31 years since we first met them... well, most of them... Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, and the other toys are back. This time, they’re facing off with technology. For me, the beauty of Toy Story lies in how they flip the script on us. From the humanisation of non-human objects that makes them feel as deeply about humans as we do about them, to the parallels drawn between humans and toys, it truly is a franchise meant for all ages.
The Pixar template isn’t to surprise you with the plotline or the screenplay; the magic lies in the treatment of its stories. You know where it's going, you’ve seen the same story being told with different inanimate objects. And still, you can’t help but be charmed by its relatability, humour and ironically, its idealistic take on humanity. That is the Pixar template, and Toy Story 5 is no different.
In the first ever Toy Story, a bunch of toys are faced with meeting and accepting a newer, fancier, and flashier toy in Buzz Lightyear. While the subsequent films deal with different ideas like the toys' finding their way back to family, moving on to spread joy to others, and finding one's own happiness and purpose, Toy Story 5 returns to its roots. For the first time since the first movie, there is a new foe that they must come to terms with.
The film, like most Pixar films, deals with a very pressing societal issue: technology. It's a story about the importance of making real connections in the digital era. Children that were once creative, outgoing, and unashamed of being ‘weird’ are now turning into iPad kids that are submitting their imaginativeness, time, and personalities to the devices and the people governing them. Director Andrew Stanton shows us this divide in a subtle but impactful shot. We see Bonnie playing with her toys in her living room, shrouded by the warm glow of the lights; then the camera pans to multiple other houses where the children are glued to their screens and the only source of the light is the blue light that is being emitted from their devices. One room bursting with creativity and joy among several others that seem cold and lonely.
There is also something to be said about the fact that a “children’s movie” is funnier than most comedies we see today (despite and honestly, maybe even because of the number of poop jokes in the film). It has a love story as charming as the rom-coms we see, and despite being animated, feels brighter, livelier and grander than many big-budget live-action features.
At 69, 63, and 73 years old respectively, Tom Hanks, Joan Cusack, and Tim Allen bring the same level of enthusiasm to their characters as they did in the first film and each one after that. It almost makes me chuckle, imagining them in the studio making poop jokes while voicing these characters, despite their illustrious careers. Their conviction in voicing these imperfect and weird, but relatable, characters is commendable. And maybe that’s why these films continue to work for us. Not only do they tell stories of wonder and friendship, but also embody character quirks that are reflections of us in more ways than one.
Toy Story will return with a part six because it is a successful franchise and companies like money. It will be called a children's film. And still, whatever age we might be by then, we will find ourselves seated in that theatre, laughing, aww-ing, and quietly grateful that the toys didn’t give up on us.