Toy Story 5 is going to leave millennials a quivering emotional wreck

Toy Story 5 may have been unexpected, but this latest movie delivers the pangs of nostalgia and emotion that studio Pixar has become celebrated for in a genuinely moving experience.

Millennials who have grown up with this franchise over the past 31 years should prepare to be quietly ruined – although it’s a wistful watch for any adult.

And yes, the kids who this film is ostensibly aimed at will also find themselves entertained and enchanted, for the franchise’s power remains undimmed in terms of its storytelling and employing just the right kind of sentimentality.

While a fifth film would very rarely – if ever – be an event I’d celebrate, Toy Story 5 proves an exception to the rule of uninspired and overblown sequels, with another remarkably consistent film from franchise mainstay Andrew Stanton, this time co-directing and writing with Kenna Harris.

This time our favourite toys – in the possession of eight-year-old Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) since she inherited them from a college-bound Andy in 2010’s Toy Story 3 – tackle the threat of technology after the arrival of new tablet Lilypad (Greta Lee).

This adversary makes perfect sense given how much our lives have been taken over by phones, social media and wi-fi connectivity in recent years, so much so that it’s almost odd they didn’t cover it already. Toy Story 4 (2019) was that rare, slightly weaker movie in the series, circling the theme of abandoned toys.

But for Toy Story 5, we are back in sharper focus as to what story is being told and why.

Jessie (Joan Cusack) steps into the spotlight as the new sheriff of Bonnie’s toys in Woody’s (Tom Hanks) absence, and the film aims to have you cry within minutes thanks to the return of one of the saddest songs in cinema, When She Loved Me, as it delves into Jessie’s backstory with original owner Emily.

With Bonnie shy and struggling to make friends, her parents buy her a Lilypad, leading to great panic in the playroom when the tablet’s talents appear endless while Woody’s gang of abandoned toys sombrely warn Buzz (Tim Allen), Hamm, Slinky Dog, Mr Potato Head and the like that ‘the age of toys is over’ – and has been for years.

Or as Rex (reliably) panics: ‘Extinction! Not again!’

Lilypad’s efficiency is scary, as she can distractedly scroll while you’re talking, but still play back your full conversation, translate it into Spanish or even turn it into a rap.

While the toys have existential crises over being useless, Lilypad nabs Bonnie a friend in 15 seconds thanks to the connectivity of ‘the Pond’ that her classmates’ tablets are also linked up to and that facilitates her first sleepover.

Convinced of her own brilliance, the headstrong Lilypad thinks she knows what is best – and it’s this clash between her and the old-fashioned toys powering the movie, as well as Bonnie’s tentative first steps online.

In her determination to accompany Bonnie for this first overnight stay, though, Jessie gets diverted onto an adventure at the home of nine-and-a-half-year-old Blaze, where she meets a trio of more dated tech toys, led by sassy toilet trainer Smarty Pants (Conan O’Brien, comedy gold and a gift to this film).

Meanwhile, a retired Woody, embracing his dadbod and bald spot that so stunned fans in the trailer, is roped in to come to the rescue with Buzz – who is keen to both propose and be a good deputy to Jessie – leading to some reliably madcap scenes, including one with a herd of horses.

We also follow the Multi-Buzz, a group of 50 high-tech Buzz Lightyear units stuck in demo mode after their cargo container washes ashore. While its own random plot thread for most of the movie, it’s nonetheless very endearing and entertaining how they play off each other as their awareness grows from the default setting of finding Star Command.

By this stage, the Toy Story universe is so stacked that Keanu Reeves is happy to swing by for a short reappearance as Duke Caboom, while Bad Bunny cameos as Pizza with Sunglasses and Taylor Swift is onboard with new song I Knew It, I Knew You.

And before you ask, you should absolutely stay for the credits. If inspiration continues to strike, I imagine we’ll be enjoying more Toy Story films to infinity and beyond.