Toy Story 5 film review: Self-aware shenanigans
Today’s tech meets traditional toys as the Pixar powerhouse shows signs of running out of gas
The toys are back in town in the fifth instalment of this phenomenally popular animated franchise. Tech is pitched against imaginative play as screentime hoovers up kids’ attention, while Tom Hanks’ Woody takes a backseat after finding love in the fourth film. Pixar regular Andrew Stanton is the safe pair of hands steering a ship that’s running a little low on steam, with co-director McKenna Harris also sharing screenwriting duties.
Cowgirl Jessie (vigorously voiced by the great Joan Cusack) is now the top toy in the bedroom of eight-year-old Bonnie (Scarlett Spears), with Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) her devoted deputy. When the shy and sweet Bonnie is given a tablet (Greta Lee’s Lilypad) to help her make friends, it results in quite the opposite, leading to social suicide and cyberbullying. Meanwhile, Jessie’s efforts to assist Bonnie land her at an old address where she befriends a gang of discarded devices, led by Conan O’Brien’s toilet trainer, Smarty Pants.
It’s not a great look for a film that worries about the amount of time children are spending solo on screens to be associated with tie-in tablets, but the olde worlde love for make-believe is endearing, while it shows self-awareness at how much the franchise has dated by poking fun at an aging Woody. However, this latest instalment covers too much old ground thematically, as Jessie pines over an old owner and tries to protect her new one. And there’s some convoluted plotting, including the incorporation of a gang of shipwrecked Buzz Lightyears, while it features such an abundance of beautifully designed and voiced characters that almost no one has enough time in the spotlight. What made the series special might be fading fast, but the craft, as ever, is out of this world.
Toy Story 5 is in cinemas from Friday 19 June.