Toy Story 5

The gang is back, and this time they face a new threat - an addictive tablet called the “Lilypad”.

Some people say they should have stopped at three films, but those people are quick to forget the huge gap between Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, and that it was thought the third film would be a waste of time. They were clearly wrong, so it’s only fair to give these sequels a fair shake of the stick I think.

Much like the film that came before it this one pans for gold and finds little nuggets of it, albeit buried in a fair bit of silt. Like a lot of Pixar stuff it nails being funny and poignant when it needs to be.

Unlike a lot of Pixar films it’s based on tired IP that is over-loaded with too many characters and back story.

The narrative is convoluted and the way the characters bounce around from place to place isn’t that engaging. It has to work hard to make sure all the characters get involved—even Woody feels surplus to requirements here. It also has to work so hard to say what it wants to say, that the actual story ends up being pretty low stakes and unimportant.

As another treatise on childhood and growing up, and the world moving on around you, this instalment of Toy Story works well and finds something new to say. It’s just that the whole thing is starting to feel like diminishing returns, and each time we get another film, it’s good but not great. That used to be unacceptable by Pixar standards.

Still I wouldn’t listen too closely to the cynics, there’s a lot to like. The new characters introduced are funny. The emotional beats do land. It’s also not the blunt rejection of technology you might think it’s going to be.

Worth a trip to the movies with the family.