Toy Story 5

Director: Andrew Stanton

The toys are back. Now with Jessie (Joan Cusack) as Sheriff, Buzz (Tim Allen) her deputy, together with the gang they are Bonnie’s (Scarlett Spears) toys. Woody (Tom Hanks) meantime leads a team who rescue toys, discarded because of the ever growing impact of “screens”. Bonnie is a girl that plays, that’s until tech arrives in the shape of Lily (Greta Lee), introducing Bonnie to the ups and downs of the online world. But, when Jessie realises her online friends are not right for her, with Bullseye, Buzz and Woody in tow, she sets off on an adventure to find her the right friend, that shares Bonnie’s special qualities.

While Toy Story 5 doesn’t quite hit the heady heights of the first films, this is still a solid addition to the Toy Story catalogue.

While it follows many of the beats of the first film, it tweaks the formula neatly, with a more female centric telling, that works well. It does what Pixar does well, taking the complex issue of children and technology with a nuanced look at it’s plusses and minuses, as well as how it can bring community accepting that technology is not all evil, and has its part to play, an inevitable part, in the lives of children.

In typical Pixar style it is full of heart, charm and humour. Whether through Bonnie’s loneliness, Jessie’s realisation of the part she plays in children’s lives, the toys playing the surrogate for the parents in the audience once again, or Woody’s balding head. Of course it wouldn’t be Toy Story without a wild chase, and this one includes unicorns as well as Buzz finally flying with style!

The voice cast quality is as high as ever, with the regulars and new voices, all engaging and it almost goes without saying that the animation looks great.

The only criticism is it feels it is retreading old Toy Story ground. Much of the story arc is familiar and it does beg the question, is there any other Toy Stories to tell.

That said, it’s still great fun and should work for those new to Toy Story and those back amongst old friends.