Toy Story 5 (2026)

Toy Story 5's final third evokes everything you loved about Toy Story. The frustrating part is having to sit through the first hour to get there.

There were many legitimate questions asked when Toy Story 4 (2019) was announced. After the arguably perfect ending to a perfect trilogy with Toy Story 3 (2010), there was surely no other reason for another addition to the franchise other than monetary, of course. Toy Story 4 was fine, to a point, but it didn’t add a huge amount to the story other than to remove Woody (Tom Hanks) from the faithful group of toys to join Bo Peep (Annie Potts) in the wild.

The early signs for Toy Story 5 were promising, however. The idea of the toys still being with Bonnie as she grows up, suddenly surrounded by screens and various types of technology, is one that makes sense. Bonnie is struggling to make friends, partly because she’s shy but mainly because of the invasion of screens into children’s lives everywhere. There are some effective and sadly accurate early shots of the toys looking into windows across the neighbourhood, seeing children glued to their various devices and interacting only through online messaging services, a sight that everyone can relate to.

Bonnie’s parents, worrying about her becoming ostracised because she’s seemingly the only child in the neighbourhood still interested in physically playing with her toys, buy her a Lilypad, a device that ensures she’s suddenly able to connect with kids her age. We all know what’s coming, and sure enough, Lilypad becomes a threat not just to only our favourite toys but to Bonnie herself as she becomes exposed to online bullying and teasing from girls who she thought were her friends.

The plot almost seems to write itself. Unfortunately for Toy Story 5, the writers aren’t content with leaving us with a simple yet relatable setup, and we’re dwarfed by several other storylines, one including a rogue shipment of Buzz Lightyears that eventually pays off in the final quarter but takes a long old time to get going. And perhaps that sums up the fifth instalment of this franchise in a nutshell.

The first third or so is a real slog, as we try to slot back into Bonnie’s life while there’s far too much going on, and it’s just a bit all over the place. We have a subplot that’s essentially Buzz repeatedly practising how he’s going to propose to Jessie, an idea that’s been hinted at since Toy Story 2 and one that’s at its best in that very form. Here, we just don’t care. As the film trudges on, you get to a stage where you’re seriously worried that this is a misstep so bad it’s beginning to undo everything that came before.

Thankfully, that fear never fully materialises, and considering how little I cared after half an hour or so, the fact that Toy Story 5 picks up and becomes something resembling a Toy Story film is impressive. And in fact, the final third of the film is good enough to ensure that it nearly justifies its existence.

One of Toy Story 4’s flaws was a case of too many cooks, with more characters being introduced on top of Forky. There’s even more to meet here, with some being welcome (Conan O’Brien’s Smarty Pants is the pick of the bunch), but here, it’s not the new guys who are the problem; it’s the lack of screentime for our old favourites. Rex, Ham, and Mr Potato Head are all toys that are offered short shrift, with others like RC not involved at all.

Smarty Pants is part of a trio of toys who help Jessie and Bullseye find their way back to Bonnie when Jessie finds herself back in her old house—yup, the one with the tyre swing on the hill—in what becomes not only a nod to Toy Story 2 but also a complete exploration of Jessie’s backstory. And while you might think it’s treason to approach the devastating “When She Loved Me” scene from the second film, this might just surprise you in the best way possible. This really becomes Jessie’s story, and although Toy Story 5 takes a while to get there, when we eventually do, it’s worth it.

The message is solid; it’s one that hopefully kids will take note of (yeah, right), but Lilypad's story doesn’t have the strength of its convictions, eventually curtailing to a rather inevitable conclusion. While Toy Story 4 offered you a story that meandered along and stayed at a consistent level, Toy Story 5 starts by throwing far too much at the wall and has you scratching your head. But it builds and builds, not always successfully, but it ultimately results in a final third that evokes memories of why you loved Toy Story in the first place. It’s not enough, and one sadly assumes now we’ll never fully reconnect with the franchise in the way we once did. But for a few minutes at the end of this instalment, you’re reminded just how good it once was. 6.9/10