Toy Story 5 Reviews: Is Pixar’s Latest Sequel Worth Watching?

The Toy Story franchise is over thirty years old and it still finds ways to bring its beloved characters back to the big screen. Toy Story 5 (2026) reunites Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie and the rest of the gang for another emotional adventure. But this time, Pixar drags the toys into a very contemporary conflict: technology and the growing power of screens in kids’ lives.

The sequel has been met with generally favorable reviews from critics, with some questioning whether the franchise still has enough new ideas for another movie. Toy Story 5 currently stands at a 93% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 94% score from verified audience ratings. Metacritic has the movie at a 73/100, with the overall critical reception being “Generally Favorable.”

New Fight: Toys versus Technology

Toy Story 5, directed by Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris, brings a fresh danger to the usual playtime. Woody, Buzz and Jessie are competing with Lilypad, an elegant tablet device voiced by Greta Lee, for Bonnie’s attention.

The basic premise sounds simple, but it’s a launch pad for Pixar to explore a contemporary issue affecting parents and children. With digital entertainment becoming more and more a part of kids’ lives, traditional toys can find it hard to compete.

The film apparently takes a deeper view of the subject, rather than simply making technology the villain. It allows the sequel to explore questions of creativity, friendship, imagination and the changing nature of childhood.

Jessie plays a bigger part

One of the fun decisions in Toy Story 5 is the heavier reliance on Jessie, voiced by Joan Cusack. Woody and Buzz are still the main characters, but Jessie is more emotionally deep.

That shift was especially praised in the review from RogerEbert.com, which said the movie explores Jessie’s past with abandon, and ties it to a larger fear of being forgotten or replaced. This allows for the character to go on a more substantial emotional journey, and it allows Pixar to explore one of the franchise’s central themes from a different angle.

One of the things that helps to make Toy Story 5 feel a bit different than the previous movies is Jessie’s expanded role.

Visual Fidelity and Animation

The animation is definitely one of the strongest aspects of the film – given Pixar, this probably won’t come as a surprise to most of you. Film critics have been highly complimentary to the film’s visuals, imaginative sequences and close details.

What it also shows is the tremendous talents of Pixar – their abilities don’t stop at creating fantastic action scenes based on toys, they also make the characters very expressive. Also, there are many places where the filmmakers can visually contrast traditional toys with cutting-edge technology.

The technical excellence of the movie is such that even critics who were not really impressed with the story generally admitted the film’s high quality. Animation has definitely been one of the main factors making the series look great so far, even after over 30 years since its first movie was released.

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Humor & emotion

The mix of comedy and feeling in the film is a huge strength. Kids get a lot of entertainment from the Toy Story movies. Grownups have been handed surprisingly mature emotional arcs. The fifth entry keeps that tradition going.

Critics called it funny, heartfelt, and esthetically pleasing. Some reviews pointed out that the new chapter can stir exactly the sort of emotional response audiences have come to expect from Pixar. The early Rotten Tomatoes consensus singled out the character work, visuals, humor, and emotional impact.

The Question of Franchise Fatigue

The biggest criticism of Toy Story 5 isn’t necessarily about the quality of the filmmaking, but whether another sequel was necessary.

The first three movies had an incredibly strong reputation and Toy Story 4 already gave many viewers an ending that was satisfactory. So the fifth movie has the uphill battle of convincing us that there’s still something worth exploring.

The Los Angeles Times was particularly skeptical, writing that the franchise’s recurring themes of toys becoming obsolete and kids growing up now seem all too familiar.

That criticism matters, because the emotional core of Toy Story has always been change, and letting go. Repeating that message after five movies risks making the series feel predictable.

What the Critics Are Saying

Nevertheless, the overall critical response remains favorable. Time Out gave the film four stars out of five, praising its energy, imagination and emotional themes. The publication added the sequel manages to go back to the fears of being outgrown and left behind that helped define the earlier films.

Some other critics have praised the film’s ability to address modern technology without completely losing the emotional heart of the franchise. Others have pointed to the returning cast and new voice talent performances.

Meanwhile, some mixed reviews indicate that Toy Story 5 doesn’t always live up to the creative heights of the original trilogy.

Conclusion

Toy Story 5 is a decent, but not universally loved, follow-up to Pixar’s most recognizable franchise. Its biggest successes are in its emotional storytelling, beautiful animation, expanded role for Jessie and timely exploration of technology’s role in childhood.

Its biggest weakness is equally obvious: with four previous movies, some of its themes may be a bit familiar. At times the film struggles to explain why this story needed to be told.

But the key actors indicate Pixar has avoided a big sequel stumble. Toy Story 5 is sitting pretty with a 93% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, a 94% audience score and a 73 Metacritic score. The general consensus is that Toy Story 5 is a fun and worthwhile return to the world of Woody, Buzz and Jessie.

Overall Toy Story 5 is recommended for long time fans and families. It may not have the emotional punch of Toy Story 3 or the novelty of the original, but it has enough laughs, heart, jaw-dropping animation and up-to-date concepts to make this fifth outing more than a mere nostalgia sequel.