{"id":2269,"date":"2026-06-17T14:08:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T14:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269"},"modified":"2026-06-17T14:08:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T14:08:58","slug":"toy-story-5-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269","title":{"rendered":"Toy Story 5 review: a thoughtful return to form that takes on Big Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Though Toy Story 5<\/em><\/a> is a continuation of Woody and Buzz\u2019s adventures in humanland, it is also a poignant exploration of what it\u2019s like for kids to grow up in a world where they\u2019re often encouraged to experience life through screens. The movie frames tech as an almost inescapable element of our reality that can hurt us in ways that outweigh its potential benefits. But its story highlights how \u2014 for all of tech\u2019s potential to do harm \u2014 we still have the ability to choose when and how we let newfangled devices into our personal lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Set a few years after Toy Story 4<\/em>, the new feature from director Andrew Stanton (who cowrote the script with Kenna Harris) zooms in on a now eight-year-old Bonnie Anderson (Scarlett Spears) as she enters a new phase of her childhood. When she\u2019s by herself, Bonnie still loves coming up with elaborate melodramas for Jessie (Joan Cusack), Buzz (Tim Allen), and Forky (Tony Hale) to star in, but she\u2019s self-conscious about playing with toys around her new neighbors. It\u2019s hard for Bonnie\u2019s parents to understand why their usually outgoing daughter is struggling to make friends with other children. But they figure that because Bonnie\u2019s getting older, it might be time for her to receive one of the Lilypad (Greta Lee) tablets that most of her peers already have.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Though Lily\u2019s always-on listening<\/a> and her ability to interface with other smart devices<\/a> sets Bonnie\u2019s toys on edge, what really terrifies them is how quickly the tablet becomes the center of their owner\u2019s world. Through Lily\u2019s Pond platform, Bonnie can play games with other kids and get sucked into group chats with her new online friends. And it doesn\u2019t take long for the girl\u2019s old toys to feel like they\u2019re about to get put into storage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Toy Story 5 <\/em>is a thoughtful examination of our modern relationships with technology because of how it presents Bonnie\u2019s story as a situation that is happening to countless other people living around her. Lily\u2019s presence is a terrifying new development for Bonnie\u2019s toys who seldom leave their house, but during Woody (Tom Hanks) and Bo Beep\u2019s (Annie Potts) adventures in the outside world, they\u2019ve seen how humans of all ages have gotten into the habit of staring at screens for hours on end.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

One of the film\u2019s best recurring jokes is the way that Jessie and company have more freedom to run around because people are too busy scrolling on their devices to notice groups of sentient toys gallivanting through the bushes. Technology\u2019s ubiquity gives all of Bonnie\u2019s toys a very real reason to feel like they\u2019re becoming irrelevant. But rather than leaning into the idea that all devices are inherently bad, Toy Story 5 <\/em>emphasizes the importance of remembering that our experiences with new gadgets are defined by how we choose to use them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The movie also does an excellent job of unpacking what can make it hard for parents to set strict limits on their children\u2019s screentime. Bonnie\u2019s parents know that she shouldn\u2019t be glued to her tablet 24\/7, but they can\u2019t deny that the Lilypad is where most kids her age are socializing and making important bonds. Bonnie\u2019s toys \u2014 who slip into a stylized, fantastical reality whenever they\u2019re being played with \u2014 can see that spending time with Lily does little to really light up their girl\u2019s imagination the way that they can. But even though Lily serves as Toy Story 5<\/em>\u2019s antagonist, her mischievous actions are motivated by a genuine desire to make Bonnie happy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Though Disney and Pixar have always been good at tugging on audiences\u2019 heartstrings, Toy Story 5 <\/em>feels like a return to form for the series because of how it captures everything that\u2019s great and terrible about life in the age of Big Tech. Going forward, the franchise might have to shift focus once again because its central human character really is getting to the age where traditional toys stop feeling like such a big deal. Then again, the current state of tech-enabled toys<\/a> does present plenty of fodder for the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Toy Story 5 <\/em>also stars Conan O\u2019Brien, Craig Robinson, Shelby Rabara, Mykal-Michelle Harris, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, Bad Bunny, Keanu Reeves, Ernie Hudson, Lori Alan, Jay Hernandez, Kristen Schaal, Melissa Villase\u00f1or, and Blake Clark. The movie hits theaters on June 19th.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Though Toy Story 5 is a continuation of Woody and Buzz\u2019s adventures in humanland, it is also a poignant exploration of what it\u2019s like for kids to grow up in a world where they\u2019re often encouraged to experience life through screens. The movie frames tech as an almost inescapable element of our reality that can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[63,64,65,66,758,68,34],"class_list":["post-2269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-disney","tag-entertainment","tag-film","tag-movie-review","tag-pixar","tag-streaming","tag-tech"],"yoast_head":"\nToy Story 5 review: a thoughtful return to form that takes on Big Tech - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Disney and Pixar\u2019s Toy Story 5 \u2014 in theaters June 19th \u2014 understands exactly how we let technology warp our relationships with one another.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Toy Story 5 review: a thoughtful return to form that takes on Big Tech - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Disney and Pixar\u2019s Toy Story 5 \u2014 in theaters June 19th \u2014 understands exactly how we let technology warp our relationships with one another.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T14:08:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TOYSTORY5-ONLINE-USE_t110.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"626\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"SILVYBRAND\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"SILVYBRAND\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"SILVYBRAND\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3\"},\"headline\":\"Toy Story 5 review: a thoughtful return to form that takes on Big Tech\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T14:08:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269\"},\"wordCount\":764,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/TOYSTORY5-ONLINE-USE_t110.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Disney\",\"Entertainment\",\"Film\",\"Movie Review\",\"Pixar\",\"Streaming\",\"Tech\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Gadgets\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269\",\"name\":\"Toy Story 5 review: a thoughtful return to form that takes on Big Tech - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/TOYSTORY5-ONLINE-USE_t110.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T14:08:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Disney and Pixar\u2019s Toy Story 5 \u2014 in theaters June 19th \u2014 understands exactly how we let technology warp our relationships with one another.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/TOYSTORY5-ONLINE-USE_t110.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/TOYSTORY5-ONLINE-USE_t110.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":626},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?p=2269#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Toy Story 5 review: a thoughtful return to form that takes on Big Tech\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"description\":\"Your daily dose of lifestyle, fashion, travel, beauty, and inspiration \u2014 living boldly, stylishly, and confidently.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg\",\"width\":1115,\"height\":522,\"caption\":\"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3\",\"name\":\"SILVYBRAND\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"SILVYBRAND\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/silvybrand.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Toy Story 5 review: a thoughtful return to form that takes on Big Tech - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","description":"Disney and Pixar\u2019s Toy Story 5 \u2014 in theaters June 19th \u2014 understands exactly how we let technology warp our relationships with one another.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Toy Story 5 review: a thoughtful return to form that takes on Big Tech - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","og_description":"Disney and Pixar\u2019s Toy Story 5 \u2014 in theaters June 19th \u2014 understands exactly how we let technology warp our relationships with one another.","og_url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269","og_site_name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T14:08:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":626,"url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TOYSTORY5-ONLINE-USE_t110.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"SILVYBRAND","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"SILVYBRAND","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269"},"author":{"name":"SILVYBRAND","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3"},"headline":"Toy Story 5 review: a thoughtful return to form that takes on Big Tech","datePublished":"2026-06-17T14:08:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269"},"wordCount":764,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TOYSTORY5-ONLINE-USE_t110.jpg","keywords":["Disney","Entertainment","Film","Movie Review","Pixar","Streaming","Tech"],"articleSection":["Gadgets"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269","name":"Toy Story 5 review: a thoughtful return to form that takes on Big Tech - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TOYSTORY5-ONLINE-USE_t110.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-17T14:08:58+00:00","description":"Disney and Pixar\u2019s Toy Story 5 \u2014 in theaters June 19th \u2014 understands exactly how we let technology warp our relationships with one another.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TOYSTORY5-ONLINE-USE_t110.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/TOYSTORY5-ONLINE-USE_t110.jpg","width":1200,"height":626},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=2269#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Toy Story 5 review: a thoughtful return to form that takes on Big Tech"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/","name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","description":"Your daily dose of lifestyle, fashion, travel, beauty, and inspiration \u2014 living boldly, stylishly, and confidently.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#organization","name":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SILVYBRAND-LOGO.jpg","width":1115,"height":522,"caption":"Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8bdc6818a5b6ef5b9745e468818e37f3","name":"SILVYBRAND","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e7db54afd7d090e59e1a481fd3e6812d467eb2a3b81e7a3092023acfc59a496b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"SILVYBRAND"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/silvybrand.com"],"url":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}