Toy Story 5

When "Toy Story" was released back in 1995, being Pixar Animation Studios' first feature film and the first animated film computer generated, who knew it would become the franchise it has become? For years, Pixar's record for making well written and produced films was unprecedented financially and for quality until a few years ago when they started going woke and was evident in their films. So, because of the public out cry, they soon realized that to continue with profiting, they dropped the wokism and we now have "Toy Story 5".

The toys are back in Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story 5", and this time it's Toy meets Tech. Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and rest of the gang's jobs are challenged when they come face-to-face with Lilipad (Greta Lee), a brand new tablet device that arrives with her own disruptive ideas about what is best for their kid, Bonnie (Scarlett Spears). Will playtime ever be the same? The gang needs help, so with the assistance of Smarty Pants (Conan O'Brien), Snappy (Shelby Rabara), and others, it's a calculated adventure to sway Bonnie back to playing with toys as opposed to staring at a computer screen. 

Others to round out the cast are Mykal-Michelle Harris as Blaze, Lori Alan as Bonnie's mom, Jay Hernandez as Bonnie's dad, Bonnie Hunt as Dolly, Tony Hale as Forky, Wallace Shawn as Rex, John Ratzenberger as Hamm, Ernie Hudson as Combat Carl, Craig Robinson as Atlas, Jeff Bergman as Mr. Potato Head, Blake Clark as Slinky Dog, Annie Potts as Bo Peep and Keanu Reeves as Duke Caboom. 

This was brilliantly directed with heart and grit by veteran to Pixar Andrew Stanton ("A Bug's Life" (co-director) '98, "Finding Nemo" '03, "WALL-E" '08, "John Carter" '12, "Finding Dory" '16, "In the Blink of an Eye" '26) plus TV and shorts. During the short time that Pixar lost its bearings during their woke period, Pixar attempted to have different directors and writers for their projects, with Pete Docter, Stanton, Lee Ulnkrich and others to produce , but that obviously failed. These guys aren't producers, they're artists, So, here we are with Stanton back and also co-wrote this as well. The public knows what they like, and with this, it will surely profit. The sequencing, pacing and staging were consummate.It was also co-directed by McKenna Harris who has done some other work of Pixar's, and definitely had pivotal input for this. It was equally written well by Andrew Stanton ("Toy Story" '95, "A Bug's Life" '98, "Toy Story 2" '99, "Monsters, Inc." '01, "Finding Nemo" '03, "WALL-E" '08, "Toy Story 3" '10, "John Carter" '12, "Finding Dory" '16, "Toy Story 4" '19) plus TV, shorts, videos and video games, and McKenna Harris (2 shorts), based on a story by Andrew Stanton. This was an ingenious progression in that one of the issues kids are having today is their addiction to technology at an even earlier age than even five years ago. So, it's a battle between the toys and computers to fight for kids' attention. Brilliant! And Stanton pulls it off effortlessly as with his other scripts. Certainly Harris has pivotal input here, by it's undoubtedly Stanton, having the lion's share of the experience here, who's showcasing what he does best at Pixar. The continuity and cohesiveness were remarkable, and he definitely knows what people like, and he also carries a great message with his stories--not only can kids go back to their toys, but in the process, toys and tech can actually work together. 

If you like the other 'Toy Story' flicks, you'll love this! It has warmth, heart, adventure, humor, and grit all rolled up in a well delineated story that will have you cheering by film's end. If you like a different version than standard, it's also presented in a 3D and IMAX format as well. I've said it before and I'll say it again: how do those guys at Pixar do it?

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                                 Rated: PG                                          102mins.