Toy Story 5 Proves the Franchise Still Has Heart
It is hard to argue that the Toy Story series needed to continue after Toy Story 3, which in 2010 seemed like a perfect farewell to Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of the cast. That film brought emotional closure when Andy, now college-age, passed his toys to Bonnie, and it grossed about $1.65 billion in 2026 dollars. But Disney had no reason to end one of its biggest brands, and Toy Story 5 arrives as another strong entry, with Pixar’s signature mix of animation, humor, emotion, and ideas that speak to both children and adults.
The film follows Toy Story 4, where Woody left Bonnie’s toys to reunite with Bo Peep and become a free toy, while Jessie took over leadership. In the new film, Jessie is the lead, though Woody returns with a small bald spot and a middle-age belly. The story also revisits Jessie’s trauma from Toy Story 2, when Emily abandoned her, and uses that history to broaden the film’s central theme, the fear of being left behind, not just for toys but for children too.
Bonnie is now eight and embarrassed that her classmates mock her old-fashioned toys, so her parents buy her a kids’ tablet called Lilypad. Voiced by Greta Lee, the device is smug and dismissive, convinced it can replace the rest of Bonnie’s toys. The movie does not simply condemn technology, though. Instead, it argues for balance between old and new, while questioning what children lose when screens and apps crowd out imagination and direct play.
Jessie teams up with three abandoned digital toys from an earlier phase in a child named Blaze’s life, including Smartypants, a potty-training device voiced by Conan O’Brien. The movie also brings back many familiar supporting toys, including Hamm, Rex, Mr. Pricklepants, and Duke Caboom. Buzz gets a romantic thread with Jessie that began nearly 27 years ago, and a separate plot sends 50 advanced Buzz Lightyear dolls on a journey from a desert island back to the main toys, setting up the film’s big action climax. The film is directed by Andrew Stanton, who has been central to Toy Story since the beginning, and co-written with first-time filmmaker McKenna Harris.
