Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie and their friends are back. Toy Story 5 is now streaming on Disney+, and one of Pixar’s most beloved franchises is putting its toys up against a rival that did not even exist when the original movie arrived more than 30 years ago: a screen.
The fifth movie in the series brings another adventure for characters that several generations have grown up with, while introducing a very modern problem into Bonnie’s room.
What Is Toy Story 5 About?
Bonnie gets a new frog-shaped tablet named Lilypad, and life for her toys quickly begins to change.
Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang are no longer competing with another toy for a child’s attention. This time, they are facing technology capable of offering almost endless entertainment.
Toy Story 5 therefore asks a surprisingly timely question: what place do traditional toys have in a world of tablets, games and touchscreens?
Woody also returns after choosing a different path at the end of Toy Story 4. He has remained in contact with Jessie and the others, and when he learns that his old friends may be in trouble, he comes back to help.
The movie is directed by Andrew Stanton and co-directed by McKenna Harris. Stanton has been closely connected with Pixar for decades and previously worked on movies including Finding Nemo, WALL-E and earlier Toy Story films.
Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack Return
Part of what makes Toy Story feel so familiar is that many of its most recognizable voices have remained with the franchise for decades.
Tom Hanks once again voices Woody, Tim Allen returns as Buzz Lightyear and Joan Cusack is back as Jessie. Hanks and Allen have been associated with Woody and Buzz since the original Toy Story in 1995, while Cusack joined the series as Jessie in Toy Story 2.
They are joined by Greta Lee as Lilypad, the tablet at the center of the new story. Returning voices also include Annie Potts as Bo Peep, John Ratzenberger as Hamm, Wallace Shawn as Rex and Blake Clark as Slinky Dog.
The cast also features Conan O’Brien, Tony Hale, Keanu Reeves, Bad Bunny and Alan Cumming among others.
Toy Story Has Been Part of Pop Culture for More Than 30 Years
When Pixar released the first Toy Story in 1995, it became the first fully computer-animated feature film and helped redefine what animated movies could look like.
What began as a technological breakthrough grew into one of Pixar’s defining franchises, with Woody and Buzz becoming two of the studio’s most recognizable characters.
The story behind the original movie and Pixar’s rise can also be explored in our feature:
There is something fitting about the premise of Toy Story 5. The original movie was itself a product of a technological revolution in filmmaking. Three decades later, its characters are dealing with another technological revolution, this time inside a child’s bedroom.
Toy Story 5 Is Now Streaming on Disney+
Toy Story 5 is available now on Disney+. The movie runs for 1 hour and 42 minutes, and the first four Toy Story movies are also available as part of the Toy Story collection on Disney+.
For anyone who first met Woody and Buzz as a kid, the new movie adds a very contemporary twist to a familiar idea: sometimes the biggest competition for playtime is not another toy, but the screen sitting right next to it.
Sources: Disney+
