Going into Toy Story 5, I thought Pixar’s signature series was the greatest movie franchise of all-time. I didn’t even think that was really debatable. It was four-for-four at the box office, boasted a bunch of great specials and shorts, and changed animated forever. No other franchise comes close to having such an unblemished resume. The only real threat to its top spot in cinematic history was itself via a mediocre or even bad installment. And a dud seemed almost mathematically inevitable. It’s hard to make truly great movies even when you’ve already made four of them. Go on long enough, and you’re bound to eventually make a misstep, right? Apparently not. Not even a little bit, because the fantastic Toy Story 5 is a moving and creative entry that only further cements the franchise as the most unimpeachable ever.
Toy Story 5 does just about everything well. The animation is more gorgeous than ever. (During the end-credits, I briefly thought I was looking at a live-action sequence.) The art’s crispness, color, and fluid style is on full display immediately. The film opens with a terrific scene featuring an army of lost, technologically advanced Buzz Lightyear toys. It’s vivid and lively, which matches the scene’s energy, while later sequences, especially with Jessie, are softer and more ethereal, matching the tone and spirit of those moments.
That lost Buzz army subplot starts off far removed (literally) from the main plot, but the entire time I had full confidence it would pay off in a meaningful way. That’s exactly what happened, as Toy Story 5‘s plot, though initally disjointed, makes sense and comes together in delightful, creative ways.
The movie also pulls off something many sequels in older franchises can’t. It’s both reverential to the past while not feeling beholden to it. Toy Story 5 threads the needle of paying homage to its predecessors—via callbacks, Easter eggs, and playful gags—without those references ever feeling forced. It’s fully aware of its own history and deftly utilizes it to make something that is new. Yet it does so without betraying the series’ heart and soul.
In addition to the stellar animation of the normal scenes, Toy Story 5 also shows us new way to experience “play.” When Bonnie or the film’s other main youngster, Blaze, use their imaginations, the animation style changes in a distinct manner that makes sense. It’s almost like a kid’s playful crayon drawing come to life with actual toys. It’s incredibly innovative and fun, one of my favorite additions to the franchise. More importantly, it contributes to the film’s themes about the importance of play and imagination.
The film also feels fresh thanks to its point of view. This is Jessie’s movie, not Buzz or Woody’s. The latter is essentially a side character, which makes sense after how Woody’s arc ended in Toy Story 4. By centering Jessie, Toy Story 5 feels both familiar and new. It also accomplishes this by making its human children a bigger part of the story than ever before. Bonnie and Blaze are essentially co-stars with Jessie and one unexpected character. (We’re getting to that toy, believe me.) Toy Story 5 fully invests in telling us who Bonnie and Blaze are and why being a kid is really hard sometimes. By prioritizing their struggles, and in turn their relationship with the toys in a way no previous entry has before, the film hits a powerful and emotional chord it hasn’t quite touched on before.
Jessie’s story on its own is also sad, powerful, and beautiful in Toy Story 5. She spends the movie grappling with her past while also desperately trying to save Bonnie from the dangers of technology. Bonnie’s new Lilypad tablet, which her parents got her to help make friends, has no use for old-fashioned toys. Greta Lee’s Lily believes Bonnie will only find friendship with her digital help and will eliminate anyone who stands in her way.
This battle of old versus new in Toy Story 5 inadvertently leads Jessie to a place she never expected to return to. It’s the kind of development that in lesser hands would easily result in a saccharine tale of regret and nostalgia. While on this journey, Jessie learns a lot about her past, her purpose, and understanding others. It’s gorgeous, simply gorgeous. and leads the film to a really beautiful place I didn’t see coming, as Toy Story 5 avoids making anything resembling an easy or even lazy choice. It’s everything I love about this franchise. (Jessie’s journey also results in a moment so beautiful I will put it up against any scene in franchise history. Yes, any scene, you Toy Story 3 fanatics.)
But like its predecessors, Toy Story 5 isn’t just excellent because it’s emotional and moving. It also never forgets to entertain its audience. It’s creative, interesting, fun, and funny. Really funny, especially because it’s surprise co-main character, the electronic potty trainer Smarty Pants, is so incredible, I almost can’t believe it.
And that brings me to the hardest part of this review, because I’m not sure how to talk about Conan O’Brien’s performance without sounding like a volcano of hyperbole. He’s that good.
O’Brien’s Toy Story 5 performance, which at points is absolutely unhinged and manic in the best way, touches on more emotions than most people experience in a year. At points, he’s unbelievably intense, angry, loud, obnoxious, condescending, mean, arrogant, and out of control. At others, he’s incredibly reflective, poignant, insightful, thoughtful, and kind. And he carries that sprawling range of emotions while also being wildly, almost impossibly entertaining. He’s massively funny. I could not get enough Smarty Pants, who is not the side character I expected. He’s one of the film’s leads, and he carries a lot of both the plot and the emotional weight. I was in genuine awe at how good Conan O’Brien was in the Toy Story 5 role. His performance goes right to the top echelon of all-time great voice performances.
I guess that’s fitting for a movie that only further cements Toy Story as the greatest franchise in movie history. The only thing that holds this fifth film back from absolute perfection is that, unlike past entries, this is the first movie to seem conscious that it will have a sequel. Woody’s diminished role felt like a setup for a big return in the future. There are also enough alterations to toys (Woody’s hilariously maligned poncho for example) I couldn’t shake the feeling someone was at least thinking about new merchandise opportunities.
That’s a little unfair to the film, especially since those new, upgraded Buzz Lightyear toys very much serve both a narrative and thematic purpose. But, at least on my initial viewing, I couldn’t fully ignore the sense a handful of small choices were inspired by corporate considerations rather than story ones.
The fact that’s my only real criticism of Toy Story 5 is as big a compliment as anything I can say in its favor. It’s everything I want from this franchise. It’s everything I have come to expect from it, even if I keep thinking it’s essentially impossible to keep delivering movies this good after this long. But after more than 30 years, Toy Story is not just still great, it’s the greatest.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He tried to be as normal as possible about Conan O’Brien’s performance as Smarty Pants. You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.