Toy Story 5 (2026) - 7/10

Do we need a fifth instalment? Well we didn’t need a fourth, so I’m going in with a feeling of trepidation, bordering on dread. The premise is simple, with Andy now grown up, the focus switches to Bonnie, her playtime habits and desire to fit in are about to be upended… by tech! Specifically a tablet named Lilypad. The message is pretty simple, very black and white, old school role playing imaginative toys, like Jessie & Buzz, good. New tech, bad. Which is nonsense of course, the world is not black and white, but give Toy Story a break, it’ll get there. All the moral theorising, park that for a minute, this still looks great, shifts along at an enjoyable clip, the voice acting is of course rock solid and the ‘story’, while the main one is a bit predicable, the sub plot with a load of high tech Buzz Lightyears still not realising they’re toys, getting embroiled in their own rescue mission is great and as the threads weave together, it finds itself on solid ground. There’s a lot of rescuing in this. In fact that’s a Toy Story staple isn’t it, so we don’t break any new ground here, but this is good. A clever blend of the classic story, lots of action, as toys try to help their kids, with a modern twist that doesn’t feel as clunky as I feared. I’m waay outside the target demographic and it’s easy to compare to the original trilogy and be sniffy, but honestly this feels like a worthy addition that will speak to a young audience, immersed in the world of devices that connect them in a way that would’ve seemed like a science fiction fantasy to me at their age. Do we need another instalment? I genuinely think there a good shout for a resounding yes. In fact if you don’t like this, it’s either just not for you… or you’re an old misery. No dread, just lots of beautifully animated fun.

7/10