Pixar’s Toy Story 5 sends Jessie, Woody and Buzz into battle against a tablet as critics see visual dazzle but safe nostalgia
Arriving in theaters June 17, Toy Story 5 pits the talking toys against a Lilypad tablet that hypnotizes their child owner, dividing critics who admire its visual brilliance but find the theme of screen addiction treads familiar ground.
A new threat: the Lilypad tablet
The fifth Toy Story instalment drops Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the gang into the attention war of the 2020s. Bonnie, the girl who inherited the toys, struggles to make friends, so her parents gift her a green tablet called Lilypad. Within minutes the device connects her to other screen-hypnotized children who soon mock her old-fashioned toys online, pushing her to stash them away. “L’ère des jouets est révolue,” a line from the opening minutes, sets the crisis in motion.
Jessie takes charge
For the first time the cowgirl Jessie, installed as team leader at the end of Toy Story 4, drives the rescue mission. Woody has retreated to a community of owner-free toys and returns only via walkie-talkie, his bald spot now a running joke. Buzz L’Éclair even declares his feelings for Jessie. Directors Andrew Stanton (co-writer of the first four films) and McKenna Harris craft a breakneck operation to pull Bonnie back from her “false friends” on social media.
- Toy Story premieres, first fully computer-animated feature film
- Toy Story 2 introduces Jessie and the collector’s world
- Toy Story 3 tackles toy abandonment and passes the gang to Bonnie
- Toy Story 4 focuses on Woody’s identity crisis and gives Jessie the sheriff star
- Toy Story 5 releases with toys confronting screens for the first time
Pixar’s stance on technology
In a Paris press event, chief creative officer Pete Docter rejected the idea that the studio has become anti-tech. “The problem is not technology itself but the way it is used and controlled,” Docter said, describing artificial intelligence as an extension of artists. Producer Lindsey Collins compared technology to fire: “It can warm you but it can also burn you. You have to use it responsibly.” Co-director Andrew Stanton said a big motivation was to show how screens affect children’s friendships. “We must not forget that at 8 years old, making friends can be something very frightening,” he noted.
The problem is not technology itself but the way it is used and controlled.
Technology is like fire: it can warm you but it can also burn you. You have to use it responsibly.
We must not forget that at 8 years old, making friends can be something very frightening.
Critical reception: dazzle but safety
Reviews praise the film’s visual set-pieces, a night-time shot of a neighbourhood lit only by blue screens, nods to Bambi and Clint Eastwood, and its ability to wring emotion from a worn premise. Yet several French outlets flag a taste of déjà-vu. The theme of toy abandonment by a growing child, pushed to its limit in the third film, now relies on a tame resolution of moderation rather than a sharper critique. The plot settles for peaceful coexistence between toys and screens, a choice that leaves some critics wanting more bite.
