Toy Story 5 Reaction: Cinepals Say the Jessie-Focused Sequel Hits Emotional Beats but Still Can't Top the Originals

We just finished watching Toy Story 5 for the first time, and our overall verdict is that it is a sweet, well-intentioned installment that lands its emotional beats even if it does not quite reach the rewatch status of the earlier films in the franchise.

What stood out most to us was how the movie handles its central conflict between toys and technology. We appreciated that the film resists making devices an outright villain. As we put it, "I don't know if we're in an age where you can be subtle with things anymore. It's kind of it has to be direct," acknowledging that the messaging is "admittedly quite heavy-handed" but likely necessary for the audience it's aimed at. By the end, both the toys and the tech characters like Lily Pad want the same thing, the child's wellbeing, which we felt was a genuinely sweet resolution rather than a simple good-versus-evil setup.

Jessie's arc was a highlight for us, especially the callback to her heartbreaking Toy Story 2 backstory and the reveal that her old owner Emily named her own daughter Jessie. That moment landed hard, prompting an emotional "Oh, that hit me" in the room. We also singled out the choice not to bring back a literal descendant of Jessie's original owner as a smart move, saying "I really thought we were going to go there," followed by relief that the film avoided "such an obvious way to go."

On the technical side, we noted how far the animation has come, pointing out details like reflections and lighting that would have been impossible in the original 1995 film, and joking that the original Toy Story "couldn't even have people's faces" on screen except for Andy and Sid. We did feel the story structure got a little crowded with so many returning characters, comparing the juggling act to a franchise like Fast and Furious, and admitted a personal bias toward Buzz and Woody that made the heavier Jessie focus land slightly less for us personally, even though we thought her individual story was well told.

We were also glad the film skipped having an outright antagonist, unlike Toy Story 2's Zurg or the bullying toys of Toy Story 3, letting Lily Pad instead have a redemption turn. Looking back at the franchise as a whole, we still hold Toy Story 1 and 2 as our favorites and remain lukewarm on Toy Story 4, but watching Toy Story 5, the takeaway was that "it makes me just honestly want to rewatch Toy Story 1 and 2 all over again."

Do you think Toy Story 5's message about kids, toys, and screen time struck the right balance, or was it too heavy handed?