Toy Story 5 (2026) Review: Toys vs Technology in Pixar’s Most Relevant Sequel

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source: tv.lk21

Synopsis:

Toy Story 5 (2026) is the next chapter in the worldwide Toy Story franchise. Directed by Andrew Stanton (WALL-E, Finding Nemo), the film was released on June 19, 2026, and has a runtime of 1 hour and 48 minutes. The film had a budget of $250 million, yet its earnings so far have already exceeded $1 billion.

The story takes place after the events of Toy Story 4. Woody goes on an adventure with Bo Peep, Duke Caboom, and the others to find toys that have been left behind. Meanwhile, Buzz, Jessie, Rex, Slinky, and the rest are still living with Bonnie. A new problem arises when kids today prefer tablets, games, and AI over physical toys. Bonnie becomes dependent on her new gadget, Lilypad, a smart AI-based tablet. Jessie and the others feel left out and feel like toys that will soon be stored away in the garage. Jessie calls Woody to ask for help.

This time their mission is to prove that imagination, friendship, and physical toys still have a place in the digital age. The central conflict of the film is Classic Toys vs Technology. They must face a new villain: an advanced AI toy that can "control" other toys through the internet and Bluetooth.

The animation received positive reviews. Critics felt that the film’s theme was extremely relevant. Pixar hits on a real issue: Gen Alpha kids who play on iPads from the age of 2. The conflict of "toys vs gadgets" feels relatable for both parents and children. This makes Toy Story 5 different from the previous four films. The animation is also praised as having the “Craziest Visuals Yet.” With a $250 million budget, this is Pixar’s most expensive film. The lighting, plastic textures, and the "digital" world inside the tablet are rendered in super detail. Its $310.2 million worldwide opening proves that people were curious about the visuals.

However, there were some criticisms. First, the villain is considered weak. The AI villain is cool in design, but its motivation is a bit generic: "humans don’t need toys anymore." It’s not as iconic as Lotso or Sid. Because this time the theme tackles technology, some parts feel like a "reduce your screen time" ad, and young children might get bored.

This animation stars: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Scarlett Spears, Conan O'Brien and more.

In my opinion:

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Hmm... I once told my friend that the first Toy Story was a masterpiece and had a perfect ending. Then I said that if a sequel was made, it would ruin that beautiful ending. I admit I was wrong, because now I acknowledge that from the first to the fourth, Toy Story delivered unique and entertaining stories. New characters, non-monotonous conflicts, and deep drama. Every installment was a success, you can see it from the earnings of each film, right? So what about the latest one, the fifth?

Honestly, I don’t feel there’s anything too new about this Toy Story. What I mean is, I feel it’s going back to the basic: the toys’ fear of being left behind. It’s just the presentation that’s different. In line with the times, the era of technology-based toys is overtaking conventional toys. That’s the theme this Toy Story film tackles. For me, Toy Story 3 was the perfect farewell. Toy Story 4 was Woody’s closing chapter. So Toy Story 5 feels like "an epilogue that got extended." Some fans say the story isn’t as urgent as before.

Of course, there are new characters here: Smarty Pants, Snappy, Atlas, and of course Lilypad, the smart Tablet. As if I could already guess the ending of this story, I wasn’t too excited following it. Even though there were a few things that made me smile, to be honest I was only entertained by the animation. Maybe the only new thing is seeing the colony of modern Buzz Lightyear toys. Again, I wasn’t surprised. Why? Because it reminded me of the Minions. I suspect they were trying to copy the uniqueness of the Minion colony.

So sorry to the hardcore Toy Story fans, this is just my opinion. But I won’t deny that the visuals and audio are incredibly cool, the animation is smooth and polished (of course, this is Pixar, dude!). This animation was a commercial success. I saw their latest earnings hit $1 billion, to be exact $1.136 billion worldwide. It became the highest-grossing film of 2026 and the biggest opening in franchise history. So this is not a failed animation, is it?

To me, this isn’t the best one, but it’s the most "important" theme for today. Toy Story 5 isn’t just a toy movie, it’s a mirror of us. In an era where everything is digital, this film seems to ask: "What makes us still human?" The answer is imagination. And Pixar gave that to us.

For me this one is 7.5/10.

Knowledge Center:

They started as plastic, then they became memories (1995→2026)

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Hey brother! Let me tell you about the original idea behind the Toy Story animation. From toys on a table to the history of CGI. Toy Story isn’t just Pixar’s first film. It’s the first feature-length 3D CGI animated film of all time. And the crazy idea started with a toy left on a table. How did the idea of "living toys" become the first animated film?

The root of this animation’s idea came from Pixar’s short film titled Tin Toy or The Adventures of Tin Toy (1988). The story began with one small toy named Tinny running away from a baby who wanted to play with him. Tin Toy won an Oscar in 1989. From there, John Lasseter, Pixar’s creative director, had an idea: "What if all the toys in a kid’s room came to life when humans aren’t looking?" That was the main "what if" of Toy Story.

Not only that, this brilliant idea was supported by other inspirations such as:

• John Lasseter’s childhood - He loved toys and liked to feel that his toys "had stories" when he wasn’t looking.
• Luxo Jr. - Pixar’s iconic lamp. Proof that inanimate objects can have personality.
• 80s buddy films - Like Midnight Run and 48 Hrs. Two very different characters forced to work together.

In 1991, Pixar pitched the idea to Disney under the working title "You Are A Toy." The original plot was completely different: Woody was a ventriloquist dummy, evil and sarcastic. He was jealous of Tinny, the new military toy. Unfortunately, this idea created a harsh conflict. The test screening was a total failure. Disney said: "Kids don’t like Woody." Pixar was almost bankrupt and was canceled by Disney. Then John Lasseter and the team rewrote everything for a year. Here are the key changes:

• Woody was changed - From evil to an insecure but caring leader. The inspiration came from the Casper the Friendly Ghost doll + the cowboy on TV from Lasseter’s childhood.
• Tinny was changed to Buzz Lightyear - To make it more "modern era" and marketable as a toy. The name Buzz comes from astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
• The theme was locked - Not about "good vs evil." But about "friendship and the fear of being replaced."

Eventually, legendary lines like: "There's a snake in my boot!" and "To Infinity and Beyond!" were born during this time.

No one had ever done this before. From 1993 to 1995, Pixar had to create the technology from scratch:

• Render Farm - 117 Sun Microsystems computers working 24 hours. One frame took 45 minutes to 30 hours to render.
• Hair and fabric problems - That’s why Andy, Sid, and other humans wore hats and stiff clothes. Easier to render.
• In total, it took 800,000 computer hours to make 77 minutes of film.

As a result, the initial budget of $17 million ballooned to $30 million. But the result of this effort made Toy Story explode in the market. Toy Story succeeded because of 3 things:

• Universal Concept - Everyone has had a toy. So it instantly connects.
• Story, not technology - Pixar focused on Woody and Buzz’s emotions, not showing off CGI.
• Perfect timing - 1995, people were already bored with 2D animation. The world was ready to see something new

On November 22, 1995, Toy Story was released and grossed $373 million. It proved that computer animation could have a "soul." The original idea for Toy Story was very simple: "What if your toys came to life?" But behind it were 7 years of failure, a total rewrite, and technology created from zero. Toy Story proved that the best ideas often come from the smallest things in our room.

Technology without story is empty. A story without new technology can be forgotten. Combine both concepts, and history is made.