Toy Story 5 - Movie Review

The Movie: Toy Story 5

The Directors: McKenna Harris, Andrew Stanton

The Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Conan O'Brien, Scarlett Spears, Greta Lee, Shelby Rabara, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Craig Robinson

The Story: Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang's jobs are challenged when they're introduced to electronics, a new threat to playtime.

The Rating: 10 / 10

The Review:

Pixar Animation Studios, in cooperation with Walt Disney Pictures, has about one of the strongest resumes and film libraries of any studio over the last few decades including classic movies like Coco, Inside Out, and The Incredibles just to name a few. One of the magical qualities embedded into Pixar storytelling is how relatable they are and how they always seem to hit us directly in our emotions. Just think back to moments like WALL-E and EVE's space dance, Inside Out 2's spot on representation of Anxiety, and one of my personal favorites, the moment Miguel's Abuelita begins to sing along with him in Coco.

So many great moments and so many great memories although I feel like whenever Pixar takes on another chapter in their signature Toy Story franchise, the creators seem to be able to take things up even a few more notches. All four previous films are considered classics with the first three being considered one of the greatest cinematic trilogies of all time. People thought sequel-itis was going to creep into the fourth movie, but Pixar once again defied the odds and proved everyone wrong.  And now here we are with a fifth story and one that plays with the concept of technology and how it is changing who we are as people, as kids, and as a culture and society.

Above anything else, it just feels good and right to see this group of characters back on the screen interacting again and continuing their adventures together. Characters like Buzz and Woody, voiced once again by Tim Allen and Tom Hanks respectively, have become iconic symbols not just of cinema but of the culture and history we hold on to. They're a symbol of simple times, when out biggest concerns were which toys to play with and how much fun could we have before our parents called us for dinner.

Now, when parents call their kids, it's more likely via a text message or group chat on some sort of device that's ideally meant to teach us and connect us but often times can be the thing that separates us from having true and authentic communication and interaction. This is the idea of where the Lilypad (Greta Lee) tablet device comes into play for Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) who returns once again for another profound learning experience.

As always, the filmmakers find ways to reach solutions that are inclusive rather than just going down the road of defeating a villain or casting out a seemingly bad or evil person or toy. The magic of Woody and Buzz and all their friends is in how they genuinely care for everyone and happiness is always their ultimate goal even if it takes them a while to understand and accept new concepts like electronic devices that give seemingly unlimited access to a world they could hardly comprehend.

Yes, technology can be hard to understand which means it can also be scary at times and that's something we deal with every day in our own lives so seeing how it plays out on screen for all the toys as a great way to put it all into a more manageable context. Yes, there are a lot of messages woven into the storytelling and it all feels natural without ever being heavy handed or overly dramatic which is again a hallmark of Pixar movies and I think especially ones that Andrew Stanton is involved with as a writer and/or director.

Stanton has been involved with writing or co-writing each of the Toy Story movies although this is the first time he is also listed in the credits as a director, and alongside McKenna Harris who is making her feature film directorial debut. Not a bad way for Harris to start, working on a Toy Story movie alongside a guy who's directing credits include Finding Nemo and WALL-E. That's a high bar to maintain and the duo absolutely pulls it off in ways that are both familiar to the franchise and also in expanding the world even further.

It's also nice to see Jessie, still expertly voiced by Joan Cusack, given a lot of time as the central character in this movie which I feel was a really smart move. The stories shouldn't always be about Buzz and Woody as the primary hero figures although they do still factor into this story in a major way. Speaking of Buzz, and I'm not sure how much I should talk about this, but we get a sort of side quest story line involving a new, higher tech batch of Buzz Lightyear toys that adds a really fun element of action and comedy to the proceedings all of which eventually gets integrated into everything else that's going on. There's also a really cool, high-flying reveal towards the end of the movie which I'll let you experience for yourself instead of spoiling it here.

It's pretty impressive how much content and how many characters Pixar can throw into these movies without losing sight of what's most important in the story telling process. At the core, the story has a heart and genuinely has something important to say so it all ends up fitting together nicely when it's all said and done. We get to see all our favorite characters like Hamm, Rex, and Slinky Dog to more recent additions like Forky and Duke Caboom to go along with debuts from Snappy, Atlas, and Smarty Pants among others. Don't worry, you'll get to know them all.

All this typing and I haven't even touched on the animation or sound or all that other fun technical stuff, which, as you would expect, is all top notch and Pixar just continues to push the boundaries of what's possible with animated features. I watched the movie in an AMC Dolby theater and felt it was worth taking advantage of the premium format. There are so many different options and types of theaters now but really, just make sure you don't miss out on seeing this one on the big screen in whatever format you prefer.

When I first started thinking about what my rating would be, I started with a solid 8 in my head, but then I just couldn't find anything to dislike so the rating eventually bumped to a 9. Now, as I'm sitting here finishing my review, I have made the decision to give Toy Story 5 my first 10 of the year and I have no doubt it will land somewhere in my year end top 10 list when the time comes.

Thank you for reading this review, I hope you love the movie as much as I did.