WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR TOY STORY 5 IN THEATERS NOW
Five movies in a series is something very few movie franchises get. Hollywood typically follows a trilogy format, if they are lucky enough to launch a franchise. When you are five films into a franchise, most movies begin to run stale, look at the newest Scary Movie for example, that was very painful to watch.
Toy Story is a multi-billion dollar franchise, that does not necessarily mean that the movies cannot still be worth the watch. In fact, according to a poll Fandango did, the most anticipated movie of the summer actually is Toy Story 5. Not The Odyssey, not Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but Toy Story 5 was the winner of that title.
Thankfully, with a toys versus technology premise, Toy Story 5 is anything BUT stale. The gang is back together again, and because of the ending of Toy Story 4, we will never take that for granted ever again. At least, most of us will not.
The fifth installment of the Toy Story franchise is a return to what made the first three so memorable for the majority of the fanbase. (Do not worry, if you are feeling like an outlier for liking Toy Story 4, I am right there with you.) The classic Toy Story humor is there in this film, the animation is jaw dropping, and the story is filled with heart.
There are so many times in this movie when we are left to wonder if kids actually need to play with toys anymore or not. Though, most of us know that it is not healthy to spend every second of the day on a device and forget about socializing. In fact, there is a sleepover in this movie where the girls only play on their tablets the whole time. It sort of struck a nerve with me, because I am the Bonnie of my group: I would rather put the devices down and talk than to just sit there and play on our phones while we are together.
Many fans feel that the Toy Story series should have ended at three. Perhaps they have a point, but the way I look at it, the sequels are just a means to spending more time with the toys. The toys have become like family at this point. Seeing more of them is something we should not take for granted. Pixar began with Toy Story, and continuing to make those movies is a true blessing. Oddly enough, though these movies have gone on since the mid-90’s, it is still technically an original IP. Toy Story had only existed in movie format since the original. Though, since then, they have created some video games and TV shows. But regardless of how many sequels Pixar makes, it technically still is an original idea.
With that in mind, how good was Toy Story 5 overall? Well, it is certainly as good as the original three. The voice cast brings their A+ performances to the movie. The minor characters do not get much screen time, although they never really have, so that is not much of a surprise.
While I like the fourth film, many people felt it was unnecessary, perhaps they are correct. There is still so much more story let to tell. We get to see a lot of the movie from a human’s perspective. In fact, we get to spend more time with humans than we ever have before. With the way 5 is handled, we see more of Bonnie than we ever did with Andy. In just one film! Bonnie is a sweet but shy kid. Which is totally relatable, both because she does not have many friends and she spends most of her time playing with her toys. Which also sounds relatable to many of us at that age. But, in fact, kids Bonnie’s age are now playing with tablets. Bonnie is sort of an anomaly.
With Woody gone, Buzz has taken up as the new Deputy. A feat that takes Woody some getting used to. Tim Allen and Tom Hanks never disappoint as Buzz and Woody. We see several Buzz’s in the film, and Tim Allen does a great job of making each Buzz feel like a different person. Sort of reminds me of the voice performance of the clones in the animated Star Wars: Clone Wars TV show. (Which is high praise.) Not an easy task.
Woody, as we see in the trailers, does in fact come back to help save the day. Though, neither Buzz, nor Woody is the main character of the film. That feat goes to none other than Jessie. See, the way Andy loved Woody unconditionally in the early days of Toy Story, is the way Bonnie loves Jessie. As a means to relate to other kids, Bonnie’s parents buy her a kids tablet. The whole film is about what it means to be a kid in today’s day and age.
The toys try their hardest to keep Bonnie from becoming like a zombie who needs a fix of technology every five seconds. It is a genius story beat that shows that Toy Story’s best days are not behind them. One of the main themes of the movie is friendship. Which is something Bonnie struggles with. It is not her fault, the picture is painted of Bonnie being one of the few kids left who has a mind of their own. While the film has a lesson to teach, it never feels too preachy. It even shows how toys and technology can co-exist. Hint: you can play with both!
Like always with Toy Story movies, the basic premise is quite easy to follow, though there are plenty of twists and turns along the way. The humor lands at all times and it will go down as the feel-good, family movie of the summer.
Toy Story 5 is on the same level as the first three films. If you want a good movie to see with family, this is definitely the one. There are important life lessons, a great sense of humor, and such beautiful visuals. There are scenes in this film that feel like it was taken from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, with how pretty the animation was. the story of these toys is far from over.
May Toy Story live on and continue to give us memories to enjoy with our families.
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