Toy Story 5

⭐ 10/10

The first trailer that played before this was for the new Minions movie, and I felt a pit in my stomach. Toy Story 4 lowered the bar for me, and seeing the trailer for the most popular animated franchise made me lose all hope. It was like 3 minutes of gibberish speak, slapstick humour, and it culminated in a massive monster accidentally sitting on a tower that went right up his butt, zoom way out, huge yell. Just utter slop for the lowest common denominator. And you might say, Tim, these are kids movies, relax. But I just watched all the Toy Story movies, and have been dying to find quality movies to watch with my kid. We can make good entertainment that doesn't rely on butts and farts.

Which takes me to this movie. The first thing you hear is the notes of "When She Loved Me" and I could feel my insides warm and my eyes tear up. They had me. But this wasn't just a nostalgia play! My main complaint with 4 is that it has nothing new to say, and I thought this movie was the opposite. This is Jessie's movie, a spiritual sequel to 2, which is my favourite Toy Story movie. Everyone knows an iPad shows up, and now its up to Jessie to rally the troops and win back their kid. Sounds like the original Toy Story, but there is so much more here.

The toys are trying to find her a real friend in a world where people are friends online. Bonnie is goofy and playful, basically a kid, but all her friends are aging up quickly, something Jessie blames on technology. There's a part where some kids laugh at her for playing with toys and I found myself wanting to hit those kids. The various tech that shows up here is funny, the different eras, but the iPad is clearly the villain. There are so many shots of dark rooms lit by someone swiping on a device, its so harrowing to see from the perspective of a toy, let alone a child. And when Bonnie inevitably gets addicted to her Lilypad it hurt my soul to see her hug it in times of distress, a safety iPad.

Small aside, the parents here are terrible. I'll give them some grace, they want their kid to socialize and not be an outcast, but they don't stick to their rules. And when she is clinging to this thing I wanted to scream, take it from her! I have a couple more years before I will have to walk the walk on this, but I blame them for everything in this movie.

There is a side plot about a bunch of new Buzz Lightyear's escaping containment, in their original mindset of thinking they are real space rangers. Very funny, a good callback to the original but in a fun way, kind of like in 2 when Buzz gets trapped by a new Buzz. This movie also subtly has a lot to say about nature! It never comes out and says anything about it, but its clear that disconnecting and being out in the world is a core value of the creators.

I mentioned the earlier era of electronic toys, and I found that section of the movie to be so poignant. Jessy is aghast that they recall a fun 6 months of play with their kids, these disposable gadgets that are all-encompassing for a short burst of time. Jessie draws a distinction I had never thought of, games versus play, basically short term distraction against imaginative learning. But there is still a place for these toys, and I love that the movie explores that, doesn't just say tech is evil. I did have the thought that its amazing that Disney puts this out, a company that loves to sell distraction, but I think its also true that Disney sees themselves as being in the experience business. They have parks, have a roster of characters that people feel attachment too. That may be true of minions or whatever, but its not the same. And sure Disney makes a ton of money off the connections we make to their characters, but I don't think its really a net negative? These characters are thoughtful and loving and explore big ideas, so much so that just seeing Jessie and Bullseye made me want to cry.

And cry I did. This movie emotionally handcuffed me. There's the music, but they also go back to that devastating scene from 2. I thought it was going to be a cheap cry, just running back the same ideas, but the realization Jessie has on that tire swing broke me. I was choking back sobs, and I have tears in my eyes writing this. A huge part of this is my stage of life, seeing 1 and 2 as a kid and now returning to 5 as a parent. The toy/parent parallels are very apparent across all these movies now, supporting a child until they get old enough when they no longer need you, and how beautiful but heartbreaking that is. My kid turns 3 next week, and every day he grows and becomes a different person. The toys desperately trying to find her friends, having anxiety about what her day will be like, dreading that day when their job is over, it was just too much to handle. Toy Story 3 gets into this a bunch with the eventual handoff, but this felt like a deeper dive into the day to day caring for a kid. So many tender moments that turned me into a puddle.

This is getting long, but I should mention some amazing scenes that are basically re-animations of the children playing, showing us what they are imagining. 3 does this in a clever way at the start, but they have revamped it here, with animation that reminded me of Spiderverse, messy but specific. They were so much fun, so silly and creative, it made me smile. In fact I laughed a ton in this movie, so much cleverness and wit. The toy Conan plays basically just tells a million poop jokes but its in the hands of a solid actor who makes them all funny! I know I just complained about this in minions, but this is exactly what I mean, done right kids entertainment can strike that balance.

I loved this movie so much, way more than I ever hoped to. I do think it came to me at the perfect time, and I have deep connections to this franchise, but again 4 was such a disappointment I had lost hope. The ending chooses not to villainize all tech, because we live in a world where that isn't possible, but it grapples with the balance of tech in our lives, and there are places where we still need human to human connection. I did hope at one point that video games would play a role here, but they aren't mentioned. Would love to see how they strike a balance there, since video games can either suck your brain out, or be co-operative spaces where you can learn and be creative. Not to gender this, but Bonnie is a girl. I bet Sid's kid is playing Fortnite while the corpses of his old toys watch in disgust. I'm here to write 6!

Shoutout to how the iPad called Jessie "Jessica", which is what I call my wife when I get stern with her. Felt like another personal touch in a movie made for me.

And if you've read this far, here is my official ranking: 2, 5, 1, 3, 4.