acid reflects reviews

There are those who believe that deja vu happens when you and your alternate from another dimension momentarily overlap. I’m not here to preach deja vu, but Toy Story 5 happens when a new storyline overlaps with an old one, giving a fresh take on something we’ve already seen before.

Is it any good? I found it more emotionally honest and heartfelt than the overworked and designed-to-make-grown-men-cry Part 4. Toy Story refuses to mature even if its characters – human or plastic – age over time. Bald patch included.

Little Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) is introduced to the latest form of entertainment sweeping the town – the electronic internet tablet. Lilypad (voiced by Grace Lee) receives approval from the young girl’s parents (voiced by Lori Alan and Jeff Hernandez), especially after the tablet adds the shy Bonnie to a group chat composed of her school classmates. Bonnie is spending a sleepover with her new friends in no time, thanks to Lilypad. 

But of course, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Jessie (Joan Cusack) discovers that the use of gadgets has swept across the entire neighborhood, locking children into their gadget’s screens all day, effectively eliminating physical play interaction. Jessie remembers how her original owner grew up before her eyes and stopped playing with toys. She vows to make Bonnie play again. In the process, cowgirl Jessie is mistakenly returned to her old barnyard home, where Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris) an adventurous young lady who loves horses, now resides.

There, Jessie meets old battery-operated toys Smarty Pants (comedian Conan O’Brien), Snappy (Shelby Rabara) and Atlas (Craig Robinson.) After some convincing from Jessie, the barnhouse team hatch a plan to return Jessie to Bonnie. Except that Lilypad is convinced that Bonnie would be happier with her new friends though her internet savvy, no Jessie needed. Buzz (Tim Allen) who has been planning to propose his romance with Jessie, hatches a plan to bring Jessie back. From across town, the balding Woody (Tom Hanks) mistakes Jessie’s “phone call” as a plea for help, and scoots back to Bonnie’s house where the other original Toys are to join Buzz’s operation to retrieve Jessie.

Pixar director Andrew Stanton and co-writer, co-dorector McKenna Harris have successfully woven a story that is embedded in current household situations. Taking cue from the United Kingdom’s proposed legislation to limit social media use among 16 year olds and below, several countries including the Philippines have announced similar proposals to limit gadget screen time and increase protection of youth online. It is a real problem. The message is clearly laid out not just in the film’s premise, but from the get-go near the beginning of the film (minus the opening scene about the marooned Buzzes).

Toy Story 5 is rife with classic Toy Story themes: the threat of obsolescence (similar to TS2 and TS3), a daring rescue, an adventure across town. and loads of heart-tugging emotional attachment towards every child’s favorite plaything. This is pretty much Jessie’s movie, her thoughts and her feelings as the threat of being forgotten by a growing owner looms again. Poor Jessie can’t stand being rejected yet again after so many years. But this time around, Jessie sees the threat of obsolescence from the perspective of old tech toys she herself used to dislike. The film manages to preach the pitfalls of letting tech take control of human behavior, while also showing that tech can be useful with proper guidance. That it’s not a black-and-white demonization of technology.

Electronics and the internet aren’t new features in toys, very much present in 2019 when Toy Story 4 came about and social media was already a thing. In that sense the story of No.5 could easily have been No.4 in the series instead. This really sounds like a shoulda-coulda, especially when some IPs are accused of being cash grabs that offer less new story in a conveyor belt of productions that seemingly has no end in sight. Can we expect a Toy Story 7 when No.6 is already a possibility after the smashing opening weekend success of No5.? In Disney’s eyes, that’s probably a yes, so long as children play with toys.

Numerous callbacks to previous installments offer nostalgia and comedy, but a sidequest by a platoon of marooned Buzz Lightyears to find Star Command feels so random that every scene with them practically halts the momentum of the narrative. Should we care (emotionally attach) about these toys? The side quest reminds me of Scrat in the Ice Age series of animations, whose scenes were so random, they were funny but had zero bearing to the story. It’s as if the platoon of Buzzes were inserted for one specific feature shown as a surprise near the film’s climax.

In the post-internet age when Gen Z and Gen Alpha rediscover analog life precisely to steer away from the isolation brought by social media, Toy Story 5 is adamant in keeping toys and physical play intact. Have it your way if this is a good thing or not. I am personally okay with giving a toy away for the chance of making another person happy with the used toy, but like many others, I agree with the notion to keep gadget screentime among kids next to zero. I also don’t mind collectors if that makes them happy, plus collectors help keep some items from becoming landfill (we already got this from TS2). Realistically, the issue about overproduction and plastics isn’t spoken of (the film doesn’t have to, am just pointing out that it doesn’t. The enire series is about playing with toys, not about hoarding.)

By the way, has anyone from Disney or Pixar explained officially how the Toys Magically Come Alive When Humans Don’t Look in-universe? Like, how are do they gain consciousness? The platoon of Buzzes in this episode are connected to wifi, so there’s that. But how about other toys from the past? I digress.

Stay during the credits.

Toy Story 5 is from Disney Studios and Pixar. Images and trailer © 2026 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved. Now showing in Philippine cinemas nationwide including Ayala Malls Cinemas.