Toy Story 5 (2026)
Toy Story 5 Review: A Certified Fresh Return That Battles the Screen Age
Toy Story 5 arrives with the weight of an entire generation’s childhood on its shoulders, and somehow, it carries that weight with grace, humor, and a surprising amount of existential dread. Pixar’s latest installment, directed by Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton (WALL-E, Finding Nemo), finds Woody, Buzz, and the gang facing an enemy that feels uncomfortably real: the hypnotic glow of a child’s smart tablet. It’s a premise that could have been a cynical cash grab. Instead, it’s a Certified Fresh triumph that proves there’s still life left in the toy box.
The numbers are impressive, even if they represent a slight dip for the franchise. With a 93% critics score and a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, Toy Story 5 holds the distinction of having the lowest critical score among the five main films—but it also holds the highest audience score in the franchise’s history, based on over 1,000 verified ratings. That’s a telling split: critics may have found a few more flaws than usual, but audiences have embraced this new chapter with open arms.
Critics have praised the film’s emotional intelligence and its willingness to tackle a genuinely modern anxiety. The New York Times noted that “the machines have come for the children,” framing the film as a sharp, timely meditation on screen addiction. Tom Hanks himself said the film highlights an issue that strikes “terror in the heart,” describing a moment where the toys look out at a cityscape and see “that blue glow of a phone in bedrooms”. It’s heavy subject matter for a kids’ movie, but Pixar has always trusted its audience to handle complexity, and Toy Story 5 is no exception.
Fan reactions on social media have been overwhelmingly positive, with early viewers calling it “absolutely spectacular” and even “better than Toy Story 4“. The film’s humor lands, the new character Lilypad (voiced with chilling condescension by Greta Lee) is a worthy antagonist, and the return of Woody (Tom Hanks) after his decision to leave the gang in the fourth film provides a satisfying emotional arc. It may not reach the tear-jerking heights of Toy Story 3, but it’s a worthy, warm, and surprisingly wise addition to one of cinema’s most beloved franchises. For families looking for a movie that entertains and gently warns, Toy Story 5 delivers.
Toy Story 5 Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and a Star-Studded Ensemble
The film features the return of beloved franchise veterans alongside exciting new additions to the Toy Story universe:
Tom Hanks returns as Woody, the pull-string cowboy who left the gang at the end of Toy Story 4 to become a “lost toy.” Hanks brings his signature warmth and weariness to the role, and the trailer teases a poignant reunion with Buzz, who tells him “it’s been too long”. Tim Allen is back as Buzz Lightyear, and the final trailer puts him front and center, leading an army of toys riding on a winged unicorn—a glorious nod to Toy Story 2. Joan Cusack delivers a standout performance as Jessie, who steps into a central leadership role. The trailer shows her confronting Lilypad and declaring, “Bonnie still needs us. Our time ain’t over yet”.
Greta Lee (Past Lives) is perfectly cast as Lilypad, a frog-shaped tablet whose polite, condescending tone (“no touching, Jessica”) makes her a genuinely unsettling antagonist. Conan O’Brien, Tony Hale, and Keanu Reeves return to their roles, while the franchise welcomes new faces including Bad Bunny as “Pizza With Sunglasses” and Alan Cumming as the “evil alter ego to horse Bullseye”. The legendary voice cast also includes John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, Kristen Schaal, and many more, making Toy Story 5 one of the most star-studded animated films in recent memory.
Toy Story 5 Plot: Toy Meets Tech in a Battle for Bonnie’s Heart
The story begins with a bittersweet reunion. Woody (Tom Hanks), who left his friends at the end of Toy Story 4 to help lost toys find new homes, returns to Bonnie’s bedroom after Jessie (Joan Cusack) calls for help. The gang’s jobs are under threat, and Woody comes back to a room that feels different—Bonnie is older now, and the toys are gathering dust.
The threat arrives in a deceptively friendly package: a frog-shaped smart tablet called Lilypad (Greta Lee). Bonnie is thrilled with her new device, and Lilypad immediately begins to assert control, claiming that “Bonnie doesn’t want to play with toys anymore. She needs me”. The tablet throws the toys outside Bonnie’s room, insults Woody by calling him “Stuffalo Bill,” and systematically marginalizes them. The toys are boxed up and locked away as Bonnie becomes an outcast among her peers, who are all glued to their own smart devices.
But Jessie isn’t ready to surrender. She confronts Lilypad directly, telling the tablet “how things are run around here,” and when the device condescendingly calls her “Jessica,” Jessie lunges at it in a fury. Realizing they need reinforcements, Buzz Lightyear summons an army of toys—many of them his own action figures—and leads a charge against the technological invader. The final act is a chaotic, funny, and surprisingly emotional battle for Bonnie’s attention, as the toys fight to prove that playtime, imagination, and friendship still matter in an age of screens. It’s a story about relevance, love, and the terrifying blue glow of a world that is slowly forgetting how to play.
“Their time ain’t over yet.”
