Toy Story 5 ★★★★

Released: 19 June 2026

Directors:  Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Conan O’Brien, Scarlett Spears, Greta Lee, Shelby Rabara, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Craig Robinson

Across Pixar’s distinguished filmography, which has so often pulled at audiences’ heartstrings, there is perhaps no other franchise in their collection that has been more emotionally resonant throughout the decades as Toy Story. Just the opening notes of Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” are more than enough to give anyone whose first experience of going to the cinema in the 90s may have been the first encounter with Woody, Buzz and all of Andy’s other toys a contemplative blast of nostalgia, a fond reminder of a simpler time in their lives.

From the ingenuity of imagining what happens to toys when the owners leave the room, to the dilemma of whether a toy should experience the emotional reciprocal bond between a toy and their kid, no matter how fleeting, or be adored for generations, to the heartbreak of realising that playtime will not last forever as kids grow up. There couldn’t have been a perfect way to conclude the franchise. But alas Pixar had other ideas, for another adventure to help a plastic fork find his purpose. Once again, the studio has found itself drawn back to these beloved characters as the toys face perhaps their greatest and most existential challenge to date: Technology.

It’s been two years since Woody parted ways with the rest of Bonnie’s toys to join Bo Peep on her quest to find and rescue lost toys. Meanwhile, Bonnie finds that kids aren’t playing with toys or using their imagination the way she does and are instead glued to screens to play games and connect with friends. Fearing that Bonnie is missing out, her parents get her a Lilypad tablet (Lee). This shiny new device initially works wonders, helping Bonnie make connections with other kids, but she can’t take her eyes off it, leaving the toys fearful that this time they will be put on the shelf for good and never played with again. Determined not to see another owner abandon her, Jessie takes it upon herself to challenge Lilypad about what is really best for Bonnie and the true value of playtime.

In an age when technology has transformed nearly everyone’s lives, from smartphones to hands-free devices that help us manage our homes, to being constantly glued to screens of varying sizes in our downtime, it is a very real challenge for us all to contend with, especially for parents with the unenviable task of maintaining a moderate level of screen time to prevent their kids from becoming obsessed. Despite concerns audiences may have had about Pixar reaching back into the toy chest once more, the all-powerful Pixar Brain Trust knows what it is doing and wouldn’t return to the franchise without a good reason. It would be easy for the film to portray the prominent role of technology as inherently evil as Sid Phillips. Fear not, though, because in the very capable hands of Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton (who has either a writer or story credit on every film in the franchise) and his co-writer/director McKenna Harris, it is considerably more nuanced, striking the right balance between the joy toys can bring and the benefits of technology that help all demographics stay connected with family and friends, all while filled with the usual quips and humour you have come to expect from Pixar.

While it is, of course, a pleasure to see Messrs Hanks and Allen step back into their iconic roles as Woody and Buzz once more, this latest instalment belongs to the Yodelin’ Cowgirl Jessie in her most prominent role since Toy Story 2. After Woody passed his sheriff star onto her, she takes charge of this situation and is determined to not see tech erase toys. If her heartbreaking song “When She Loved Me” by Sarah McLachlan got the tears flowing (and let’s be honest, who didn’t cry at that?), you would be wise to prepare yourself for potential waterworks. The story and her emotional arc take her down toy memory lane and into her heartbreaking past with previous owner Emily and the fate that befell her all those years ago. Jessie got her sheriff star, and now she gets her richly deserved flowers too. Full credit to Cusack for translating that emotion into her performance. If there were an award for voice acting, she would be in the mix, absolutely no doubt about it. 

While there is an amusing subplot involving a whole collection of high-tech Buzz Lightyear dolls on a quest to locate Star Command, the rest of the gang, including Rex, Hamm, Slinky and Mr and Mrs Potato Head, are given very little to do. Instead, very much in keeping with the tech theme, Jessie’s mission leads her to meet the humorous toilet-training toy Smarty Pants (a brilliant O’Brien), the appropriately named toy camera Snappy (Rabara) and the GPS hippo toy Atlas (Robinson), illustrating that toys and tech can both play an integral role in helping a child learn and play during those formative stages of their lives.

It may not have the absolute emotional gut punch of a group of toys holding hands in an incinerator as they prepare to accept their fate, but mixed in with the stellar animation, there is a poignant and timely message for audiences of all ages to take on board. You can be darn tootin’ sure that audiences will be willing to go to infinity and beyond with these characters for as long as Pixar is willing to keep making more movies in this franchise.