‘Toy Story 5’ is what happens when you run out of original ideas
All stories must come to an end. No matter how great they are, extending them beyond what they ought to be only dilutes any impact or depth they originally had. Imagine making a fourth “Cars” film and disregarding the perfect ending to Lightning McQueen’s decade-long arc—unspeakable, if I may say so myself.
Unfortunately, with the release of the teaser trailer for “Toy Story 5,” maybe a “Cars 4” isn’t as fictitious as we’d previously thought. We’re talking about Disney, after all.
The “Toy Story 5” reveal shows Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the gang’s newest enemy: technology. As contrived as that already sounds—remember that we’re still talking about the franchise with one of the most unique story premises in pop culture history—unoriginality isn’t its biggest sin.
Instead, it’s proof that the minds behind “Toy Story 5” are so far removed from the heart of the franchise that they’re still milking it, more than 20 years later.
A beautifully crafted trilogy… until it wasn’t
Call it corporate greed or a desperate appeal to nostalgia, either way, shamelessly creating unnecessary sequels isn’t exactly new to the “Toy Story” franchise.
Released in 1995, the first “Toy Story” centered around the newly bought Buzz Lightyear and his journey to coming to terms with his identity as a toy, not the marauding space ranger he thought he was. At its core, the film was about finding your purpose and accepting it, even if it doesn’t line up with what you had envisioned for yourself.
Four years later, “Toy Story 2” followed with Woody’s existential crisis and his growing fear of being forgotten by Andy—something that was accelerated after he got badly damaged. While he knew it was an inevitability, he eventually learned to accept it, instead choosing to be with Andy regardless.
In 2010, “Toy Story 3” saw this inevitability come true as Andy grows older and is set to move to college, leaving his toys behind. Perhaps the franchise’s most emotional entry, the film explored the idea that a toy’s purpose doesn’t end with its owners. That while they will grow older and grow out of playing with toys, they too have a life beyond them. That they can find a home in another kid who loves toys—and even if that inevitability comes again, they can move on again and bring joy to another kid.
It would’ve been the perfect end to the “Toy Story” franchise. But no.
Instead, 2019’s “Toy Story 4” opened the toy box yet again for an unnecessary cross-country journey, where Woody, out of all toys, decided that he no longer wanted to serve his purpose as one.
On one end, you can make the argument that Woody dedicated himself to the happiness of the owner for so long—that perhaps, he never really considered what he wanted for himself. That said, are we really ignoring three films’ worth of character development? Though at least it was somewhat of a resolution to Woody’s arc.
But with Woody apparently back into the fold for “Toy Story 5”—well, what were the last four films for anyway at this point?
But kids’ movies are made for kids—right?
While adults can find joy and relatability in watching such films, these aren’t made with them in mind. In the end, I am a 25-year-old man ranting about a kids’ movie.
But just because they’re geared toward a certain audience, that shouldn’t mean these films should miss out on the thought, intentionality, and heart that the kids’ movies we grew up watching had.
Should “Toy Story 5” have heart, so be it. Time will only tell if this is an overreaction. But until then, today’s kids deserve original films with lessons and moments they can remember decades after they’ve watched them—not a sorry attempt at nostalgia bait.
