What got me, though, is that this finally feels like Pixar storytelling again, the kind we haven’t really seen since a certain someone left the studio. Back then, our heroes set up a plan, walked us through it, and then it all fell apart in execution, and you’re sitting there wondering how they’re possibly going to get out of it. That happens over and over in this movie, and it works every time. There’s even a moment where you think the ending’s arrived a half hour early because it’s wrapping up too clean, and then it twists. This is classic Pixar storytelling.
This is Bonnie’s story and, therefore, told from a girl’s perspective, and that’s a real shift from the Andy trilogy everybody holds up as perfect. Jessie’s in charge now, Buzz is her deputy, and yes, I’ll say it, Buzz is a little emasculated this time around, spending the whole movie trying to seal the deal with her. But don’t let the “girl’s movie” label fool you. There’s plenty in here for boys, thanks to a side adventure featuring 100 Buzz Lightyears.
Smarty Pants and Jessie in Disney and Pixar’s TOY STORY 5. Photo courtesy of Pixar. © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
“What got me, though, is that this finally feels like Pixar storytelling again, the kind we haven’t really seen since a certain someone left the studio.”
Yet, underneath it all, this is a story about fitting in, about being the wallflower kid who still plays with dolls while everyone else has moved on to phones and pads. Lilypad genuinely believes she’s doing right by Bonnie, getting her connected to the cool girls, and now Bonnie is exposed to everything we fear about tech stifling a kid’s imagination and social life. The movie leans hard into the dangers of screens and makes its case for actual kids’ play with toys and one another, no subtlety about it, and it hammers that message home over and over. And somehow in the middle of all that, Conan O’Brien shows up as a potty-training toy and steals every scene he’s in with an absolute barrage of poop and pee jokes.
As I said up front: the gang is back, Pixar is back, and audiences are going to show up for it again and again. There are caveats, though, and they matter. Fair warning: If you walked in loving Toy Story 1 through 3 and you’re not open to change, you’re going to pick this one apart. But if you’ve got kids and you bring them to this, you’re going to fall in love with it right alongside them.
"…Conan O'Brien shows up as a potty-training toy and steals every scene..."
