Toy Story 5 (2026) Review: When Toys Meet Technology

Toy Story 5 (2026) is a Pixar animated adventure that brings Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, and their friends back for a new challenge: modern technology. As Bonnie becomes more interested in screens and digital entertainment, her traditional toys begin to question their place in her life. Directed by Andrew Stanton and co-directed by Kenna Harris, the movie explores friendship, growing up, childhood imagination, and the changing relationship between children and their toys.

Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, and the rest of the gang are back for another adventure in Toy story 5 . Pixar returns to one of its most loved animated worlds with a new story that brings familiar characters together once again.

Looking for more family-friendly picks? Try our The Sheep Detectives review, the heartfelt Project Hail Mary review or the full movie reviews archive. For the series' history, the Toy Story franchise page on Wikipedia is a good refresher, and critic scores are collected on Rotten Tomatoes.

Released in 2026, Toy Story 5 continues the long-running Pixar franchise while introducing a new challenge for the toys. This time, the story explores the changing relationship between children, traditional toys, and modern technology, giving the movie a fresh idea while keeping the friendship and emotion that fans expect from Toy Story.

The story takes place as the toys find themselves facing a different kind of problem in the world of childhood.

The main challenge comes from technology becoming a bigger part of playtime. As children spend more time with digital devices, the traditional toys begin to wonder where they fit in. Instead of simply dealing with another adventure, they now have to face a change that could affect their relationship with the child they care about.

This gives the movie a modern angle while still keeping the heart of the franchise. The movie looks at the way childhood has changed and how toys can remain meaningful in a world filled with screens, apps, and new forms of entertainment.

The story explains how the toys try to understand their new situation, protect their friendship, and figure out what their purpose is.

The movie is about change, friendship, technology, and the emotional connection between children and their toys.

Director: Andrew Stanton, McKenna Harris

Cast

• Tom Hanks — Woody
• Tim Allen— Buzz Lightyear
• Joan Cusack—Jessie
• Greta Lee — Lilypad
• Scarlett Spears — Bonnie

Released: JUNE 19’ 2026

Disney+ Streaming Release: September 23, 2026

Ratings

IMDb: 7.4/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

Toy Story 5 plot

Technology is changing the way children play. Bonnie is growing up; she is surrounded by screens and digital devices. The toys suddenly find themselves competing for her attention in a way they have never experienced before. Pixar describes this central idea as “Toy Meets Tech,” with the traditional toys facing a new challenge from technology.

One of the biggest changes is the growing role of tablets and screens in childhood. Instead of imaginative play with physical toys, children can now spend their free time chatting, watching content, playing games, or using interactive apps. In the movie, Bonnie's friends are becoming more interested in screens, which makes her question whether she is getting too old to play with toys. This gives the story a relatable connection to modern childhood.

That is where Lilypad comes in. Lilypad is a frog-shaped smart tablet and becomes Bonnie's new favorite device. Unlike Woody and the other traditional toys, Lilypad is designed around digital interaction and has her own ideas about how to help Bonnie connect with her friends. What makes her interesting is that she is not simply another rival character. Lilypad also wants to help Bonnie, just like the older toys do, creating a conflict based on different ideas about what playtime should look like.

Movie connection to previous parts

Toy Story is not just about toys coming to life; it’s more than fun and comedy; it's about nostalgia and emotions. Since the first movie, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, and their friends have faced changes that come with friendship, growing up, and finding their place in a child's life. The original Toy Story introduced Woody and Buzz as each other's nemesis who eventually became close friends after learning to put their differences aside.

In Toy Story 2, Woody's story became more complicated when he discovered his value as a collectible, while Jessie and Bullseye became important additions to his world. The movie continued to explore Woody's question of what it really means to belong to a child.

Toy Story 3 shifted the focus toward the end of Andy's childhood. As Andy prepared to leave for college, the toys were faced with uncertainty about what the future would hold for them and if they would be of the same importance to Andy that they were before. This eventually connected them to Bonnie, a young girl who loved and cared for her toys.

Then came Toy Story 4, which gave Woody an even more personal journey. After becoming part of Bonnie's life, Woody began to see the toy world differently, especially after reuniting with Bo Peep. The movie expanded the idea that being a toy is not only about staying in one child's room but also about discovering a new purpose.

That history matters in Toy Story 5 because the characters are not simply starting another adventure from scratch. Woody has become more adventurous and is working with Bo Peep and her toy-rescue group, but a call brings him back to Bonnie's room. Buzz remains one of Woody's closest friends and now serves as Jessie's deputy, while Jessie has taken on the role of sheriff and becomes an important leader among Bonnie's toys.

Themes of the movie

Growing Up

She is getting older and beginning to see playtime differently. Her classmates are becoming less interested in toys and more interested in screens, which makes Bonnie question whether she might be getting too old to play. This gives the movie a relatable look at the transition between childhood interests and the next stage of growing up.

Friendship

Woody and Buzz continue to rely on each other, while Jessie takes on a leadership role among Bonnie's toys. Their relationships show that even when situations change, the connection between friends can remain important. The story also looks at Bonnie's own struggle to connect with other children, making friendship an important part of both sides of the story.

Change

Andy grew up, Woody found a new purpose, and Bonnie became the toys' new child. In Toy Story 5, the world around Bonnie is changing again. The conflict with new technology gives the characters another reason to question how they fit into a child's life.

Childhood Imagination

Pixar has created a distinctive handmade, pastel-inspired visual style for Bonnie's imagination, designed to show that every child can imagine playtime in a different way.

Family and Connection

The Toy Story movies have always treated the bond between a child and their toys as something emotional and meaningful. In the fifth movie, the toys continue trying to be there for Bonnie as she navigates friendships, growing up, and new technology. That makes the story about connection just as much as it is about toys.

Adapting to a Changing World

Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the other toys have to deal with a very different kind of childhood than the one they knew with Andy. The new concept allows the movie to explore whether traditional play and modern technology can exist side by side while keeping the franchise's focus on friendship, imagination, and caring for your kid.

What I liked about the movie

There are funny moments that can entertain children. The movie also knows when to slow down and deliver its emotional moments, which helps keep the story connected to the heart of the franchise.

The characters, environments, and action sequences look polished, while the imaginative play scenes add some visual variety. The movie also does a good job using its technology-based concept to create a world that feels different from the earlier Toy Story adventures.

Jessie's role is another change. Her story gave the movie life. She gets more attention in the story, allowing her personality to stand out. Along with the returning characters and new additions, this helps expand the Toy Story world without completely abandoning what came before.

The movie is made for children but also for adults to remind themselves that there is life beyond technology. The movie gives the upcoming generation a lesson that when you grow up there is change but you don’t have to be uncomfortable around it.

What I didn’t like about the movie

The new characters are entertaining, but not all of them receive the same amount of development. With so many familiar faces already in the franchise, it can be difficult for every new character to get enough time to become as memorable as Woody, Buzz, or Jessie.

The technology-focused story is interesting, but it may not work well. As in the old movie, people wouldn’t have imagined every character would have a major role. Some viewers may appreciate the modern idea, while others might feel that the movie spends too much time on technology instead of the simpler toy-centered stories that originally made the franchise special.

Final verdict

Overall, Toy Story 5 has plenty of heart, humor, visual creativity, and strong character relationships, but its more complicated storyline and familiar franchise elements may keep it from feeling completely fresh in every scene.

My rating: 8/10

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