Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Greta Lee, Conan O’Brien, Tony Hale, and a buttload of others Written by: Andrew Stanton and Kenna Harris Directed by: Andrew Stanton and Kenna Harris
The case has been made by some (myself included) that the Toy Story series should have ended with Toy Story 3. It was a perfect conclusion to an outstanding trilogy. While Toy Story 4 was very good, it didn’t quite justify its existence.
After seeing Toy Story 5, I’m ready to throw that argument into the fire. This movie makes a compelling case for this series to just keep going forever.
Here, the center of the story is Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack), who leads the charge both with helping the gang’s shy child, Bonnie, find a friend and fighting back against Bonnie’s newest toy: a dreaded tablet.
The fact that the movie taps into the tech anxiety of a generation of parents without making tech a mustache-twirling villain is to its credit. That may be because the makers know its mere existence—and the existence of the entire series over the past three decades—illustrates the value and necessity of both technology AND human imagination.
Beyond wrestling with screen obsession, Toy Story 5 is also fun as hell. Like all Toy Story movies, it’s funny without ever being cynical (Forky and the jabs at Woody for being an old man are comic highlights). And the new toys that pop up (voiced by the likes of Conan O’ Brien) are, per usual, creative takes on familiar “types”.
I spent a lot of the movie just marveling at the world Pixar has created over these five movies: The rush the toys get when they’re played with. How the toys are constantly facing their irrelevance and demise. And how, no matter what ridiculous thing they are doing, if a human comes by the toys just play dead and fall over.
To say the animation in this movie is stunning may be an understatement. Almost from the jump I was asking myself about certain backgrounds, “is this real?” That’s how good the texture has gotten. The different animation style they throw in to represent play is also a nice touch.
But maybe the best thing about Toy Story 5 is how it reminds you of the value of toys. And not just toys, but all the crap that floods our lives and stuffs our closets. Sure, it’s the result of this capitalist machine we’re all stuck inside, but these things—toys, clothes, books, movies, cars—also benchmark our lives.
They all begin as ideas, somehow get crafted into being, and come into our possession—even if just for a brief moment—becoming part of our memories, taking on a life of their own. There’s something to treasure about that.