Woody, Buzz, Rex and the gang are all back in action in this fifth (and perhaps not final) instalment in the Toy Story series.
In a surprisingly refreshing move, however, it’s Joan Cusack’s lovable cowgirl, Jessie, who leads the pack (and indeed the film as whole) this time, letting Woody take something of a backseat compared to 2019’s Toy Story 4, which was his movie through and through.
‘The age of toys may be over, but I’m gonna do something useful before I go!’
Hanks’ hero – surely near and dear to all of us after over thirty years of playtime – was last seen jetting off for new horizons as the previous entry saw him reunited with his old flame, Bo Peep. Some might argue that it cheats the fourth film’s narrative to have him come back into the fold for a visit here, but Woody was always one to help out a pal in need.
Perhaps longtime series composer Randy Newman ought to consider changing the theme tune to ‘You’ve Got A Friend in Me Whether You Like it or Not’ at this point…
But what could be so bad as to warrant Woody’s triumphant return, now donning an Eastwood-esque poncho and a bald spot fit for a monastery? It could only be the introduction of a brand new technological terror to the toys’ owner, Bonnie’s, life – Lilypad (played by Greta Lee), a bright green tablet bought in the hope of helping her make some friends with the local, tech-obsessed wildlife.
The Toy Story franchise has thus far managed to dodge the looming shadow of iPad children and diminishing attention spans, but the jig is finally up. Tech has arrived and the ‘age of toys’ as we know it is seemingly over. Suddenly, Bonnie’s well and truly transfixed by the pale blue light and it’s up to the new and improved Round-Up Gang to try and rescue not just her, but themselves as well as they grapple with the possibility of becoming obsolete.
There’s something surreal about hearing Jessie, introduced in 1999, whisper worriedly to Woody about ‘losing Bonnie to this device’. As products of the 90s, the whole gang carry an inherently nostalgic quality, one that had kids and parents alike getting emotional as the original trilogy came to an end with 2010’s Toy Story 3. There’s a timeless quality to them, even after passing into Bonnie’s hands, so the idea that this new film would be all about challenging the rise of tech had some scoffing.
The films, as a whole, have never really concerned themselves with the issues of the times. Toy Story 2 wasn’t about Woody and Buzz pulling the plug on Andy’s Nintendo 64 to free him from the grasp of endless Mario Kart tournaments and polygonal Zelda dungeons; it was far more focused on intrinsically personal issues that anyone who’d ever owned a toy could relate to.
In a way, tech’s inclusion here speaks to just how prominent it is now, not just to us as adults but to so many childhoods, too, but fifteen or so years on from the rise of these tablets and devices (which I, as a child, actually had) the theming here doesn’t feel like a perfect fit – it’s rather late to the party.
The party itself is one I went into with some trepidation. Had I been invited, I might have wavered when it came to RSVPing. The franchise has become such a core part of multiple generations’ memories growing up (I watched Toy Story 2 countless times on video – DVDs were absolutely available at the time, but who cares about picture quality when you’re six?).
So most people feel particularly protective of it compared to other ongoing franchises. The general consensus continues to proffer that things ought to have stopped with 3, but even 4 managed to find a new angle.
Going into 5, I’d heard mixed things, but I do think that this new entry, like its predecessor, manages to justify its existence by way of keeping sight of its character focus, even in the midst of the ‘current’ technological commentary. Rather than completely descending into a wholehearted bash against the likes of Lilypad, director, Andrew Stanton, and co-writer, Kenna Harris, realise the importance of a strong central arc as the through-line.
Jessie’s turn as the protagonist is twenty-seven years in the making, and her story builds off of Toy Story 2’s incredibly moving ‘When She Loved Me’ sequence which saw her abandoned by her original owner, Emily. There’s some recapping to catch the younger audience up to speed, but the film, for the most part, takes its backstory as read and pushes forward with developing things further. Her arc then builds, as you’d expect from this franchise, to an emotional conclusion that had me misty-eyed.
Elsewhere, the story gets a little scattered. I appreciated giving a greater role to everyone’s favourite space ranger, Buzz Lightyear, who felt positively superfluous to the plot of 4, but Jessie spends a great deal of the movie separated from the core group to allow room for her to develop.
Toy Story 2 and 3 managed to pull off a brilliant balancing act between fleshing out the central characters and keeping the ensemble involved, and I don’t know if we’ll ever have a Toy Story film where each character feels as essential as they did there again.
Conan O’Brien, of all people, leads a cast of new characters as Smarty Pants, a walking, talking toilet roll whose sole purpose is to help toddlers go to the bathroom. I like Conan as much as the next man, but my tolerance for toilet gags only goes so far, and there’s an abundance of them here that makes Toy Story 5 feel as though it’s pandering to kids in a way that the previous films never seemed to want to. They just lived and died on the strength of their relatable themes.
There’s also a fair helping of Disney references, something that the Mouse seems to be doing more as of late. The company really does seem to own everything these days – it’s hard to make a movie reference without tripping over their roots somewhere – but it reads to me as a calculated move to ensure the different strands of the business remain relevant. That being said, I did laugh out loud at a direct reference to a Golden Age film, even if the film’s confirmation that Disneyland actually exists in this universe is baffling.
Most importantly, I would be lying if I told you that I didn’t laugh at a lot of Toy Story 5’s jokes, even in the presence of Smarty Pants. It’s a witty script, and one sight gag near the end is sure to go down especially well in our local crowds. There’s a thread involving a whole platoon of brand-new Buzz figures who emerge from the water and evolve as the narrative goes on, which I did rather like.
Though the tech narrative does feel a little outdated (and the shot of Bonnie’s whole neighbourhood turned into screen-addled zombies feels downright apocalyptic), Jessie and company’s core stories carry things to the finish line well enough and the emotional high point delivered, even if the journey was muddled along the way. This is probably the weakest of the five, but among the giants that came before, being the worst of the bunch is really no bad thing.
BBFC: Rated PG for mild bad language, rude humour.
Toy Story 5 is in cinemas now.
