever before! I really love how the art style changes during the “imagination” scenes which look gorgeous. There are also many fantastic looking shots within the film which is the result of great cinematography.
Now Toy Story 5 is clearly Jessie’s film but Woody and Buzz do return. Buzz was completely sidelined in Toy Story 4 but he is given a bit more to do in this new entry. However, it is mostly just to deal with the small arc between him and Jessie. Apart from that, he is still quite sidelined here. Woody’s return is completely forced, especially considering his conclusive arc in the previous film. His return is just to be a joke and comedic relief which is kind of weird to see. Him and Buzz are basically the B-plot of the film but what they do isn’t that interesting compared to Jessie’s. There is also a really silly conflict between the two that feels very unnecessary. There is also another subplot concerning an army of Buzz Lightyears that is a bit distracting. The film will sometimes just cut from the main plot to them and it does take a long time for that plot line to have any payoff.
While it does feel obvious that this was made to capitalise on Pixar’s most iconic franchise. The story being told here is incredibly meaningful and relevant. Jessie gets to properly shine and even gets a satisfying character wrap up for her. Toy Story 5 is another phenomenal entry and is an absolute must-watch!
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