About half way through watching Toy Story 5, my thoughts went to what made Toy Story 3 such a classic, and in particular, that moment when the floodgates were open and tears streamed down my face, and I wondered how a simple scene in which a group of toys, facing their ultimate doom and just holding hands should be such a powerful sequence, enough for a grown man to me turned into a quivering mess. The answer was easy. The first three movies were simple and effective, and you really cared for these characters. Sadly, the second film after the perfect trilogy has lost all that magic, and now we have a film that is overstuffed with characters, plot, and a message that, while important, isn’t anything we didn’t already know.

Bonnie, the young girl who became the toys new playmate, has become isolated and struggles to make friends. To help her, her parents gave her a Lilypad, a tablet that could connect her with other children. This becomes her new toy, and Jessie sees that she and the others are being left behind, and that the device threatens playtime.

This time around, Jessie leads the story, with Woody, who is out in the wilderness, returning to help, and Buzz, who has fallen for Jessie, seems to have had a character rethink, as he doesn’t seem to be the same Buzz from the trilogy. This is where the trouble begins. Since 1995, we have grown up with these characters, and familiarity is important. Yet such a drastic change in a main player’s character, without any explanation, seems hard to swallow. Buzz was always the heroic type, and yet here, those traits seem to have gone. As for the rest of the gang, they have been reduced to playing cameos and spend most of the film boxed away.

The main issue is that the film is stuffed with plots and subplots, and far too many new characters are being introduced. It seems to have fallen down the same path as the Ice Age films. You start off with four main characters, and by the time you get to the fifth, there are so many that you care little about any of them.

Toy Story worked not only because it was the first feature-length computer-generated animation, which was mind-blowing enough, but also because of its simplicity. Toys come to life when the humans aren’t around. Easy to follow, easy to understand. This has so many plots, you don’t know where to start. There’s a whole load of Buzz Lightyears who are trying to find Star Command. There is Jessie’s resentment towards Lilypad, and the challenge of finding a way for Bonnie to make friends. There’s the huge contrivance of getting connected with another girl in the house where Jessie grew up. It goes on and on, and after a while, your mind starts wondering why this isn’t working.

The film’s real message about technology feels almost weak. With the announcement of the banning of social media to under-16s, we understand that placing a screen in front of a child isn’t the way to make friends, but to steal their childhood from them.This is the central part of Bonnie’s emotional journey, and it isn’t as hard-hitting as something as simple as holding hands. There are things in this that do work, from the always impressive animation to a couple of scenes that are fun, but all in all, this disappoints on every level.

The voice actors are back, with Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack returning to their famous characters. Newcomers to the series include star of Past Lives, Greta Lee, as Lilypad; talk show and Oscar host Conan O’Brien as Smarty Pants, a device that trains kids to use the toilet; Craig Robinson as Atlas, a GPS device; and the list goes on. So many voices, it’s like Hollywood has crammed them into the booth to perform.

Toy Story 5 is a huge disappointment, and when you think about it, while Toy Story 4 seemed a pointless exercise, this feels more like flogging a dead horse. It saddens me because Toy Story was Pixar’s flagship, and they had a rocky journey late on until Hopper put things right. This has only further diminished Pixar’s power.

3 out of 5

Directors: Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Greta Lee, Conan O’Brien, Scarlett Spears, Shelby Rabara, Craig Robinson, Lori Alan, Jay Hernandez, Bonnie Hunt, Kristen Schaal, Tony Hale, Wallace Shawn, Ernie Hudson, Mykai-Michelle Harris

Written by: McKenna Harris and (also story) Andrew Stanton

Running Time: 102 mins

Cert: PG

Release date: 19th June 2026