- Title: Toy Story 5
- IMDb: link
It turns out even the weakest Toy Story film, two films after the franchise came to a natural conclusion, is still pretty good. More of a Jessie (Joan Cusack) and Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) movie than a Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen) film, the story focuses an imaginative put lonely Bonnie struggling to make friends whose life is changed by the introduction of a new Lilypad (Greta Lee) tablet which draws her away from her toys.
Introduced as the villain of the film, and a foil for Jessie who has her own plans for connecting Bonnie with the right kinds of friends, the movie’s (and Jessie’s) stance on tech softens considerably over the course of the film revealing in the end that tech toys like Lilypad, Smarty Pants (Conan O’Brien), Atlas (Craig Robinson), and Snappy (Shelby Rabara) just want the best for their child.
We also get a subplot of an army of Buzz Lightyear figures from a crashed storage container waking up and seeking Star Command which will eventually bring them back to Sheriff Jessie tying the two stories together and throwing their support into helping Bonnie make a new friend. While the focus is on what’s best for Bonnie, the emotional climax of the film deals with Jessie returning to the home of her first owner and specifically the tire swing which still holds so many memories.
Toy Story 5 may be a franchise on the decline, but (at least so far) it’s a slow decline. There’s plenty of humor and heart here to delight kids and adults of all ages. It also sees the franchise continue to innovate when animating the play time of Bonnie or Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris) showing a willingness to evolve while still staying faithful to the themes of the original film.
