There’s a strain at the heart of Toy Story 5 between how these films used to be, with human problems on the periphery, and what they’re like now, with humans as the star. That’s not to say the toys, including our old pals Woody and Buzz, aren’t still going through something of note; it’s that the wear and tear after 30 years is more readily showing.
Picking up after the fourth instalment, young Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) still enjoys playing with her toys, led by Jessie (a game Joan Cusack), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Forky (Tony Hale), and more. As directed by Pixar’s McKenna Harris and Andrew Stanton, there’s yet another new problem on the horizon. Thinking it will help her social life, Bonnie’s parents bring home a Lilypad (Greta Lee), the latest in tablet technology. As far as conflicts go, this is a good one, with the cute device representing the opposite of everything the toys cherish—imagination, inventiveness, and the spirit of play; Lilypad can handle all that while Bonnie mindlessly stares into her reflective glow. Meanwhile, subplots abound in Toy Story 5, including the steady march of a new Buzz battalion, the matrimonial trepidations of the original Buzz, and the competing interests of some now-obsolete toys (including one voiced by Conan O’Brien). Still, the soul of the movie is in Bonnie’s struggle to be herself. Yes, this narrative resolves as it must—through comical derring-do by Jessie and the gang—but it puts the film in a different emotional register than past entries. You may even find yourself wondering why Woody is there at all.
Toy Story 5 is also unable to resolve its other central tension. This is a film filled with plastic and plush characters fighting technology, made by people (and a parent company) who obviously welcome it. If you can look past that and embrace your inner Bonnie (as I did), Pixar has once again capably animated all sorts of poignant human feelings and memories. That’s still something, even if the novelty has worn off.
