Film Review: Toy Story 5

 

Sexuality/Nudity No Objection

Violence No Objection

Vulgarity No Objection

Anti-Catholic Philosophy No Objection

Most people agree that Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending to the series and they are not wrong.  This latest entry in the series cannot top that fantastic conclusion. 

But it is better than Toy Story 4.

Toy Story 5 is once again centered on the toys living with Bonnie (Scarlett Spears).  Her main toy is Jessie (Joan Cusack) in the same way that Woody (Tom Hanks) was with Andy.  However, with more and more children becoming engrossed in technology, she has few playmates and friends.  So Bonnie's parents (Jay Hernandez and Lori Alan) buy here Lilypad (Greta Lee), a tablet so that she can connect with others her age.  But as she begins to fall down that rabbit hole, Lily conflicts with Jessie and the other toys.  Through a series of plot contrivances, Jessie gets separated from Bonnie and it is up to Woody and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) to mount a rescue.

Oh, and there is an army of Buzz Lightyears that crash on a desert island trying to make their way to star command.

The first thing that you should know about this movie is that it is Jessie's movie.  Woody and Buzz are supporting characters to her character arc.  In the context of this point in the series, it makes sense.  Bonnie being a girl would naturally gravitate to Jessie as her main toy.  It is interesting that the writers/directors Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris acknowledge that there are some natural differences between boys and girls reflected in the way they play.  Like Andy, Bonnie has heroes and villains and danger.  But unlike Andy, Bonnie's scenarios take place and weddings, balls, and honeymoons.  Also, Jessie would understand the feminine perspective of Bonnie's lonliness in a way that Woody and Buzz would not.  And in this way, the movie explores the lonilness of girls that I don't think it could with the original trilogy.

Another sad thing is that most of the original supporting characters are reduced to glorified cameos.  I know a number of the original voice actors have died, but it is still disappointing to not have them be a bigger part of the adventure.  We are introduced to some obsolete tech toys like Smarty Pants (Conan O'Brien), a toy that helps potty train kids.  And while they add some interesting dynamics, the others are missed.

The movie does two things very well.  The first is that it really gets the emotional beats right.  There is something very honest about Bonnie's pain and isolation.  I have seen this happen, where children who just want friends are too shy and isolated to feel like they fit in.  And often they either retreat further into themselves or they abandon who they are in order to fit in.  When Bonnie goes to a sleepover and proudly shows off Jessie, one of the girls asks in a tone dripping with disgust and judgment, "You still play with toys?"  And the look on Bonnie's face speaks volumes in a way that is crushing.  The emotional journey for Jessie is also powerful.  This movie helps resolve the trauma that we saw her endure when she was abandoned by her first owner, Emily.  Jessie has a kind of existential crisis regarding if her life has any meaning since she is doomed to be discarded at the end of her owner's childhood.

The second thing that the movie does really well is capture the change that technology, particularly screens, have brought to childhood.  The animation captures it like a spell is being cast on the children without being too over-the-top.  There is one moment towards the end where the toys run through a stranger's house but no on notices because everyone, including parents and children) are on some type of screen.  The constant dopamine hit creates a tangible addiction that you can see in Bonnie.  There is a fantastic scene shows Smarty Pants and the other tech toys the difference between being games and actually playing.  And that's what kids do: they vicariously give life to their toys.

The two big negatives that come through this tech are the killing of imagination and the problem of bullying.  Bonnie and another girl named Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris) have stronger imaginations because they are not constantly glued to the screen.  They are not passive receivers of entertainment.  They have to produce the entertainment to be lived out in their toys.  This may seem like a small thing, but playing with toys forces you to produce rather than receive; to make rather than consume.  Screens cause this imaginitave muscle to atrophy.  In regards to bullying, social media has made it unavoidable.  Before Bonnie gets Lilypad, she is isolated from others because she is missing out.  But once she is on social media, she is subject to mockery in a way that she is not expecting.  In one scene she is happily heading to a destination in the car when she sees girls in her social media group start dogpiling on her.  Her mom is completely baffled as to why Bonnie has had such a horrible mood swing, but it was because she was attacked out of nowhere by people who now have constant access to her via Lilypad.

But I have to give the movie credit in that it does not take a luddite view of technology.  While it heavily focuses on all of the dangers, Lily is not a villain the same way that Stinky Pete or Lotso were in previous films.  Lily genuinely wants what is best for Bonnie, and the movie is smart enough to realize that there is a place for technological advancements.  It just needs to be tempered with wisdom.  This wisdom is lacking in Bonnie's parents who simply unleash this world of tech onto Bonnie without any real guidance or supervision.  The message is clear: parents need to walk with their children regarding tech, not throw them into the deep end and let them drown.

The movie also also has some surprising things to say about natural law without meaning to.  In the Toy Story universe, toys are meant to be played with and to make a child happy.  For the most part, toys who reject this point of view are unhappy (again see Stinky Pete and Lotso).  The sadness in the toy comes from no longer playing with their child when they grow up.  But this joy cannot help but be present when real play occurs, as with Smarty Pants.  There is a wonderful scene where the army of Buzz Lightyears are marching through the woods and one of them is picked up by a family.  These Buzzes don't yet realize that they are toys and mount a rescue mission to rescue their fellow Buzz.  But later when they see their fellow Buzz being held and loved by a child, their eyes fill with awe and longing.  The "captured" Buzz sees them and smiles contendedly because he has found his happiness.

This captures so well the principles of natural law.  We are all made with an end or a purpose and our happiness consists in living in accord with that end.  This is true even if we are unaware of what our purpose is.  Smarty Pants and the Buzzes do not know what real play and childhood affection are.  But once they receive them, they are filled with happiness.  It is the same way with us human beings.  Even if we don't know God, we are made to be filled with the love of God and others.  When we find this, we find our happiness.

I was also pleasantly surprised that this movie showed traditional male/female romance as an important theme.  Buzz is in love with Jessie and wants to marry her.  Leaving aside the implications of how toys can make vows of fidelity, it presents this desire for lifelong married commitment as natural and beautiful.  This could be a reflection of how Bonnie plays with them, but it is refreshingly different from more recent Disney offerings.

And I should also say that the movie is a great deal of fun.  Message movies are usually not very good, so Stanton and McKenna understand that their first job is to make the movie fun.  While the story of the rogue Buzzes don't connect up to the main story for a while, they are some of the most enjoyable and entertaining sequences.  Watching Buzz and Woody bicker like old buddies has a familiar comfort to it, like (to paraphrase CS Lewis) putting on an old, comfortable pair of slippers.  The movie is also beautifully rendered with wonderful use of color and lighting.

This movie is a big improvement on Toy Story 4, which was a bit unfocused and didn't have a strong theme.  While the films in the original trilogy are still better, Toy Story 5 is a worth successor and worth your time.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to see my three favorite toys from my childhood who are sitting on a shelf in my family room and I am going to take a moment to recall all of the adventures we used to have when I was young.