Toy Story 5

Last night, I saw “Toy Story 5,” which came out theatrically in June but on Disney+ four days ago. As always, I’m surprised when a new “Toy Story” film comes out, as I feel Pixar is just milking in this franchise, even though each installment has gotten better, and I think they should stop making sequels. However, is this new sequel still having the franchise riding high or is it just a huge cash grab and people have now lost interest?

Following the previous film, “Toy Story 4,” most of the toys are now concealed in the bedroom of Bonnie, now voiced by Scarlett Spears, their original owner, Andy, is now an adult and was going off to college in the third film (who knows how old he is now, and maybe it’s best not to guess). With cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks) now off traveling with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) to help lost toys find new homes, cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack) is now the toys’ leader, being Bonnie’s favorite.

That however suddenly changed when Bonnie is given something new, a tablet called Lilypad, voiced by Greta Lee. Bonnie is soon addicted to this tablet, plus being targeted to a little cyberbullying from her online friends. Can the toys save her from this addiction? Also, what’s with the line of Buzz Lightyears that have been shipwrecked on a remote island, and every Buzz Lightyear is reprised by Tim Allen, who sure has his work cut out for him?

Travis Johnson said in his review, “The original Toy Story quite literally changed cinema, but it’s a franchise now – Pixar’s ever-reliable tentpole, more susceptible to the winds of box office potential than creative drive. That’s just the way of things; we’re unlikely to get anything as downright charming, as downright moving, as the first three films ever again.” However, seen as the latest sequel in what is clearly an ongoing franchise, “Toy Story 5” gives so many good things.

Johnson notes, “It’s as sprightly and witty as ever, and it looks better than ever, Pixar in general and this series in particular, always being at the vanguard of the CGI state of the art.” The voice cast is all-star. Along with the reprising cast, plus recent inclusion like Keanu Reeves’ Duke Caboom, Conan O’Brien leads a great roster of newcomers, including Craig Robinson, Ernie Hudson, Shelby Rabara, Matty Matheson, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Krys Marshall, Kristen Schaal, Wallace Shawn, Lori Alan, Jay Hernandez, Blake Clark, John Ratzenberger, Melissa Villaseñor, Jeff Bergman, Anna Vocino, John Hopkins, Robin Atkin Downes, Jerome Ranft, Tyla, and Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio. We now get the necessary climactic chase sequence, the emotional moments that hits you in the feels – everything you know and love from “Toy Story” is there and correct.

However, what’s new?

Johnson answers, “Well, wrestling with digital toys and the thorny subject of children’s screentime is fresh territory, and definitely an area that a series about the inner life of children had to broach sooner or later. The film takes a fairly even-handed view of the whole phenomenon, landing on “All things in balance, but monitor your kids”.” That’s a rightly sensible area that’s sure to annoy parents on both sides of the overall argument, so that’s great.

Johnson ended his review by admitting, “More importantly for the overall series, Toy Story 5 manages a gentle pivot away from the central Buzz and Woody onscreen duo, which is a problem they were going to have to address sooner or later. Tom Hanks was pretty adamant that Toy Story 4 was going to be his last rodeo, though obviously that turned out to not be the case, but even here the screenplay, by co-directors Andrew Stanton and Kenn Harris, struggles to justify his inclusion a little bit. It’s not hard to picture a Woody-free future film at this point; what’s surprising is that it doesn’t seem like such a terrible move.”

This is the best of the franchise since it deals with an issue that is being seen by kids all over. So many kids are getting smartphones and tablets too early and are spending way too much time on them, that they are not spending times with real friends playing outside and doing the normal stuff kids used to do. We can see that with Bonnie, but we do see that there is still hope when we see the ending. Parents have to be careful with monitoring how much time kids spend on their computers and have them spend more time outdoors with friends. This is a great movie for everyone to check out, so see it on Disney+ if you missed seeing in theaters. I did, even though this is one of the movies I wanted to see in the theaters, but we never made that plan.

Strangely enough, when this film premiered, Stanton said that “Toy Story 3” was the end of Andy’s arch, he said they “got another trilogy with Bonnie.” I wonder if he means they have another movie planned, making the sixth film the finale for Bonnie. I still think they should end it, but if they make another one, make that the finale. How many sequels can they make with this franchise? As good as it is, you have to admit that you can’t keep making sequels to this franchise because it will eventually run its course.

Thank you for joining in on this review. Stay tuned next month for this year’s “Halloween Month.”