Disney and Pixar just released the first full trailer for Toy Story 5! And ignoring the major gripes I have with Disney in GENERAL… the mixed reaction on this trailer had me intrigued, so I took a deeper dive into it.

And what I was able to discuss with my friend, (Thanks, Delta :D) was so fun, and thought-provoking, I figured I’d write it here! (Just a note, I transcribed and edited the following from the video conversation I had, so that may explain any moments of conversational tone… :)

Starting off, there’s some really smart phrasing here that I really enjoyed. Each movie has always been about the toy’s struggle. The first movie, all the way back in 1995, was about being there for your child, and the thought of co-existence with “The New Toy” and what it was like to be replaced.

The sequel centered on the message that toys exist to be played with. They’re not collector’s items. That was a big thing then, and it still is. People collect things, and not only collect them, but also don’t do anything with them. I collect LEGO, but I’ll make a stop motion, or I’ll get them out and build a MOC or something like that. It’s not the same. But it was also kind of a “new Family” movie… with Jesse and Bullseye.

Then the third one was about growing up and passing on the toys. The fourth one was about when a toy’s time is done, I guess — coming to the end of an era. But this fifth one is totally different. It’s “oh my gosh, everything just completely changed…” That’s kind of what the premise of the movie is.

For context, the trailer shows a tablet calle Lillypad, taking over bonnies life and the toys getting shoved away in favor of this device, jesse, reliving her trauma prematurly, contacts woody and they discuss that “Screens are for everything…” before the epic version of “Youve Got a Friend In Me…” starts playing and we can't see what happens next because of our welling tears of nostalgia…

I hope the characters have the same thoughts I mentioned before. I hope they’re like, “Alright, we’ve settled into everything. We’ve got everything worked out. Bonnie’s the kid. We’ll be there for Bonnie. We know what to do. We’ve gone through everything. Nothing could possibly…” and then something completely new and undiscovered happens. And they’re like, “Oh my gosh, we need Woody’s help.” I hope that’s what it is in the movie as well, not just the premise. I hope that’s what the characters are thinking and saying.

Bonnie’s design has changed a little bit. That’s one of the negative things people have pointed out. I’ve listened to a bunch of reactions. But here’s the thing I don’t think people understand: this is clearly a time jump. She (according to reports) is 9-10 years old. She was FIVE in toy story 4… When you grow up, your face changes. She changed the way she does her hair. Yes, she’s going to look different. There’s no problem with that.

One of the keys here is that Toy Story always goes into a losing battle. The toys are always facing the next thing that’s keeping them from their kid. One of the most wholesome things about Toy Story is that playing with toys is regenerative for your imagination and your happiness. It’s not a negative thing. Playing isn’t negative unless it’s keeping you from something more important, like responsibilities. But the basis of playing with toys — there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not bad.

With the screens thing, you can just tell Bonnie is more miserable with the screen than she was playing with her toys, but there’s nothing she can do about it. When her brain tells her she wants this more, because screens are designed to be addictive, they are addictive. Even though she would feel better playing with her toys, she doesn’t even know that. She thinks this will make her feel better, even though it makes her feel worse the more she does it. She thinks the only way to feel better is to keep doing that thing.

It’s not even that she knows it, but keeps choosing it. Whenever she feels bad, all she thinks is, “Yeah, I want to play with my tablet.” That’s sad.

Now for the characters. One of the major complaints I’ve heard is that the characters feel like they don’t make sense where they are. I think they do.

Woody has found his calling. He’s with Bo Peep. He’s out doing lost toy stuff. As the years go by, more and more toys are becoming lost toys. I can imagine that being a little strange for him. He’s like, “Of course, if you’re a lost toy, we’ll welcome you.” But a toy’s job is to be there for its kid. Why are all these toys not with their kids? Can’t you imagine Woody thinking, “What in the world is going on? These kids need these toys.”

And any basic recon would show that kids, even when they’re outside, are on their phones and tablets. There are six-year-olds with phones now. It’s insane. So when Jessie rings in about this problem as she does in the trailer, and Woody responds the way he does, it makes sense. Even if he doesn’t like it, he can get over it at first. He’s like, “Okay, we’ll bring them in. We’ll make them lost toys. We’ll do the best we can.”

But when Jessie gets ditched for this tablet, Woody’s like, “No, I’ve got to intervene.” That makes sense. He needs to fix this because Jessie is about to go through what Woody went through — but at age six. Andy outgrew Woody because of life and growing up. That’s viable. That makes sense. People move on. But it doesn’t make sense for Jessie to get left behind because of something that doesn’t make Bonnie feel better and isn’t good for her. Jessie has already gone through so much. Woody would realistically step in.

Jessie clearly sees Woody as a mentor. The one person she knows can help her is Woody. That’s why she calls him. That’s why she’s acting the way she is. When the camera pans down, and she sits in despair on that Rubik’s Cube and says she’s losing Bonnie to this device — that’s sad. It makes me sad just watching it.

Buzz is in the trailer too, and I hope he plays a large role. From what we’ve seen, he hasn’t been shown as much. But I think there’s room to theorize. Buzz was the new toy once. I imagine that, especially at the start, Buzz might want to give the tablet a chance because he understands being the new thing. But I think he’ll see it’s not benefiting her and change his mind.

At the same time, I think Woody will be biased. He’ll go in thinking this is bad and needs to be eradicated. But the movie can’t just say “screens are bad.” Even if there are scientific concerns, they’re part of society now. They are useful tools. Even as playthings, video games are a fine part of the time.

I think Woody will go in wanting to eliminate it completely, but Buzz will be the voice of reason near the end — saying this is something we can work with, and there can be a balance. I think that would work really well.

There’s a lot to consider with the idea in general. Should there even be a middle ground with screens? If you need a baseline yes or no answer, it’s probably no. But there are things like education. YouTube is amazing for learning new skills. Most large educational videos are made by people who know what they’re talking about. Education and tools are valid uses.

And there’s something to be said for entertainment used properly. On a road trip, if you download three movies beforehand, that’s still a tool being used appropriately. Or if your friend moved 900 miles away and the only way you can connect is through calls or even a Minecraft world you built together — that’s entertainment, but it’s also a connection.

There’s one line that makes me think they could go that direction: “We’ve been trying all summer to help Bonnie make friends.” And ALL of those friends are shown to have tablets; maybe Bonnie uses it to find common ground. But then that leads to them putting the screens down and hanging out in real life. I think that would be the way to do it.

These are just some of the reasons I'm personally excited for toy story 5, and why i think it could subvert all the expectations, pull up, and be a really good movie, i just hope they don't try to surpass the emotional ending and climax of 4, because it ended really well, and i almost hope they treat it as a fun stint that they needed woody for. And don't try to make it another “Final” goodbye.

Anyway, just a few updates, my podcast with one of my friends: “R&S Popcast!” is now available on most major platforms, we're still waiting on Apple, and a few derivatives of Apple Music, but Amazon, Spotifyq and iHeart are all available, so I'll put my little promo and links below!

The R&S Popcast is where we sit down and talk about the movies, Minecraft, LEGO, and YouTube stuff we love.

Every episode is just us having a real conversation — reacting to news, sharing what’s happening in our survival world, talking about new trailers or updates, and catching up on what’s going on in the creator space. From Hermitcraft seasons to new LEGO sets to upcoming films, we cover whatever genuinely has our attention.

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3LaFUyZ...​

Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a5c...​

Iheartradio https://iheart.com/podcast/323377242/​

Pocketcast https://pca.st/79hopf51​