Toy Story 5 First Reviews: A Charming, Flawlessly Animated Sequel We Didn’t Know We Needed
Critics say the film is another triumph for Pixar, with outstanding character work, immaculate visuals, and a timely message.
Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the toybox return to theaters this weekend in Toy Story 5, and the first reviews of the animated sequel are now online. While not considered a necessary continuation, the latest installment more than makes its case for existing with the usual Pixar goods. As expected from this franchise, the fifth movie is smart, funny, visually gorgeous, and heartwarming, and it will probably make you cry over the lives of plastic playthings once again. Still, there are some reported minor issues with the script and its message.
Here’s what critics are saying about Toy Story 5:
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Has Pixar made another masterpiece?
Against all odds, those wizards at Pixar have done it again… resulting in one of their best films in recent memory.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
Against all odds, one of the greatest franchises ever created has delivered yet another gem.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
Toy Story 5 is yet another worthy addition to what has been one of our most consistently great film franchises.
— Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
The first three are pretty much unassailable masterpieces. I don’t know if Toy Story 5 attains those first films’ unreachable heights, but I can say it’s yet another fantastic addition to a series that has maintained a consistently high level of quality for the past 30 years.
— Shakyl Lambert, CGMagazine
While it falters a bit at the start, it pulls itself together brilliantly to deliver that classic Pixar charm.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
The aesthetic whimsy that’s made the Toy Story movies so popular is all but absent in Stanton’s film.
— Jake Cole, Slant Magazine
How does it compare to the rest of the Toy Story movies?
It’s not the series’ best but, in most respects, is still better than the rest.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
If the original Toy Story (still my favorite) is “Meet the Beatles,” and Toy Story 3 is “Sgt. Pepper,” the splendidly catchy and seductive Toy Story 5 feels like “Abbey Road.”
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
A marked improvement on its predecessor.
— Chris Tilly, Dexerto
Previous Toy Story movies have been timeless, but Toy Story 5 is the first one to feel of its time.
— Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
The film is definitely rougher around the edges compared to previous entries, with its many cluttered subplots that are often incredibly disjointed.
— Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
For older audiences, this is the weakest of the series and could have been a straight-to-Disney+ streaming release.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect
Does it feel necessary?
With Toy Story 5, Pixar once again delivers a sequel that audiences didn’t know they needed.
— Brian Eggert, Deep Focus Review
The truth is that the Toy Story movies are all beautiful, all brilliant, all different, and they work all together now…It’s a sublime summing up, a movie that reflects the whole series in its magic mirror.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Unnecessary and charming.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
The hamfisted subplot about Buzz’s desire to propose to the cowgirl and the return of Woody… feel like nothing more than thin justifications for getting the gang back together.
— Jake Cole, Slant Magazine
While Toy Story 5 doesn’t quite justify its existence, it is nice to see Pixar continue to rep the family movie that doesn’t talk down to its audience.
— Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
What works best this time around?
It continues the franchise’s incredible tradition of evolving alongside its audience.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
Toy Story 5 escalates in delight (the climactic wedding ceremony must be seen to be believed).
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
The real triumph of Toy Story 5 is that it belongs to Jessie and Bonnie.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Few films have captured the anxiety of a wary older generation looking at a seemingly lost youngest generation with greater perceptiveness than Toy Story 5.
— Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com
Does it bring anything new to the franchise?
Toy Story 5 contains all the series’s hallmarks, but foregrounds the human side of the story in a way the series has never done before.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
5 is truly the first film to bring an equal amount of emotional resonance to both toy and human characters.
— Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
The smartest thing director Andrew Stanton and Pixar do here is throw out the old playbook…the series takes on a different complexion, especially since [Jessie’s] primary mission isn’t to get back to Bonnie.
— Matt Goldberg, Decoding Everything
Toy Story 5 feels like a fresh start for the series, which is no bad thing.
— Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
How is the screenplay?
As with every entry in the franchise, the film’s screenplay remains immaculate.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
The narrative feels somewhat disjointed as it juggles multiple storylines.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Unlike past films, this one seems to have a somewhat less cohesive storyline and tends to juggle several balls in the air all at once.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect
Toy Story 5 can feel structurally scattershot at first. Upon reflection, the initially amorphous narrative trajectory feels earned.
— Brian Eggert, Deep Focus Review
For the first time, a seemingly unnecessary Toy Story sequel has at last pushed the material too far, finding a compelling new topic but failing to build a sturdy structure on top of it.
— Jake Cole, Slant Magazine
Is it funnier than the previous entries?
The movie really does feel like more of an outright comedy than past installments did, with a handful of jokes that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Rick and Morty episode.
— Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
The film is crucially very funny.
— Jon Negroni, InBetweenDrafts
As someone who mostly gets tired of bathroom jokes, O’Brien’s were some of the funniest I have heard in a while.
— Shakyl Lambert, CGMagazine
When imaginative play happens in Toy Story 5, the film depicts it in high-comedy sequences of spangly fluorescent color, where the action is hilariously straight from a child’s brain.
— Owen Gleiberman, Variety
Does it have a good message?
The filmmakers bring home the point that children need physical interaction and communication with other kids to help them develop and grow, a useful message that’s easy to endorse.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Everything about Bonnie’s characterization shows that the Pixar creatives are genuinely concerned about what technology is doing to kids these days.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
In a world where both kids and adults are increasingly consumed by screens, this film acts as a gentle, necessary wake-up call.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
“What matters is connecting with the right people — and technology can even help with that.” It all feels a little forced, like a story about climate change ending with the sun beginning to shine.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
It is a very relevant idea that is important for children growing up in the age of iPads and constant electronic stimuli to hear.
— Shakyl Lambert, CGMagazine
Those moments too often give the film the feel of a PSA aimed at convincing parents to monitor their kids’ screen time.
— Jake Cole, Slant Magazine
Is it completely anti-technology?
The film isn’t tech-phobic or anti-tech; it’s simply warning that too much screen time may rot your brain and make you socially inept.
— Brian Eggert, Deep Focus Review
The way writer-director Andrew Stanton and co-writer Kenna Harris approach the subject is much more nuanced than you would think.
— Shakyl Lambert, CGMagazine
Ultimately, the movie works because it has heart and conviction in the belief that tech toys are not innately bad. They can also serve to bring joy.
— David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Unfortunately, technology can’t be the ultimate bad guy here… [because] Disney has teamed with educational gaming company LeapFrog to create a stripped-down version of the Lilypad tablet.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
Do we need to bring tissues?
I practically cried through the entire final act.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
There are at least two moments in Toy Story 5 that brought tears to my eyes, and that speaks volumes about Stanton and his Pixar mates’ persistent ability to mine their fantastical conceit for affecting drama.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
A few tear-jerking moments are effective, none more so than one involving Jessie finally coming to terms with her abandonment issues regarding her original owner.
— Jake Cole, Slant Magazine
A couple of scenes…rise to the emotional level of the Toy Story 3 incinerator sequence.
— Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com
There’s nothing here to challenge the emotional trauma of “When She Loved Me”…the movie won’t devastate you in the same way as it treads familiar ground.
— Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy
How is the animation this time?
Toy Story 5 is… one of the most visually striking entries in the series.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
Of course, Pixar’s animation is flawless. Several times during the film, I was struck by the photorealistic characters and environments, which look staggeringly convincing.
— Brian Eggert, Deep Focus Review
The animation here is stunning as always for Pixar, but 5’s most distinctive departure from 4 visually is trading 4’s unreal photorealism for a more playful nature to its visuals.
— Joshua Mbonu, Geek Vibes Nation
I don’t think I have ever seen such detailed animation before, especially in Jessie’s “yarn” hair and the fabric covering Bullseye’s body.
— Allison Rose, FlickDirect
There’s some spark to the brief moments where we see an approximation of Bonnie’s imagination when she plays with her old toys.
— Jake Cole, Slant Magazine
[Pixar is] using the computer to simulate the handmade, the imperfect, the childlike, the chalky smudge of imagination. The form itself becomes an argument. That technology can recreate texture, but only imagination gives it meaning.
— Jon Negroni, InBetweenDrafts
Who is the MVP among the returning characters?
This is Jessie’s film, and Cusack is absolutely sensational… Making Jessie the emotional anchor of Toy Story 5 is one of the smartest creative decisions the franchise has made in years.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
Toy Story 5 truly belongs to Jessie… Joan Cusack’s voice performance is a potent reminder of what a wonderful talent she is.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
In the way that Toy Story 4 provided closure to Woody’s arc, Toy Story 5 provides similar depth for Jessie. Her shift to the central figure is a great change of pace.
— Shakyl Lambert, CGMagazine
The erstwhile space ranger continues to be the series’ (not-so-)secret weapon… Everything involving Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 5 displays Pixar at the absolute peak of their powers.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
How are the new characters?
Just as memorable as the new additions from each previous Toy Story film have been… Their distinctive personalities feel like vintage Pixar.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
Toy Story 5 does add a few new toys to this universe, with the breakout favorite voiced by Conan O’Brien.
— Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence
There are some great new additions to the cast, most notably Conan O’Brien as the Wi-Fi-enabled potty-training toy Smarty Pants.
— Shakyl Lambert, CGMagazine
Conan O’Brien’s Smarty Pants may have been my favorite addition to the new cast, consistently delivering some of the film’s funniest moments and proving to be an instant standout.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
Blaze is a new character that perfectly fits into the world of Toy Story… I instantly fell in love with her. She is fun, quirky, and a kind soul.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Is Taylor Swift’s original song worthy of the franchise?
The song beautifully captures the emotional core of the story and reinforces its central themes long after the credits begin to roll.
— David Gonzalez, The Cinematic Reel
It proved to be the perfect musical choice for the story’s emotional resolution.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
The addition of Taylor Swift’s Jessie-centered song, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” positions the film explicitly in conversation with Jessie’s musical history… a song of recognition restored. Not “you never left,” but “I knew you even after time changed us.”
— Jon Negroni, InBetweenDrafts
Will this installment leave us wanting more Toy Story movies?
Maintaining this level of quality five films deep into a franchise is impressive. Go ahead, Pixar. Make as many of these as you want.
— Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture
Given Disney’s addiction to franchises, we shouldn’t be surprised if Toy Story 6 comes along, and at least the series now feels at peace with additional stories rather than bidding these characters a fond farewell.
— Matt Goldberg, Decoding Everything
As long as there are audiences who are willing to play a little longer, the Toy Story movies can continue forever.
— Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
I truly hope that, should there be a sixth film (and who are we kidding, there will be), [Blaze] will return.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Toy Story 5 opens in theaters June 19, 2026. Get your tickets here.
