This review discusses major story themes and plot points from Toy Story 5.
As an emotional kid, the Toy Story films always got me.
I remember feeling genuinely sad for the toys whenever they werenât being played with. Sitting on a shelf. Waiting for their kid. Wondering if they still mattered.
Toy Story 5 taps into that same feeling, but updates it for 2026.
This time the threat isnât another toy.
Itâs technology.
Movie Trailer
Toy Story 5 - Official Trailer
Childhood Has Changed
Bonnie is still very much a kid. Thatâs what makes the story work.
Sheâs not trying to grow up. If anything, the world around her is pushing her there faster than she might otherwise go.
The film opens with Bonnieâs parents debating whether to buy her a tablet. Theyâre nervous about it, but theyâre also worried about her missing out. Bonnie is struggling to make friends because sheâs one of the only kids still playing with toys while everyone else is connected online.
When she finally receives her Lily Pad, her parents start with good intentions. She gets a day of unrestricted use to learn how to use it before screen-time restrictions are supposed to begin.
Like many good intentions, those rules quickly become harder to enforce than expected.
By the next morning, sheâs reaching for it before anything else.
Itâs a small moment, but one that immediately feels familiar.
The film isnât really criticising Bonnieâs parents. If anything, it acknowledges how difficult modern parenting has become. Nobody wants their child glued to a screen. Nobody wants them left behind either.
The film also touches on some of the less obvious challenges that come with kids being constantly connected.
Bonnie becomes upset after reading messages in a group chat where some low-level cyberbullying is taking place. Rather than immediately taking the device away or demanding answers, Bonnieâs mum calmly asks her to show her whatâs happened and reassures her that sheâs not in trouble.
Itâs a brief scene, but one that felt refreshingly realistic. The film acknowledges that technology isnât going away, so the answer isnât simply removing it. Itâs about helping kids navigate it.
The Forgotten Devices
The most emotional part of the movie for me wasnât one of the toys.
It was the old technology.
While searching for Bonnie, Jessie discovers a collection of forgotten devices hidden away in a drawer with dead batteries. After bringing them back to life, she meets Smarty Pants, Snappy and Atlas.
Unlike the toys, they donât even realise theyâve been abandoned.
Their batteries died and that was it.
One of them describes the last thing he remembers seeing before shutting down: a collection of photos followed by a spinning rainbow loading icon. The next thing he knows, Jessie is installing fresh batteries years later.
Itâs funny, but also surprisingly sad.
When Jessie asks how long they spent with their kids, the answers range from just three to six months.
They werenât loved and outgrown.
They were simply replaced.
The toys miss being played with.
The devices miss being useful.
Itâs a subtle juxtaposition that sits at the heart of the film.
One longs for connection.
The other longs for purpose.
That distinction stuck with me long after the credits rolled.
Another moment that stayed with me comes when the devices describe Bonnie as â9.5â years old.
Not nine. Not ten.
9.5.
It sounds like the way a gadget might describe another gadget. A tiny joke, but one that perfectly captures how differently the devices view the world compared to the toys.
Itâs Not Toys vs Tech
The marketing positions the film as a battle between toys and technology.
Thatâs only half the story.
At first, Lily Pad feels like the villain. Bonnie becomes obsessed with staying connected. She worries about missing games, missing jokes and missing whatever happened while she was offline.
The toys see Lily Pad as the problem.
Lily Pad sees the toys as outdated.
But neither side is actually trying to hurt Bonnie.
Theyâre both trying to help her.
One of the recurring ideas throughout the film is that Bonnie isnât like everyone else. The toys keep reminding Lily Pad that a one-size-fits-all solution doesnât work.
Eventually Lily Pad realises that despite her good intentions, sheâs been causing Bonnie as much stress as happiness.
By the end, even Jessie understands that technology isnât the enemy.
Itâs just another part of Bonnieâs life.
That idea is summed up perfectly when Woody says of Lily Pad:
âSheâs one of us. Deal with it.â
Itâs a surprisingly mature conclusion.
Final Thoughts
I watched Toy Story 5 at a 10am screening filled almost entirely with adults. Which somehow felt appropriate.
The original Toy Story was about toys competing for a childâs attention.
Thirty years later, the competition looks very different.
Bonnie isnât choosing between Woody and Buzz. Sheâs trying to navigate a world of group chats, social pressure, online friendships and constant connectivity. Meanwhile, Jessie is left wondering whether thereâs still a place for toys in a childhood increasingly shaped by screens.
The marketing presents the film as a battle between toys and technology.
The movie itself is much more interested in what happens when the two learn to coexist.
The toys help Bonnie imagine.
Technology helps Bonnie connect.
The problem isnât either one on its own. Itâs when one begins to replace the other.
Sitting in a cinema full of adults, it struck me that many of us have grown up alongside these characters. The original Toy Story was released in 1995, and many of the children who grew up with Woody and Buzz are now adults navigating these same questions in their own lives.
In that sense, Toy Story 5 feels like it has grown up alongside its audience.
The film doesnât just explore technology from a childâs perspective. It also spends time examining the challenges faced by parents. Bonnieâs mum and dad arenât portrayed as careless or out of touch. Theyâre trying to answer the same question many families are asking today: how do you embrace technology without letting it take over?
By showing the issue through Bonnie, the toys, the devices and the parents, the film avoids easy answers. Instead, it presents technology as something that can help, harm and connect, often at the same time.
Despite the bigger themes, Toy Story 5 never forgets to be fun. There are plenty of laughs throughout, and Jessie proves sheâs more than capable of carrying a Toy Story film. The movie spends a lot of time talking about technology, but it never feels like a lecture. Its ideas are woven naturally into the story, allowing the audience to arrive at their own conclusions alongside the characters.
Underneath all the jokes, talking gadgets and adventure sequences, Toy Story 5 is exploring a question many families are already grappling with today:
How do we find a healthy balance between technology and real life?
Thatâs what stayed with me long after the credits rolled.
Toy Story 5 isnât really about toys versus tech.
Itâs about balance.
Donât rush out when the credits start rolling. Stay for the full song and youâll be rewarded with one last scene before the lights come up.
Want Your Own Lilypad?
Belkin has actually released an officially licensed Disney Pixar Toy Story Lilypad iPad Case.
Compatible with iPad A16 (11th Gen, 2025) and iPad 10th Gen (2022).
