Toy Story 5 Review

Published: Monday, June 22, 2026

by Elijah Weintraub

“Toy Story 5” has become the biggest global opening movie of 2026, bringing in $312 million in a film that did not disappoint. The newest film in the Disney and Pixar franchises is emotional, exciting, and funny. This film was a lot stronger than “Toy Story 4”, but there were a few misses and things to improve.

“Toy Story 5” had a perfect storyline, tech invading everyday lives, and the loss of reality of making friends and playing with toys. The film followed Jessie’s story, which made sense since she is the new sheriff of Bonnie’s house, with Woody moving on to live forever with Bo Peep.

Among the many new characters introduced, the standout is Jimmy Dean, the pig, who did not have any lines but was just funny, especially when Jessie saw his name for the first time. Overall, the film was great, and seeing the emotions on Bonnie and her new friend Blaze really did impact everyone's hearts when watching the movie.

Like any Disney and Pixar movie, “Toy Story 5” is filled with Easter Eggs. Two in particular stand out. The first is Bonnie’s dad’s name, Walter - a nod to Walt Disney himself, the founder of the company. The second is the return of iconic objects and moments from earlier movies, including a quick appearance of the Pizza Planet truck and Bullseye revealing “Dany” instead of “Andy” when showing his feet.

Despite its strengths, the movie has several misses that could be addressed if a sixth movie is made. One is, where is Emily? The majority of the movie takes place at Emily’s former home, but we did not see older Emily at all, only the past in flashbacks. If we get a “Toy Story 6”, I would like to see Emily get married to Andy, and the toys all reunite with their new kid, after Bonnie goes to college. That to me would be the perfect ending to the Toy Story franchise. Another issue is the lack of a true villain. The past two movies did not have a true villain, as they became good. We need more villains like Lotso and Sid the Kid.

Fans of the franchise will realize that the original toys barely got screen time. Characters like Slinky, Rex, and Hamm barely speak; even Ducky and Bunny, the newer characters from “Toy Story 4”, appeared briefly but had no lines. Another edit to make if we get a “Toy Story 6” is that we need more of a backstory on how all the high-tech Buzz Lightyears just wound up on the shore. Yes, it was likely a boat crash, but there was nothing in the previous films hinting at this. We need a deeper explanation of this.

The music is another mixed element. Taylor Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” was perfect. The movie had a perfect ending, and putting her song in the end credits was a great decision. However, despite Swift’s song, the movie lacks musical presence. There were no other songs in the movie, even the iconic theme “You Got a Friend in Me,” which appears only as a brief instrumental. If a sixth film is made, the full theme deserves to return, after all, it's the heart of the “Toy Story” franchise.

“Toy Story 5” is a really good and strong movie that needs to be seen. It surpasses “Toy Story 4”, but it does not reach the heights of the original trilogy. In my opinion, you definitely need to watch the first four films to truly understand “Toy Story 5.” With this movie, there is a lot of hope and hints that “Toy Story 6” is possible in the future. As Buzz Lightyear would say, “To Infinity and Beyond” for movie creativity.

 

For more information reach out to Elijah Weintraub at elijah.weintraub@student.shu.edu 

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