Strong Signal!!! 5th Chapter of Toy Story Saga Is The Most Relevant and Emotionally Rich Yet!!!!
Review By BJ Porter
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| It's On!! |
The Story
Time changes many things when it comes to everyday life. As it progresses, old ways start to fade as new ones become the norm. The same can be applied when it comes to children and how they interact with others and their environment. Even at her still very young age, Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) continues to let her imagination run wild as she gleefully crafts vivid stories in her amazing play sessions with Jessie (John Cusack), Buzz (Tim Allen), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Rex (Wallace Shawn), and the rest of Bonnie’s toys. But while Bonnie’s toys are living the high life, being residents in Bonnie’s world, a new arrival may change things drastically. A package in the mail arrives, and it is poised to forever change Bonnie’s view of playtime. Filled with various apps, games, and interactive tools, a high-tech tablet named Lilypad (Greta Lee) is an instant hit with Bonnie. In fact, it’s a little too much of an instant hit with Bonnie. Following its arrival, Lillypad soon starts to take up more and more of Bonnie’s time and attention, leaving Jessie and the others feeling discarded and forgotten for the first time in a good while. Their anxieties are elevated even more when their old friend Woody (Tom Hanks) is constantly sending back reports that more and more children are opting for electronics, leading to an increase in abandoned and lost toys out in the world. Desperate to reclaim the attention of their kid from a new generation plaything eager to make them obsolete, Jessie, Buzz, Woody, along with some new and old friends, must rally together to fight for the future of playtime that may signal the end of the age of toys.
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| Jessie and Bullseye making some new friends |
The Review
Pixar’s crown jewel franchise returns for the next installment as the iconic characters you know and love make their long-awaited reappearance in Toy Story 5. Andrew Stanton leads the fifth chapter that puts the toys in a heated showdown with modern technology, with the attention of kids everywhere at stake. Now that I’ve gone on this latest adventure with Bonnie’s toys, Toy Story 5 continues the franchise's streak of excellence behind one of its most relevant chapters yet. It is not easy to maintain a strong level of consistency in the manner that Toy Story does. You would think that a franchise that started in the mid-1990s would run out of ideas or stories to tell. Lord knows how many conversations have been had about continuing entries in the franchise past the near perfect thrid installment from 16 years ago. Nonetheless, the series continued, and we are now experiencing a new story with characters we have grown with for 3 decades. Despite initial skepticism, Director Andrew Stanton has crafted a story that isn't just fun, hilarious, and emotionally heartfelt but also incredibly and at times scarily timely, especially for those who either know someone or are themselves overly reliant on technology as a means of "play". The film's premise was one of the main things that got me on board with this film existing, and I'm thrilled at the final product for really making the most of the chance it was given to justify its existence. As always, this cast of characters is the heart of the movie, and the film did something that truly elevated not just the emotional stakes and investment but further made this already beloved character one of the most fleshed out and emotionally complex of the saga. I'm of course talking about the yodeling cowgirl herself, Jessie, played masterfully by Joan Cusack. From the moment she arrived in 1999, Jessie has become a bona fide fan favorite with so many fans, including me. She is more than just a female clone of Woody. She has this layered nuance to her that truly makes her such a presence every time she is on screen. Jessie was admittedly sidelined in Toy Story 4, but here she is at the center of the story told. We get an even deeper look into her backstory and history, which was only touched on briefly in Toy Story 2. The result is an even more detailed look at Jessie's anxiety about potentially not being good enough to be loved or kept. Her arc is about letting go of the fear of feeling you made no impact on your child, simply because you can't see their next chapter. The end result motivates Jessie to not only continue to be a light for Bonnie but also to overcome her own prejudice towards tech and the presumed damage they cause to development and social connection. Cusack's performance makes Jessie a revelation, and it was truly a joy to see this character get the type of spotlight that elevates her status as a series icon. Tim Allen and Tom Hanks are great supporting cast in their return as Buzz and Woody. Buzz gets a little more to do this time around, both as the character we know in love and as the army of tech-enabled Buzz Lightyear action figures. Hanks' Woody returns in more of a reduced role, which does make sense given his story is pretty much complete after the 4th installment. Despite being the center of some comedic gags, his presence is a welcome one, especially his chemistry with Allen's Buzz. While the majority of the returning cast do well, the majority of the "action" in the film is driven by Woody, Jessie, Buzz, and the collection of new characters introduced, including Greta Lee's Lilypad. Seen at first as an antagonist force or obstacle, Lily, over the course of the film, shows she has a genuine care for Bonnie despite her not really understanding the importance of what truly making a connection entails. Eventually, she is able to use her resources to make a difference and prove that tech can be a positive resource. While the film had many standouts, including the new character Blaze, played wonderfully by Mykal Michelle Harris, my goodness, give Conan O'Brien all of the gold stars for his role as Smarty Pants. O'Brien's chaotic nature is perfectly captured as he brings his style of comedy to the role, creating laugh-out-loud moments at every turn. The tandem of him alongside Shelby Rabara's Snappy and Craig Robinson's Atlas manifests a lovable trio that blends in perfectly with the original crew. These new characters, as well as our established ones, make all of the moments in the film work as they create an investment factor that adds such life and meaning to the story being told.
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| Ride like the wind |
The potential of the film's premise was one of the main things that made me more open to the idea of continuing to do stories in this franchise. The idea of the toys fighting for the attention of a child while a mobile device is taking up all of the time and attention is a concept that could really hit home if done right. What I love the most about Toy Story 5 is that it doesn't just explore the concept on a surface level. There is a genuine effort to truly dig deeper into the themes embedded. This film has a ton of things to say about connection and the importance of how it is established, especially regarding technology. Themes such as peer pressure and the fear of losing yourself as a result are explored within Bonnie, while the understanding that tech can be used in a way that does genuinely bring people together is explored via Jessie's journey to help Bonnie reach out and establish a friendship where she does not have to sacrifice what makes her unique. These are the type of nuanced complexities that anyone who has seen Stanton's style of storytelling should be familiar with. There is always more going on under the surface for those who want to look deeper. But like all of the Toy Story films before it, the movie absolutely delivers the type of visual splendor and comedic prowess you would expect from this series. The film's visuals are, to no one's surprise, outstanding, with so much detail in every single frame. The film also has some incredibly fun and inventive moments of visual storytelling that make it really stand out within the series. It builds off the legacy of the previous installments, resulting in moments that are at times breathtaking to look at, one of which could be a strong contender for one of the most instantly iconic of the series. For a movie that is a continuation, I appreciate that effort to bring new things to an already established table. If you're gonna keep sending invites, do what you can to make the return trips worth it. In the end, Toy Story 5 is yet another standout entry in this series. There is so much to appreciate about not just this film, but also the story that was being told. The relevance of its premise gave us a chance to see the beloved characters once more, but also gave us a chance to better understand what makes a connection of genuine intention so powerful. In a culture that is so fixated on quick and easy satisfaction through a screen, it's nice to see that, after all these years, the real joy of playtime lies in the hands-on approach of being present and in the moment.
Final Score Rating
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A visually gorgeous and timely play session with old friends that shows that the Toy Story
franchise still has a ton of soulful value to bring to the playground. |
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| Playtime is always better with the ones who make it special |
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