Toy Story 5 (United States, 2026)

It's somewhat amazing that, despite being 31 years old, the Toy Story franchise continues to retain a broad-based appeal unlike that of any other animated property. A cross-generational draw is certainly part of the equation: an eight-year-old who saw the first movie in a theater might now have their own eight-year-old ready to watch this latest installment. And, although the series has repeatedly flirted with the perfect ending (something actually achieved with Toy Story 3), it has been unable to avoid the temptation to keep things going. Even the poorly conceived Lightyear couldn’t quench fans' desire for yet another adventure with Woody, Buzz, and the gang.

Still, the fifth Toy Story is easily the weakest of the bunch, and there are indications that co-writer/co-director Andrew Stanton (the franchise's co-creator who has had a hand in all the installments) may be running low on ideas. This time around, the story opts to focus on Jessie the cowgirl (Joan Cusack) at the expense of Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and Woody (Tom Hanks), who have reduced roles. Woody, in particular, gets the short end of the stick; he is reduced to a supporting player without much to do. Buzz's personality is expanded by virtue of a romance with Jessie but, even factoring in a disjointed subplot featuring scores of Buzzes, his screentime is curtailed. Many favorite Toy Story stalwarts are boxed up and put in the garage for a large portion of the film, and the newcomers, like Smarty Pants (Conan O'Brien) and Lilypad (Greta Lee), don't adequately fill the gap. Longtime Toy Story fans may feel like there's something missing.

The biggest problem is likely that when a franchise reaches the level of quality that Toy Story has achieved, especially with the third installment, any slippage becomes noticeable. Toy Story 5 clearly exists for financial reasons. Pixar has seen massive success with sequels, and Toy Story remains its most venerable and bankable property. Toy Story 5 is a better-than-average animated film, but that has never really been the bar for these movies.

It's surprising and a little disappointing that the story adopts such a stringent anti-tech stance (this borders on preachiness and I don't expect a Luddite sermon from a Toy Story movie). Although there are legitimate concerns about child screen time, Toy Story 5 weaponizes these by both overdoing the negative social impacts (why would someone Bonnie's age be allowed to chat in the first place?) and ignoring anything positive. Additionally, it adopts an either/or approach with devices. Most children do not simply abandon hands-on play in favor of gadgets; instead, they do both. A six-year-old girl is perfectly capable of playing a game on an iPad, then pivoting to painting with watercolors and creating a make-believe scenario with Barbie dolls.

The storyline postulates that Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) has lost interest in playing with her old toys when she is given the tablet Lilypad. (This echoes a theme from the first Toy Story, where Buzz's arrival resulted in Andy pivoting away from Woody.) Bonnie's inherent shyness (the implication is that she's somewhere on the autism spectrum, although this is never explicitly stated) is amplified by Lily's arrival. When she decides to attend a sleepover with three other girls, Jessie and Bullseye hitch a ride—a move that becomes ill-advised when Bonnie returns home without them. Woody, who has returned from his new job of rescuing discarded toys, and Buzz re-team to find Jessie, who has connected with a new girl, Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris).

When it comes to the film's look, Toy Story 5 changes things up by including sequences that are 2-D (to represent "play" setups). Although a solid concept, the execution is questionable because of the dubious quality of the animation. None of this appears to be hand-drawn, and 2-D CGI lacks the beauty and human touch of the more time-consuming, old-school approach. The effects of time's passage are evident in some of the voices. Although Tom Hanks and Tim Allen sound as robust as ever, Joan Cusack's voice is noticeably different, and old-timers like John Ratzenberger and Wallace Shawn are reduced to having cameos. (Plus, with so many of the original voice cast members having died, there are numerous sound-alikes that don't quite pass muster.)

Although it's not necessarily a serious problem for kid-focused animation, the story is all over the place. A subplot featuring a large collection of new Buzz toys feels grafted on as a way to give Buzz more screen time. Woody is largely disconnected (which makes sense considering the ending of Toy Story 4), and the central narrative feels like a watered-down retread of elements from Inside Out 2. There are still some nice Buzz/Woody moments, and the fleeting acknowledgment of the passage of time can pluck the heartstrings, but the things that made the earlier Toy Story films so beloved are either absent or diminished. I'll admit to enjoying spending a little more time with these characters, but this new adventure doesn't feel significant, and its best elements are just rehashes of things that have gone before.

Toy Story 5 (United States, 2026)