Ever since Toy Story 3, I can’t shake the feeling Pixar’s trying to emotionally manipulate us. Sometimes it’s a beautifully tear-filled, powerful journey. Other times, I struggle when I can feel a movie toying with my emotions. Many times, I rebel. (I’m looking at you, A Star is Born (2018)). It’s a commonly accepted fact, Toy Story 3 isn’t just emotional. It’s a kick in the pants if you’re a movie theater ugly crier. It’s peak Pixar emotional gut-punch that keeps us coming back for more. It’s classic. 

Then came Toy Story 4 (2019). News sources of the time were packed full of so many tearful stories. So many cast members tearfully talking about bringing the (then!) twenty-four year old story to a close. 

At some point, I need to remember… there’s no such thing as closure when Disney is at all involved. No one is ever really gone. They’re just getting their own Disney+ series. 

Sitting through Toy Story 5, I couldn’t shake one thought. This movie feels like the Arrested Development season 5 of the Toy Story cinematic universe. This is a critical darling franchise. Those of us identifying as millennials still have residual generational trauma from Sarah McLachlan’s rendition of “When She Loved Me” in Toy Story 2 (1999). There’s bound to be nostalgic pull to keep the series going. Right… right?!

As with Arrested Development though, heart and affection seems to have suddenly been replaced by obligation. This critic could almost feel the many herculean schedule manipulations necessary to bring these cast members together for recording sessions. Where once there was community and joy in the varied vocal ensemble, this time out it feels fragmented and awkward.

Formative characters like Hamm (John Ratzenberger) and Rex (Wallace Shawn) have only a few lines. In another instance, Bunny and Ducky remain completely silent during their only scene because (apparently!) voice actors Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key weren’t able to return. Really, outside of Jessie (Joan Cusack), Buzz (Tim Allen) and Woody (Tom Hanks) and the handful of new characters, the classic ensemble spends almost half the movie in a box in the garage. That’s an apt metaphor, isn’t it? 

Throughout Toy Story 5, I found myself utterly flummoxed by Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris’ script. This critic can’t decide if this tired story is struggling under the weight of the Pixar/Disney’s corporate presence or if something else is at play here. 

Perhaps most frustrating came a (spoiler-free) reveal that a particular arc in the film exists for two primary reasons. The frustrated writer in me wonders if the screenwriters needed a boost to make a tricky transition. The hands of the screenwriters are all over act three. More importantly though, there must be a toy reveal coming! Here’s hoping they handle this one better than the “Baby Yoda” roll-out of Christmas 2019.

Meanwhile, the script has a slightly strange issue in that it feels incredibly timely while at the same time feeling painfully dated. The script wants to be about AI. However, as Jessie rails about these “devices changing kids,” I was reminded of every gripe my baby boomer parents made about cell-phones when I wanted my first flip phone. 

Machines like Lilypad (Greta Lee) and Smarty Pants (Conan O’Brien) feel trapped in time. We’re supposed to be reminded of Meta and iPhones, but this millennial was reminded immediately of my faithful Tiger 2-XL from the 1990s. That little robot probably started my love of history. Could this script have been directly referencing AI initially and scaled back to avoid making these quickly growing companies the villain? We know Hollywood wants to continue utilizing the technology for better or… for worse.

That’s for Disney and Pixar to know and us to openly contemplate.

Ultimately though, I am aware I’m not the main audience for Toy Story 5. A painful thought popped into my head early in the film. Andy and Sid from the first movie are probably 40 years old at this point. They have receding hairlines and children in high school. 

As I watched, I openly wondered how accessible this film was for the kids in the audience. This is a story about technology and its effects on children. It’s not easy. However, they all were enjoying themselves. I suppose, all you really need is Woody, Buzz and Jessie… it would have been great to see more Duke Caboom though.

However, as this millennial brings things to a close, the bar for Disney and Pixar seems to be on the floor. It’s a little sad.

Toy Story 5 opens in theaters beginning June 19, 2026.