IT'S TIME TO PUT THE TOYS BACK ON THE SHELF: TOY STORY 5

Cute, harmless, but doesn’t do enough to justify its existence by the end. While Toy Story 5 bills itself as a tech vs toys story, it’s ultimately a check Toy Story 5 cant cash, nor does it really want to. The story this go-round is more about Jessie coming to terms with her traumatic past. Luckily, everything that has to do with this is fairly solid, it’s the parts surrounding it that come up lacking. This 5th outing is disjointed and uneven as the film spends most of its time juggling sub-plots and locations. 

Jessie and Bullseye find themselves stranded at Jessie’s old house after her attempt to follow Bonnie along on a sleepover goes south. Buzz is at Bonnie’s house trying to keep things in order while stressing over how to properly proclaim his love for her. Woody winds up at Bonnie’s house after a jumbled communication from Jessie leaves him thinking she needs his help. Meanwhile a horde of updated Buzz Lightyear toys attempt to survive in the wild. All this while our beloved toys struggle to face potential obsolescence at the hands of screens and tech.

Toy Story 5 never finds a comfortable balance between all of these subplots. The Buzz Lightyear horde don’t serve much of a purpose except as filler and a 13th hour deus ex machina. The toys vs tech element is mostly forgotten about by the start of the second act, and the conclusion that “tech are toys too” is more than a little underwhelming. Buzz and Woody are essentially after thoughts. The main plot concerning Jessie and her past is very well done, and it’s conclusion gave me serious feels and chills. 

The MVP of the film is Conan O’Brien’s Smarty Pants, a sarcastic potty training device that sounds drunk when low on batteries. He winds up befriending Jessie and helps her find her way home. Toy Story 5 is not a bad movie, but it doesn’t come anywhere near the ridiculous highs of the first 3 films. In the end, it makes a strong argument that it might be time to put the toys away as, at this point, much like the main plot of the film, this franchise is being used mainly to appeal to nostalgia while offering very little that’s new or of import to say. Our beloved toys are being used solely to make a quick buck.

3 STARS