The original film not only announced the arrival of a company called Pixar but it showed Hollywood that even animated family films could be of high quality and of course set the box office records tumbling. Not only was the first film brilliant but the film was followed up by an equally good sequel and then a third film – a film that many films claim to be one of the most perfect family films ever made.
But like all good franchises something must come unstuck at some stage. Toy Story 4 didn’t seem to hit the heights that many had hoped while Lightyear was considered an absolute bomb. In fairness though I should say that I actually liked Lightyear – I thought it was harshly judged.
Now Toy Story 5 has hit cinemas – and this could well be the film that either saves or breaks this beloved franchise.
Directed by Andrew Stanton (Finding Dory) and first-time feature director McKenna Harris the film centres largely around cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack – Grosse Point Blank) who finds herself worried about her ‘child’ Bonnie (Scarlett Spears – Wicked: For Good) who loves playing with her toys but seems to be struggling to make friends.
Then comes something even worse. After Jessie learns about children worldwide turning their backs on their toys because of the arrival of technology, she is then horrified when Bonnie’s parents buy her Lilypad (Greta Lee – Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse) – an electronic device that basically does everything a smartphone can do.
Soon Bonnie’s toys are forgotten but worse still is the fact that Jessie can see right-through the friends that Bonnie has made online and realises that she is heading into a serious case of cyber-bullying.
At first Jessie calls upon the other toys including Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen – The Santa Clause) but when Jessie becomes separated from the toys while on the mission they realise they need to call in the big gun – Woody (Tom Hanks – Forrest Gump).
‘Heart’
As a whole Toy Story 5 does work remarkably well as a film and it is easy to see that the team behind it have been able to bring the ‘heart’ back to the franchise. In a lot of ways this is an important film as it delves into some deep themes that both parents and children face in a modern society.
While it does re-hash so old territory by featuring a plot around toys being abandoned it does actually manage to go that one step further and look at the damage that technology can do children. From taking away their creative imagination through to the fact that being online can now mean that a child can be bullied 24/7 the screenwriters here lay all those issues out onto the big screen for both parents and children to take on board. Even better is the fact that the film is written in such a way that people of all ages can not only understand but take its themes on board for a deep discussion later on.
There is one big issue with Toy Story 5 though – the film feels disjointed. The sub-plot of the army of Buzz Lightyears seems redundant while it feels like this was supposed to be a ‘Jessie’ story but perhaps the failure of Lightyear scared Pixar into moving away from that original idea. The result is that Buzz is never given the amount of screen-time one of the fan favourites deserves while it comes as no surprise that Woody wasn’t even present in the first draft of this film because he feels like an add-on simply brought in to ‘save the day.’ Of course, while adults will notice these things kids will just be thankful that Buzz and Woody appear at all.
Toy Story 5 might not be as good as the original three Toy Story films but it does more than enough to bring true emotion back to a franchise that felt like it might have run its course. You will laugh and you will cry as you watch the film but more importantly you will be reminded of the magic that only Pixar can create.
Toy Story 5 is currently screening in Phuket and is rated G.
3.5/5 Stars
David Griffiths has been working as a film journalist for over 25 years. That time has seen him work in radio, television and in print. He currently hosts a film podcast called The Popcorn Conspiracy. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes accredited reviewer and is an alternate judge for the Golden Globes Awards. You can follow him at Facebook: SubcultureEntertainmentAus.