Toy Story 5

***Spoilers are present from previous films in this series***

B

It’s not just Bonnie though. Making friends now has evolved (or devolved depending on how you see things). No longer do you have to make friends by playing on the playground or going to someone’s house to hang out; almost everything has become digital now. Making “friends” is just a click away on social media. Face to face interactions never have to happen.

And it just so happens that Bonnie’s mom and dad just gave her a brand new kid’s tablet, LilyPad (a knock off of the old tablet LeapFrog). LilyPad isn’t just for the basic things. LilyPad can do it all: help you make “friends,” send messages, everything except make you a meal! Bonnie is so glad to have one, “Now,” she thinks to herself, “I can hang out with all the cool girls in my class.”

While Bonnie might be excited, and a little obsessed, with LilyPad, the toys, Jessie, Rex, Mr Potato Head, Mrs Potato Head, and of course Buzz Lightyear, are not so thrilled by this new addition to the family. “Listen missy, the toys and I have been working overtime to help Bonnie develop friendships this summer and we’re not about to let you take that away from us,” but LilyPad tells her that Jessie and the gang’s days are numbered and are so last century.

Jessie relays her frustration to Woody via a walkie-talkie. Woody explains that he and Bo are finding more abandoned toys everyday due to the tech takeover. When the walkie talkie starts to fade in and out Woody thinks Jessie’s in trouble. With Woody’s arrival Jessie and the gang decide to try and stop this LilyPad from destroying Bonnie’s ability to play, to dream, to be… well… Bonnie.

I doubt that 100 years ago Walt Disney himself didn’t sit down with his small team of animators and said, “Well guys, we already put out an original film, now let’s make a boatload of sequels so we can make a large amount of money.” In fact, there are several articles with those who were around Walt and they attest that Walt was completely against the idea. He believed in originality and creativity and felt that making a sequel is not original, not really. A really good article that touches on this is from Screen Rant, believe it or not.

Here in 2026, it seems that Disney Studios has now garnered a reputation, good or bad, for making numerous sequels, some of which people really never asked for in the first place. Case and point, “Toy Story 5”. Read that last number: FIVE. Thirty years later we are on number five in the series. I hear that number and I think “It’s the Fast and Furious franchise, except for children (for those who don’t know the series, there are ten Fast and Furious films, with an eleventh scheduled for 2027).

I’ll be the first to admit, when I heard “Toy Story 5” was coming out this summer, I shook my head and said, “Just stop. Stop. Who is actually asking for it? The millennials? Gen Z children?” At what point do you sit and say, “Let’s leave well enough alone.” It’s like filmmakers saying, “Hey, let’s make a It’s a Wonderful Life 2.” Some franchises, some originals should STAY originals.

Now, I must say, “Toy Story 5” did surprise me in both GOOD and really awful ways. To help keep things organized, I’ve devised another “The Good,” “The Bad” and “The Ugly” list. Here we go…

The Good

Bonnie’s Character Development: For one, “Toy Story 5” continues Bonnie’s story which honestly, once they introduced her back in Toy Story 3, I thought it was a nice touch to see how the toys were being passed down to the next generation. Bonnie’s character really values playtime in the same way Andy cherished his, and while Bonnie’s struggle is this transitional period between playing pretend and playing for real (like with tablets in this case), we still see, from time to time, especially in one scene, that Bonnie still loves her toys even when “tech” tries to steal the limelight.

More Heart than “Toy Story 4”: “Toy Story 5” also has a lot more heart than perhaps Toy Story 4. While frankly, I still sort of feel that the franchise as a whole could have ended at Toy Story (as it very sweetly ended Andy’s storyline), Toy Story 4 felt like some of the later films in the Harry Potter series, getting too dark and even, at times, frightening.

A Real and Present Issue: “Toy Story 5,” in the beginning feels like it’s preaching a one sided message: children shouldn’t have tablets, iPhones, or smart devices until they reach a certain age. The message starts as “technology is less of a tool these days than it is a never-ending form of entertainment.” But, as the film reaches the final act, we begin to learn that technology isn’t necessarily the bad guy or evil, rather technology needs to be used appropriately and in moderation. I’m just pleased Disney chose to stick with THAT message and not the latter.

The Bad and The Downright Ugly

Potty, Lewd and Crass Behavior: The film contains a lot of potty humor, emphasis on the word “potty.” This comes in the form of once character, Mr Potty, a potty training toy found at another child’s home. I’m not sure whose idea it was to have one of THOSE toys have a voice, but frankly this was beyond inappropriate for a children’s film (more in the content for concern section).

The Violence: The violence and in particular the danger has increased even more than in “Toy Story 4,” which is concerning when you’re primary audience isn’t really the millennials who grew up with the series, but more of the Gen Z generation (the 6-13 year olds).

Now for the actual, specific content concerns…

Content for Concern

Here are some issues to be aware of, more specifically, when it comes to “Toy Story 5” (as always I didn’t catch everything in the film because, well, there was a lot, but I did my best)…

SEXUAL CONTENT/CRUDE HUMOR: Mr Potty (played by the not so clean comedian Conan O’Brien) is the source of most of the toilet humor. For example, he talks about how the toys should play one of his poop games he has on his device. He continually talks about going #1 or #2. He also has images of poop that show up on his screen. He makes crass statements like “don’t dump something you don’t want flushed” or “I need to get inside that house to help her push” (referring to one of Bonnie’s soon to be friends). He also comes very close to swearing twice (the words “sh*t” and “a** are thankfully cut short). Buzz and Jessie share a kiss. Forky and his Fiancée Knifey are pronounced Fork and Knife (man and wife), and they share a kiss. Buzz performs the kiss of life on Rex.

LANGUAGE: Other language includes “stupid” (3), Jes… or Jeez (1), “shut up” (3), “doody” (1), “He'll wipe your a**” (not finished), “Call me agent shet,” One use of OMG. Crude Language: a bathroom toy makes crude comments, throughout.running jokes about Woody being bald and having a beer belly.

VIOLENCE: Jessie tackles Lilly Pad during their first meet and accidentally hits Buzz. A toy, “Dr. Nutcase” falls from a tree but is saved by Woody. Jessie and her companion Bullseye ride a real horse right into a barn (everyone is okay). Jessie also almost gets trampled by a real horse. Woody and Buzz are seen hanging on to the back of a vehicle. Jessie and Bullseye jump out of a moving car.

OTHER: A family pig is named Jimmy Dean. One electronic device is seen going slightly crazy. Woody is seen unplugging LilyPad’s charging station while she is sleeping, leaving her with a very drained battery.

WOKEISM: ***SPOILED AHEAD*** In a marriage ceremony between Buzz and Jessie, Jessie is seen at the altar (in the role of the groom?) and Buzz is coming down the aisle (the bride?) in a kilt. He wears a kilt during multiple scenes.

DRUGS: During pretend or playtime, the toys are poisoned during a ceremony.

Morals

The message of the film is clear: the value of true friendships and friendships that are genuine can never be taken for granted. True friendships are made by engaging with others, face to face, not just over the phone or through social media. Think about it another way: COVID-19 forced us to stay home and because of this kids in school suffered not just academically during the lockdowns but also socially (an entire generation has to relearn how to engage and have polite conversations with others). When people interact face to face they can feed off each other’s energy, find commonalities, build things, build lasting relationships, etc. Social media should only be ONE way to strengthen friendships, not start them.

The Bible actually has a lot to say about relationships, friendships and how incredibly valuable these things are to the overall growth of a Christian. In the book of Proverbs it states and makes the following comparisons:

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” —Proverbs 27:17

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” —Proverbs 17:17

In the book of Thessalonians it states the following:

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. —1 Thessalonians 5:11

And lastly in 1 Peter it states:

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” —1 Peter 4:8-10

Final Thoughts and Cautious Recommendation

It’s funny what TECHNOLOGY help you discover, sometimes it’s information you’d rather forget about in Pixar’s case. Apparently, according to Christian Spotlight, after the release of Toy Story 4, Pixar Animation Studios was strongly opposed to making another Toy Story film, considering the franchise had already concluded. Instead, they chose to focus on creating original content and sequels for their other properties outside of Toy Story. However, following the box-office failure of Lightyear, The Walt Disney Company, its parent, persuaded and compelled Pixar to produce a fifth “Toy Story” film to compensate for the losses incurred by “Lightyear” (2022), despite Pixar’s initial resistance.

If this is true, then “Toy Story 5” isn’t so much a labor of love by Pixar but something to fix a problem. That’s actually kind of sad. When an animation has to fix an issue but creating a sequel to another series to draw attention from one or two bad movies, that’s never a good sign. Now that’s not to say Pixar has lost its credibility or that the studio isn’t as strong as once was.

I know I’ve been harsh to Toy Story, but this really is a nice addition to the franchise. There are some wonderful references to the films my generation grew up on, particularly Toy Story 2. It’s also nice to see Jessie have the spotlight after the spotlight was on Buzz and Woody for the first four films. The animation itself is still as breathtaking as before and there is a really strong but still nuanced message about technology. There is however, unfortunately, more crass humor (some almost crossing a line), and the language isn’t something to smile about as a whole.

If you can push the content of concern aside, you may find some real aspiring and beautiful moments that you can share with your loved ones, including some that are really timeless. Overall, “Toy Story 5” is safe for most families but I still say to walk in cautiously as the content is not always as pure and honest as a child’s imagination.

• Vulgar/Crude language: Moderate
• Sexuality: Moderate
• Violence: Mild
• Profane language: Mild
• Wokeism: Mild
• Drugs/Alcohol: Minor
• Nudity: None
• Occult: None

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