By Samantha Ofole-Prince
The clever cinematic gem about talking toys returns to theaters for a 5th installment and this time it’s a face-off between toys and technology.
It all started in 1995 with the Oscar winning “Toy Story.” A film about life as a toy, it followed a pull-string cowboy plushy called Woody (voice by Tom Hanks) who feared he was being replaced by a new high-tech toy called Buzz Lightyear (voice by Tim Allen). Both struggled for Andy, their kid’s attention and there were plenty of humor and fist fights as the toys rumbled and tumbled.
“Toy Story” 2, 3 and 4 introduced new fun stories, catchy liners and even more colorful characters like Jessie and Bullseye, a villainous teddy bear and Forky, a quirky creation made from popsicle sticks by a kid called Bonnie.
Each addition to the sequel added a layer of drama and delight offering a teachable lesson about life along the way.
“I always figured they’d keep going with ‘Toy Story,’ the world is just so rich,” says director and screenwriter Andrew Stanton. “The toys don’t really age, but the world does. It’s not every movie idea you come up with where time is part of the interesting aspect of a story about childhood, parenthood, growing up and moving on.”
In “Toy Story 5,” it’s toy meets tech as Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Bo Peep and her sheep and the rest of the gang’s jobs are challenged when they come face-to-face with Lilypad (voice of Greta Lee), a tablet device that arrives with her own disruptive ideas about what is best for their kid.
With introducing tech devices into the Toy Story franchise, the story feels fresh and relevant.
“We wanted to build in all the fun, thrills and humor you expect from a ‘Toy Story’ film but also focus on an aspect of childhood that we hadn’t yet explored,” says Stanton. “Having toys in a room without electronic devices dominating is almost antiquated now. How does that shift in dynamics affect the child, let alone the toys? This seemed like something worthy of tackling in a new ‘Toy Story’ film, something we could sink our teeth into and have fun with at the same time.”
Tablets have certainly taken over in the film. The kids have abandoned their toys for tablets and texts and Bonnie, an introverted 8 year old, is just one of the few kids in the neighborhood still playing with her toys. When her parents purchase her a frog-shaped smart tablet, her toys determined not to be cast aside spring into action to save playtime.
There’s a clever quote Woody delivers when asked to help. “Toys are for play but tech is for everything!” He wails.
Even Woody’s aged a tad and when he finally arrives to aid the mission, the other toys are quick to point out his pot belly and bald spot. “Looks like he needs a brown marker.”
With characters that include Potty-mouthed Smarty Pants, a toilet-training tech toy, Snappy, a peppy little toy camera, and a cheerful talking toy hippo called Atlas who is equipped with GPS (voice by Craig Robinson), there’s visually dazzling animation for kids and plenty of relatable humor for parents.
All the “Toy Story” films have consistently grossed over a billion dollars and “TS5” brilliantly builds on its predecessor with a masterfully crafted story, comedic flair and visually dazzling detailed computer-animation from Pixar Animation Studios.
At the end of all, “TS5” does show that it can be a cohesive relationship between the two.
“TS5” is directed by Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Kenna Harris and written by Stanton and Harris from a story by Stanton. The film features the original song “I Knew It, I Knew You” – performed by Taylor Swift and written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff – along with an original score by Oscar winner Randy Newman.
Samantha Ofole-Prince is a U.S. based entertainment journalist and movie critic, who covers industry-specific news that includes television and film.