Toy Story 5 Review: A Magical and Profound Return

5 days ago 7

It’s easy to criticize the world’s largest film studio for relying on endless sequels or safe remakes. However, Toy Story 5 silences that cynicism (for now) by delivering an absolute masterpiece. As we approach thirty years since the original debuted, it’s a shock and a relief that this installment retains so much raw magic. It carries on the intense emotional stakes, visual intrigue, and boundless humor that made the first film a landmark. In due time, this could easily be considered the franchise’s best entry.

Toy Story 5 Review

(L-R): Jessie, Buzz Lightyear, and Woody in Disney and Pixar's TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

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(L-R): Smarty Pants, Atlas, Snappy, Bullseye, and Jessie in Disney and Pixar's TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
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(L-R): Bullseye and Jessie in Disney and Pixar's TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
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(L-R): Bullseye, Jessie, and Lilypad in Disney and Pixar's TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
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(L-R): Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) and Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) in Disney and Pixar's TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Disney/Pixar. © 2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

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Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) in TOY STORY 5. Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 5" releases in theaters June 19, 2026. © 2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved. © 2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
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Disney and Pixar put themselves in an interesting predicament when they concluded the series with a third film, only to follow it up years later with a legacy sequel. Because of that history, the initial announcement of Toy Story 5 arrived with eye rolls from critics like myself. How could a studio keep ending a franchise without losing its soul?

Thankfully, returning director Andrew Stanton pivots away from yet another closing message. Instead, the plot revolves around Jessie, brought to life with incredible passion and vulnerability by Joan Cusack. Operating as the main character, the cowgirl embarks on a deeply personal journey to discover what it actually means to matter. She’s trying to help eight-year-old Bonnie (Scarlett Spears), who struggles to connect with friends and has become increasingly isolated.

The problem is that Bonnie has become deeply entrenched in a frog-shaped smart tablet named Lilypad. Voiced to solid, eerie effect by Greta Lee, Lilypad acts as the primary antagonist, encouraging Bonnie to chat online rather than playing in the real world. When this tech draws Bonnie’s interest away from physical toys, Jessie saddles up Bullseye to intervene.

Stanton wisely avoids the lazy trope of complaining that modern devices are ruining our lives. Instead, he turns a surface-level critique of screen time into a profoundly beautiful commentary on human loneliness and the universal desire for connection. During their mission, Jessie and Bullseye get separated and whisked away to a rural ranch. There, they encounter an animal-loving child named Blaze, played with wonderful charm by Mykal-Michelle Harris.

(L-R): Bullseye, Jessie, Atlas, Smarty Pants, and Snappy in Disney and Pixar's TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
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(L-R): Jessie, Smarty Pants, Atlas, and Snappy in Disney and Pixar's TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
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(Center): Bonnie in Disney and Pixar's TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
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(L-R): Bullseye and Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack) in Disney and Pixar's TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Disney/Pixar. © 2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

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Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Lilypad in Disney and Pixar’s TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
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(L-R): Woody and Buzz Lightyear in Disney and Pixar's TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
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This narrative thread is terrific, incredibly sweet, and constantly funny. Along the way, Jessie teams up with a hilarious trio of obsolete electronic toys rescued from a junk drawer: a potty-mouthed toilet training toy named Smarty Pants (Conan O’Brien), a cheerful GPS hippo named Atlas (Craig Robinson), and an excitable toy camera named Snappy (Shelby Rabara).

A surprising narrative turn is the general lack of focus on the rest of the original gang. Woody (Tom Hanks) gets a surprise call that leads him back to Bonnie’s room. He partners up with Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) to defeat the tablet threat from the inside and find their missing friends.

It’s an unexpected choice to see iconic characters like Hamm and Mr. Potato Head relegated to a toy box for just a few lines. While this might leave hardcore fans slightly disappointed, it works incredibly well. This bold choice anchors the film, proving the studio is genuinely invested in fresh arcs instead of resting on nostalgia. A third timeline provides hilarious pacing correction through vignettes featuring fifty high-tech Buzz Lightyear action figures who wash ashore, stuck in space ranger mode. These intersecting plots converge for a thrilling conclusion.

Is Toy Story 5 worth watching?

Beautifully animated and impeccably voice-acted, this film is just as emotional as every phenomenal entry before it. Toy Story 5 is as earnest as a movie can possibly be. It offers a narrative that worked profoundly well for me as a recent college graduate, and it will resonate even more with the families it’s geared toward. It feels exactly like the magic Pixar was originally able to achieve. Toy Story 5 is a breathtakingly beautiful project offering a fresh perspective on what it means to be alive, how we get through our darkest times, and the importance of being kind.

Toy Story 5 is in theaters on June 18.

Toy Story 5 Review: A Magical and Profound Return

Andrew Stanton pushes Pixar's flagship franchise in a bold new direction with Toy Story 5, utilizing fresh characters and a brilliant voice cast to turn a critique of modern screen time into a profound, magical masterpiece about loneliness.

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