Once again, Disney and Pixar's Toy Story franchise is moving in the right direction with Andrew Stanton's Toy Story 5, a wonderful return to the characters we've come to love. Joan Cusack brings warmth and subtlety to Jessie, and the new setting creates a unique and unexpected look. While it doesn't reach the heights of its predecessors, it's a wonderful, touching, and often funny return in its own right.
Pixar's Toy Story franchise is one of the most iconic in animation history. By imbuing toys with emotions, it immersed fans in a world that nearly everyone shares deep childhood memories with. At the same time, the toys grapple with complex emotions: a child who has outgrown them struggles with the meaning of life, searches for love, and lets go of the past.
The second and third films somehow surpassed the first, and Toy Story 3 won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for its heartbreaking rescue story. The film cemented the first three Toy Story films as a near-perfect trilogy, among the best in animation and film history. Toy Story 4 came out nine years later, reuniting Woody (Tom Hanks) with his love, Bo-Peep (Annie Potts).
«Toy Story 4 showed us interesting sides to our favorite characters, but despite its strengths, it didn't quite reach the heights of the original trilogy. In 2022, the franchise perhaps made its only real mistake with Lightyear, which explored the mythology of Buzz Lightyear's (Tim Allen) universe instead of a Toy Story film centered around Buzz Lightyear as a toy. Toy Story 5 may have a tougher time, but it's a brilliant installment, brimming with heart.
Joan Cusack leads the touching and original composition.
In Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5, Jessie (Joan Cusack) is a happy toy, beloved by the sweet Bonnie (Scarlett Spears), a shy but imaginative girl who struggles to make friends in a world where other kids have tablets instead of toys. When Bonnie receives her own tablet, "Lilypad," Bonnie and the other toys believe they will suffer the inevitable fate of so many toys damaged by technology.
It's no secret that the friendships formed onscreen aren't as healthy for Bonnie as expected, so Jessie and the other toys set out to help her find a true friend. This film seamlessly blends heart and humor, bringing back beloved characters, introducing charming new ones, and even introducing some surprising new voice actors.
«Toy Story 5 is a particularly strong showcase for Joan Cusack's talent as Jessie, a toy with a long history who, like many other toys in the franchise, is deeply afraid of being replaced. However, her primary concern is the well-being of her beloved Bonnie. The plot balances these two aspects beautifully, allowing the character to effectively explore the franchise's themes of purpose and connection, and Cusack brings considerable depth to the character's story.
Tim Allen is once again superb as Buzz Lightyear, who, after a long stint as Jesse's second-in-command, finds himself a little bit in love. It's a genuinely funny tale of betrayal, and he gets extra time to shine in the introduction of a whole host of other Lightyears, which is the funniest part of the film.
Greta Lee brings some much-needed complexity to the sweet-natured but perhaps overzealous Lilypad, and young Spears delivers a touching performance as the shy young Bonnie that's also worth checking out.
A great Toy Story movie that fell just short of the franchise's peak.
«Toy Story 5 is different from some of the previous installments, partly because it spends a lot of time with characters typical of Westerns in a rural setting, and partly because it isolates those characters from the group of toys we've followed for much of the franchise's history.
Kasak excels as the title character, and the supporting cast provides powerful chemistry, tension, and humor when needed. This is a cleverly written film with plenty of comedy and drama, including a beautifully acted Jessie. Buzz provides viewers with many of the funniest moments, laying the groundwork for a wonderful addition to the beloved series.
The film itself is a success, though similar to previous installments in the franchise in some undesirable ways. As a Toy Story film, it skillfully adds new layers to the themes that underpinned the previous installments while simultaneously developing familiar characters. Beloved toys from previous installments feature in various ways, and while the new outfits are often clever and add new elements, the lively dialogue between these diverse characters is sometimes lacking.
«Toy Story 5 had to live up to very high standards, returning to a magnificent franchise that hadn't been properly developed in subsequent installments, perhaps becoming the only truly unsuccessful version. It's a strong film, aspiring to the franchise's heights, though falling just short. It's hard to miss the joyful cacophony of the many toys that were the focus of the original trilogy, here reduced to brief, selective appearances. Nevertheless, the film is full of emotion and humor, a wonderful addition that puts the franchise back on track for Disney and Pixar.
Overall rating: 8/10
Toy Story 5 is set to premiere in theaters on June 19, 2026.