Toy Story 5 - Honest Public Reviews

It is better than part 3 or 4. It had a definite message about children using too much technology. It was worth seeing and I would watch it again but only if it happens to be on TV. It never got going for me to where it had me. I do not feel that the inside jokes were present like in the other movies.

Toy Story 5 is not a bad movie, but definitely not a great one.

Woody has been the heart and the main character if the franchise since 1995. A character we all have been so attached too since we were kids.

Toy story essentially means Woody - and unfortunately this aspect was totally ruined.

Toy story 5 significantly marginalized Woody's role, making him minor, insignificant character, with totally no impact on the story plot.

As i said Toy story 5 , is a mediocre movie, boring at some points and sometimes funny.

But it is definitely the weakest one in the series.

Lady would use her flash light to project her feet on the screen. Honestly that may have been better entertainment. The movie dragged with the lack of villains and the lack of the original toys. They tried making a side character the main character and she just couldn't carry the show. There were good moments in the movie that hit you in the feels but everything else was very lackluster.

Loved Toy Story 5.

Took my family to see it, they watched the first 4 and understood the characters and their backstories. I didn't. But I'm fine with it. Lol.

Concept of kids relying on Tech and taking their entire abilities to think, comprehend and appreciate. I loved how it was centralized around Jessie understanding her place as a toy helping the kid be creative, also Bonnie's place on being social and not rely on social media to make friends. All this brought the score 10/10.

The parts of them going from different cartoons in the movie was annoying. Sure it was Bonnie and her fantasy creativity. But it messed it up for us. 8/10

Then we found out that Bad Bunny was in it. Ughhh. First off the super bowl with him in the half time show annoyed me enough to say Im annoyed. The score was brought down to a 3/10

Keanu Reeves being in it, was awesome. But didn't have enough lines brought it up to a final score of 5/10

Final tally, don't put music performers in movies especially the annoying ones.

I was terrified to know that the parents in the movie leave a little girl with a device and acces to social networks. And they left her unattended for 24 hours, and all that in order to make friends... That adds up to several unbelievable decsisions and actions. Most of the story is irrelevant to the motivation of the movie, and mistakes of the characters are so obvious that kids of the same age can tell and comment against during the screening. Do you think it's an exaggeration of the current way to manage devices?

The premise of the movie feels like beating a dead horse. The algorithms are already trying to fake a major hit so I don't support it on Taylor Swift and the fact the movie is silencing critics online. You can see there are many fake bots and Swifities giving it 10 stars to force a hit where it's apparent Disney couldn't get creative with a new original.

My biggest criticism of the new Toy Story was the lack of representation for young boys. The story centered around two female characters, which was disappointing for my son, who has always connected most with Woody and Buzz and the Andy character when he binge watches the early shows.

I also didn't like how Woody and Buzz were sidelined. These characters built the franchise and have always been at the heart of Toy Story. Reducing them to supporting roles felt like a mistake and, in my view, took away from what made the series so popular.

That said, the film wasn't without positives. I thought it did a good job highlighting the dangers of online bullying and excessive technology use among children, while still keeping the fun, light-hearted humour that Toy Story is known for. Overall, I disagreed with some of the creative decisions, but I appreciated the positive message and family-friendly approach.

I really wish I liked Toy Story 5 more than I did.

And trust me, I know. Between this and The Mandalorian and Grogu, I can already see the "you hate fun" allegations coming. I promise that's not what's happening here.

Because I wanted to love this so badly.

I'm a Toy Story 4 defender. I know that's not the majority opinion, but I loved that movie. I loved that it pushed these characters into messy, existential territory and asked questions about purpose, identity, change, and what it means to move on. On top of that, Toy Story 3 is a straight up masterpiece -- especially that ending. So when I heard Andrew Stanton - the guy who made WALL-E (my favourite Pixar movie) - was directing a Toy Story movie about technology and childhood in the modern age, I thought, "Oh, this thing is about to ruin me emotionally."

Instead, I walked out thinking...

"That was okay."

And for most movies, that's enough.

For Toy Story? I don't know if it is.

Because here's the thing: I actually agree with almost everything this movie has to say.

I loved how nuanced it was about technology. It would've been so easy to make a two-hour "technology = bad" lecture, and it never does that. It acknowledges that technology can connect us. It can teach us. It can bring people together. I mean, I use technology every day. You're literally reading my thoughts because of it.

But it also understands that something gets lost when screens replace connection instead of complementing it.

It understands that friendships fade sometimes without anyone meaning for them to. That attention spans are changing. That childhood looks different now than it did twenty years ago.

And maybe most importantly, it understands that a child's imagination is a gift technology can never replace.

I genuinely think what this movie has to say about toys versus tech is smart, timely, and handled with way more grace than I expected.

I just don't think that, by itself, is enough.

Because the name Toy Story means something to me.

I don't go into these movies hoping they're good. I go into them hoping they'll wreck me.

I want the ugly crying from Toy Story 3. I want the existential spiral of Toy Story 4. I want to walk out of the theater staring at the ceiling thinking about growing older and letting go and whether being loved for a season is enough.

And this movie never quite got there for me.

There is one stretch involving Jessie that absolutely did. It's actually my favourite part of the movie. Jessie makes for a really compelling emotional center, and there's a realization she comes to that genuinely caught me off guard. For about ten minutes, I felt that familiar ache in my chest and thought, "There it is. There's the movie I was looking for."

Then it moved on.

And I wish it had stayed there a little longer.

Because as much as I appreciated Jessie's role in the story, I couldn't shake the feeling that this franchise is starting to repeat itself. This was the first Toy Story movie where I found myself thinking, "How many times are we going to revisit abandonment?"

And I hate even writing that.

Because abandonment is the beating heart of this series. Andy leaving. Emily leaving. Bonnie moving on. These movies understand that loving someone means accepting they won't need you forever.

But for the first time, it felt less revelatory and more recycled.

The juggling act with all these characters doesn't help either. The gang fades into the background more than I'd like, and Buzz continues to feel increasingly flanderized. And as much as I appreciated Jessie stepping into the spotlight, Woody just has too much gravity to function as a supporting player. Every time he disappeared from the movie, I found myself waiting for him to come back.

There are still so many things I liked here. These voices feel like reuniting with old friends every single time. Conan O'Brien absolutely steals the show in a role I never would've predicted. The humor mostly works. Randy Newman still knows exactly which emotional buttons to press with the score (though I missed hearing "You've Got a Friend in Me" this time around). And even if I found the animation a little less impressive than Toy Story 4, Pixar's craftsmanship remains undeniable.

Plus the new Taylor Swift song written for the movie was very fitting and deserves a Best Original Song nomination at the Oscars next year!

So maybe that's why this review sounds harsher than I actually feel.

Because I don't think Toy Story 5 is bad.

I think it's good.

I think it's thoughtful.

I think it's sweet.

I think it fully justifies its existence and has something genuinely worthwhile to say about technology, friendship, peer pressure, and the importance of human connection in a world that feels increasingly designed to pull us apart.

I also think it's the first Toy Story movie that left me more appreciative than emotional.

And maybe that's the real disappointment.

Not that Pixar made a bad Toy Story movie.

But that, after decades of excellence, they finally made one that was just okay.

A 3½-star Toy Story movie is still better than most animated films.

I just never thought I'd walk out of one saying, "I wish I loved it more."

Very slow to start with. Woody and Buzz are meant to be the main characters, but are once again sidelined. Jessie's story is nice, but another glaring opportunity missed to reunite with her owner Emily. Lack of adult humour which made the first 2 films great was another let down once again. Time for this Story to meet its natural conclusion once and for all.

In fact, the movie turned out bad. Half of the Film was not clear and useless, a very dubious action, the end was not so interesting and large-scale compared to the same 3rd part. Also a question to the main villain: Lily. We didn't even find out who it was, the movie told very little about her, as if the script was made by a teenager. Very beautiful graphics, but where has the sunset technique gone, when the sunset appears in the middle and end of the film for tension. You can watch it, but it's interesting, I just wouldn't watch it.

Toy Story 5 (2026) :

Movie Review -

Toy Story 1, 2, and 3 will always remain my favourite trilogy of all time-neck-and-neck with the original Star Wars trilogy and The Lord of the Rings. Toy Story 3 will forever stand as the greatest third instalment ever made in cinema history-not just because it is a masterpiece, but because of the way it concludes everything so beautifully. I still wonder how Pixar managed to make grown adults cry over toys. I was in my 20s, and I cried like a child during the ending of Toy Story 3. Neither LOTR, Star Wars, nor even The Dark Knight trilogy managed to do that to me. Then came Toy Story 4, which honestly wasn't needed after such a perfect finale, but it still worked well enough. The themes felt complete, yet Pixar chose to move forward with Toy Story 5. The only logical direction left was to explore digital gaming and modern play habits-and that's exactly what this film attempts. However, unlike its predecessors that delivered strong, universal messages, this one fails to land with the same impact. The fifth instalment remains honest to the franchise's legacy and values, but it lacks the emotional punch that defines Toy Story. For me, this series has always balanced toys and kids equally-50-50. This time, however, the focus shifts more toward kids and their friendships rather than the toys themselves, which feels like a significant intellectual misstep.

Toy Story 5 begins with Bonnie struggling to befriend her neighbour's twins. She finds comfort in playing with her toys while the world around her rapidly evolves. Kids are no longer playing with toys-they're immersed in digital gaming devices. This is highly relatable and reflects a global shift over the past decade. The potential here was massive. Unfortunately, Pixar reduces this rich premise into a simplistic conflict-turning it into a mission where toys must help Bonnie find "real" friends. This feels overly specific and lacks the universal emotional appeal the series is known for. Jessie, Buzz, and Woody attempt to adapt by engaging with these digital devices to reconnect with Bonnie. Feeling embarrassed about playing with toys, Bonnie begins to reject them and gravitates toward her virtual world. Jessie believes Bonnie needs real friendships, not virtual ones, and the toys gang embarks on a mission to find her a true friend. While this setup has emotional potential, the execution feels limited and somewhat forced.

There's a striking parallel I couldn't ignore. In My Man Godfrey (1936), William Powell says, "It's about time that I was moving on," which becomes an emotional turning point. That goodbye signifies a new beginning. Toy Story 3 embraced this philosophy perfectly. However, Toy Story 4 and now Toy Story 5 keep revisiting the same "moving on" theme repeatedly, and at this point, it feels redundant. It's as if the franchise is reluctant to truly evolve beyond its own emotional blueprint. The film focuses heavily on solving Bonnie's immediate problem, but what about the bigger picture? What about other children? What about Bonnie herself a few years down the line? Realistically, within five years, toy culture may diminish even further. The existential dilemma of toys-their acceptance, irrelevance, and emotional closure-is barely explored. This lack of depth becomes one of the film's biggest flaws. The second major issue is the absence of a powerful emotional climax. A Toy Story film without moist eyes at the end? That just doesn't feel like a Toy Story movie at all!

The voice cast does a decent job. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Greta Lee, Conan O'Brien, Tony Hale, Craig Robinson, Shelby Rabara, Scarlett Spears, and the rest of the ensemble deliver competent performances. The animation quality remains consistently strong, as expected. The editing feels sluggish in the first hour but improves significantly in the final 30-35 minutes. The sound and art design are serviceable, though one might expect something more refined from a franchise of this stature.

Andrew Stanton's script feels mediocre when weighed against the colossal legacy of Toy Story. That burden is immense-perhaps unfair-but unavoidable. In isolation, this script might have worked as a decent standalone film. However, as a Toy Story entry, it falls short. The film misses out on delivering an idealistic finale, meaningful sacrifices, a resonant message for both parents and children, and a deeper critique of digitalisation-all elements that could have elevated it into something truly memorable. Without these core emotional and philosophical layers, one has to question the purpose of continuing the franchise. Stanton's screenplay lacks the depth and sharpness expected, and that shortcoming reflects in his direction as well. Toy Story 5 is, at best, a good film-but "good" is simply not good enough for a Toy Story movie. Perhaps Stanton forgot what made these films timeless. What we get instead is a fairly entertaining experience, far removed from the profound emotional and intellectual world we've lived in with these characters since 1995.

RATING - 6/10*

Walking into Toy Story 5, I kept asking myself the same question: what could possibly be left to say after four movies? To its credit, the film actually finds an angle that feels relevant. This time the toys aren't competing with another toy, they're competing with technology itself as Bonnie becomes increasingly attached to a tablet named Lilypad and begins drifting away from the kind of imaginative play that once defined her childhood. The concept is clever, and there are moments where the movie genuinely captures that bittersweet feeling of realizing the world has changed while you're standing still. I especially liked the larger role given to Jessie, who ends up carrying much of the emotional weight of the story as she struggles with what it means to become less important to the child she loves. The animation is gorgeous, the humor still works, and there are a handful of scenes that hit surprisingly hard. That said, I never quite escaped the feeling that the previous films had already delivered a more powerful conclusion. The emotional highs are there, but they don't reach the same level as the best entries in the series. Even so, it's funny, thoughtful, and heartfelt enough to justify its existence. Not a new classic, but a worthy return to the toy box.

Came out of the movie today saying "this was worth my time", however there seemed to be so many moments in the movie where I almost wanted to grasp the emotion and feel the weight of what was happening but could never get there. OR another way of saying it is I wanted the toy story magic but never got it. Conceptually it is awesome and provides a problem that absolutely everyone has gone through or will go through. Just felt like it missed something though. Jessie finally got her shine but it still feels off because Woody should be the center of everything. Hence the reason why they 100% should've cut the series after Toy Story 3 it could not have ended better.

When i went to watch this movie i thought "oh no, here we go again. Another toy story movie." but in all honesty, it wasn't that bad. Most of the jokes were actually pretty funny, the story itself was good, and the animation was amazing. I do have a few tweeks though. The dynamic between jessie and buzz throughout this movie felt like they were trying to hard to put actual romance in there. There was a kissing scene between the 2 which felt very forced, i think they just did that so kids could be like "Awwwwww". Obviously those 2 have had a relationship stemming throughout the movies but in this one it felt very forced. Also, this movie as a whole, was genric. All pixar movies are starting to follow the same pattern. Movie starts, characters are introduced, there's a problem, another side of the story is being followed, sad moment happens, heroes try to make it right, villain beomes good, all sides of the story intertwine, big moment, happy ending. The day that disney or pixar, hell, even other studios like dreamworks and illumination, make an original, modern film, that doesn't follow this kind of pattern along some sort of lines, i will come straight here and give it a 10 out of ten, and it will go down in history as a revolutionary movie to me. And obviously, we have the meaningful message of the movie: don't stay glued to a screen and make the good times last long. As a whole, for the 5th fricking toy story movie (should've ended at 3).... it was pretty good, it did it's job as a toy story movie and all the kids in the cinema seemed to love it.

But if they drop a sixth im'a jump off a bridge.

The film itself is more a side branch of the toy story franchise. It explores the life of Jessie, Bonnie and Blaze rather than focussing on the core group of toys. Woddy's role feels superfluous and like they felt compelled to include him as it is toy story afterall.

Overall I feel the story of toy story is not advanced in any way through the film, I would say with 6 & 7 rumoured to be open to production, number 5 in the franchise could be skipped any you'd miss none of the subplot.

The film lacks real nostalgia and has too many rushed subplots to have any true coherent story. The 50 buzz light-year story feels like it started life as a Pixar short story before being shoehorned into this film. Then there's a love story that again, add little to the story.

The story itself is a good concept of tech vs toys but it's terribly executed and filled with mix messages. It hard to imagine Disney would have e played a film saying tablets and tech are bad and the story plays out as a conflicted plot that kind of says it's good in moderation, by therefore adds absolutely nothing to the debate.

I found there was no great moments, very few laughs, no nods or inside jokes for adults. I think children will like it and it's a blessing it's only around 100 minutes long. Not a disaster, but personally I'd save the money and wait for it to be released on streaming.