More than thirty years after the saga began, the heroes of Toy Story return with an unexpected new adversary: screens. In this fifth installment directed by Andrew Stanton and McKenna Harris, Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and their friends must find their place in Bonnie's life, now absorbed by a connected tablet called the Lilypad. A new adventure that retains the emotional core of the franchise while grounding it in the habits of today's children.
When toys have to compete with digital technology
This time, the plot isn't just about the fear of being forgotten as she grows up. Bonnie is gradually abandoning her toys in favor of a digital world that promises her entertainment and new social connections. Faced with this transformation, the toys try to figure out how to continue existing in her imagination.
The arrival of Lilypad, an educational tablet with a frog-like design, serves as a starting point for a broader reflection on the role of technology in childhood. But contrary to what the subject might suggest, Pixar avoids an anti-screen stance. At the Annecy 2025 Festival, Pete Docter, the studio's creative director, explained that technology should be considered "a tool" and not a threat. This idea is also championed by producer Lindsey Collins, who compares its use to that of fire: useful when controlled, problematic when it takes over completely.
A franchise that seeks to evolve with the times
By choosing this theme, Pixar is updating a saga that began in 1995, a time when tablets were not yet a part of children's daily lives. According to Andrew Stanton in an interview with Empire magazine, the Toy Story universe was never conceived as static but as a space capable of evolving with each generation.
The film also features a refresh of its characters. Jessie plays a more prominent role, while new creations enrich the universe, notably Roll Buddy, an electronic toilet paper roll designed to aid potty training. Among the most memorable sequences is an army of Buzz Lightyears launching into an absurd and spectacular charge, at times recapturing the inventive energy that characterized the previous installments.
With this new episode, Pixar is not so much trying to oppose toys to digital technology as to remind us that no technology can completely replace imagination and human relationships.
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