In the 31 years between the first “Toy Story” (1995) and the newest “Toy Story 5”, there are some things that have changed and some things that haven’t.
The main thing that hasn’t changed is the main theme. All 5 movies are about toys that are constantly worried about not being played with anymore. They’re worried they’ll be forgotten somewhere, or they’ll be put in a box and sit in a garage for years (which is where some of my own childhood toys are right now).
“Toy Story 5” is the first in the series to be rated PG because it has a slightly mature theme. The main child, Bonnie, has stopped playing with toys and started playing with children online on a tablet type device called a “Lilypad” (voiced by Greta Lee). The children that play with her online tease her a little bit because they say toys are for babies (the main reason for the PG rating).
The old cast have all returned including Woody (Tom Hanks) (SPOILER) who left the group in the previous “Toy Story 4” (end SPOILER), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and others although some voices are new because previous the voice like Don Rickles (formerly Mr. Potato Head) and Jim Varney (formerly Slinky Dog) have passed away.
The complexity of the storyline in this movie is a lot more than previous movies. There are characters in different places that communicate with each other via text or email. There’s also a separate storyline involving a bunch of dozens of Buzz Lightyear that wash up on an island (they were on a shipping boat that crashed) and try to find their way back. That group mentions a plot line that has been a question of the movie series since the very first movie: If the Buzz Lightyear figures don’t know their toys, why do they go limp when a human comes by them (unfortunately they don’t answer the question).
Although the characters from the previous movies look the same (pretty much – Woody has a bald spot), the technology and the animation have improved so much that you can see much more detail in the characters than you could in the first few movies. There is also a lot more detail in some of the scenes in this movie. It makes the first movie look like an old video game.
The movie does a really good job merging the old with the new in a variety of different ways including animation, characters, storyline, etc. I’m not sure if the series needs a “Toy Story 6” (of all the Pixar movies, it has the most sequels) but I wouldn’t say it would be a bad thing.
Overall – 8 out of 10.
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 