Toy Story 5 (2026 | USA | 102 minutes | Andrew Stanton)
I know Quentin Tarantino isn’t where you thought I’d start my review of Toy Story 5, but bear with me. Tarantino famously refuses to watch the fourth Toy Story film, believing the first three constitute a perfect trilogy. While I can respect skipping the fourth film, please go see the fifth—it’s one of the best things to happen to the series since the original Toy Story.
I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t particularly looking forward to this one. I worried the introduction of tech would ruin the timeless nostalgia the other films possess, but director Andrew Stanton and his team have overwhelmingly proven me wrong. The film is beautiful to watch. The animation is clearly an upgrade from 1995, yet it doesn’t lose the familiar feel of the early films. As always, it’s great to hear some of the regular voices (John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, and Wallace Shawn), even if we don’t see too much of the original toys. The newer additions to the cast are equally captivating.
Jessie (Joan Cusack) is the new leader of Bonnie’s (Scarlett Spears) toys in Woody’s absence (Tom Hanks). She knows Bonnie is struggling to make friends because, unlike Bonnie, other kids are sucked into screens and no longer play with toys. To help her connect with other kids, Bonnie’s parents buy her a new tablet, Lilypad (Greta Lee), who gets right to work connecting Bonnie to virtual friends. Seeing the implications of these shallow friendships, Jessie rallies the toys to play matchmaker, reluctantly teaming up with some older tech to connect Bonnie with a new friend.
Despite its marketing, the film is far less about toys vs. tech and much more about friendships, being yourself, and facing the inevitable changes of life. The new tech ends up being more of a misunderstood newcomer, with the true villains being the other kids Bonnie surrounds herself with (a much-welcome diversion from Toy Story 3). This is one of the many small ways the film harkens back to the original Toy Story and strays from the newer renditions. Both Lilypad and Jessie are trying to do what they think is best for Bonnie. Even though they fundamentally disagree on how it should be done, they share the same goal.
One of the film’s greatest strengths is its focus on female friendships and Jessie as the true main character of this story. It’s wonderful to see her shine, learn more about her backstory, and watch her fight fiercely for the kid she loves most in the world. While it’s fun to still see Buzz (Tim Allen) and Woody bicker, and I’ll never tire of watching Buzz attempt to muster up the courage to propose to Jessie, it will always be refreshing to watch a confident girl struggle to find her place in the world while stopping at nothing to help the ones she loves.
The filmmakers, surprisingly, don’t make too big a statement on the emergence of tech. Instead, this film feels like the story the original film couldn’t have told 30 years ago (the aforementioned technology didn’t exist yet), yet it still tells the same story: toys deeply desire for their kids to play with them and have a fierce loyalty to their kids.
Toy Story 5 arrives in theaters on June 19
Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar