Toy Story 5 Footage Reaction: Jessie's Own Adventure Is Much More Than Toys Vs Tech

While many would agree that "Toy Story 3" gave Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of Andy's toys the perfect ending, Pixar Animation revived the computer animated franchise nearly a decade later with "Toy Story 4." With Andy's toys now enjoying playtime again with the adorable little girl Bonnie, their latest adventure came in the form of a road trip that found Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen) reuniting with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) as they try to track down Bonnie's new anxious, homemade toy Forky (Tony Hale).

Despite "Toy Story 4" feeling totally unnecessary, the sequel still packed a hefty heart, and Forky was quite a sensation. The sequel was better than it had any right to be (even producers were skeptical about making it), and it showed that Pixar could still inject life into the franchise, even if it still felt like a bit of a cash grab. It also allowed for an interesting narrative decision that saw Woody leaving Bonnie and all of his toy friends behind to join Bo Peep out in the world, where they help lost toys find a new owner. That brings us to "Toy Story 5," the latest sequel in the franchise, and this time, Pixar has a story that feels more relevant than ever.

"Toy Story 5" returns to Bonnie's house, but Jessie (Joan Cusack) is now the one overseeing the toys as the sheriff, and they're about to face a new challenge: technology. Bonnie just got a new Lilypad, a kid-friendly variation of the many different kinds of tablets that parents let kids enjoy, and she's started ignoring Jessie and all the rest of her toys in favor of playing on Lilypad instead. Moreover, Lilypad (voiced by Greta Lee), has life just like the rest of the toys, and she's eager to make sure Bonnie enjoys playing with her over and over again.

While "Toy Story 5" might seem like an easy, surface-level critique of the trouble that technology can create with kids, there's a little more going on in the larger narrative. At least that's what we've observed from the 45-minutes of footage shown to press during an early preview at Disneyland back in April. Let's take a closer look.

In "Toy Story 5," Bonnie is initially having trouble making friends, mostly because she's one of the only kids in the neighborhood who hasn't become absorbed by screens. All the other kids spend their playtime on a Lilypad, a kid-friendly variation of the many different kinds of tablets that parents let kids enjoy. It's changed how they interact socially, and not having a Lilypad has made her a bit of an outcast because she doesn't have the inside track on what the rest of the kids are doing. Instead, she spends her time playing with Jessie, Buzz and the rest of the toys in a fantastical, imagination-driven world of play. Of course, that changes when her parents decide that getting her a Lilypad will help her better connect with kids and make some friends.

If "Toy Story 5" were just about the toys trying to stop tech from keeping Bonnie from playing with them, that would be a little selfish. Sure, that's part of the equation, but Jessie can see that the social connection that comes from the Lilypad doesn't allow Bonnie to truly connect with the other kids in the neighborhood. They're simply looking at their own screens in proximity to each other, and Bonnie is the kind of kid who needs friends that play the same way that she does. It's not that kids need to just avoid tech altogether, but they need an opportunity to make a real connection away from technology in order to find a true friend. 

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Enhancing the depth of the story is Lilypad herself. Though painted as the villain of "Toy Story 5," she's also only acting in what she sees as the best interest of Bonnie. Lily believes that she's helping Bonnie connect and make friends, so she's only at odds with the toys because they don't see eye-to-eye on the best way to make that happen. 

Surely, they'll figure out how to bridge technology and toys by the end of the movie, and maybe "Toy Story 5" can teach all parents and kids something about playtime. But there's more, especially for longtime fans of the "Toy Story" franchise.

Those who grew up when "Toy Story" first arrived in theaters in 1995 as the first feature-length computer animated movie are now, at the very least, in their 30s. That means the first "Toy Story" fans are now having kids of their own. "Toy Story 5" has something rewarding for the adults who grew up with Woody, Buzz and Jessie too. 

Since this is Jessie's first proper adventure as a lead of the "Toy Story" franchise, we're reminded of her tragic backstory from "Toy Story 2," a movie that changed how Pixar and Disney make sequels. Complete with a newly animated flashback sequence early in the first act, viewers are reminded of how Jessie was once deeply loved by a little girl named Emily, who eventually outgrew playtime and left her behind. The piano keys of that Sarah McLachlan song "When Somebody Loved Me" will still squeeze your heart as you relive Jessie's sad history. 

But of course, she ended up in another happy place once she found her way to Andy, and now she enjoys playtime almost everyday, thanks to Bonnie. That's another narrative element that gives the tech vs toys storyline more heart than just a rant against screentime. Jessie is a character with heart and soul who is worried that she's losing a friend all over again. 

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However, "Toy Story 5" has even more of an emotional touchstone for Jessie, because due to a series of mishaps, the cowgirl ends up returning to her original owner's house, now occupied by a new family with a tween daughter, a chubby pet pig named Jimmy Dean, and a gorgeously rendered horse. We won't ruin the details of this part of Jessie's adventure, but we will point out that this is where Jessie meets even more tech toys, including Conan O'Brien's scene-stealing Mr. Smarty Pants, a Fisher-Price-esque potty-training toy among other now outdated tech toys. Other new characters include a hippo-shaped GPS toy called Atlas (Craig Robinson) and a digital camera named Snappy (Shelly Rabara).

We're betting that Andy's old toys find sympathy for the tech toys that sometimes threaten their playtime when they realize tech toys have the potential to get left behind just as easily, perhaps even more readily, as regular toys.

While the regular Buzz Lightyear is still hanging around with the rest of Andy's toys that now belong to Bonnie, there's a whole army of new Buzz Lightyears who occupy a significant amount of screentime in "Toy Story 5." This is a bit of a wild card storyline in the movie, because having only seen the first half of the story, I'm not entirely sure how their narrative is going to intersect with the primary story of Jessie and the rest of Bonnie's toys confronting Lilypad and the prominence of technology.

The army of Buzz Lightyears gets the honor of opening "Toy Story 5." These aren't just any typical Buzz Lightyear toys either; this is the new Hi-Tech Buzz Lightyear. A crashed cargo container shipment of Hi-Tech Buzz Lightyears is stuck on a deserted island, but the tech inside each Buzz Lightyear has driven them to team up and figure out how to get to Star Command, basically offering us an updated version of the deluded ambitions of the original Buzz Lightyear from the first "Toy Story." As the rest of the narrative unfolds, we continue to cut back to the Buzz Lightyear army as they make their way through the world, including one sequence that is both mesmerizing and hilarious, taking cues (literally and figuratively) from the Disney classic "Bambi."

While the sequences that follow the Buzz Lightyear army are exquisitely animated, they are entirely removed from the rest of the story, at least for the first half of the movie. Those who paid close attention in the "Toy Story 5" trailer will notice that there's a sequence with tons of Buzz Lightyears riding on various toy horses along with Jessie and her other toy pals, but we're still not sure how these two storylines ultimately converge. It'll be interesting to see how they connect and whether it actually enhances the primary story. 

While "Toy Story 4" ended up working better than fans might have anticipated, it didn't necessarily offer a story that felt necessary. But when it comes to "Toy Story 5," the commentary on technology feels more important than ever. From the footage we've seen so far, I'm impressed that director Andrew Stanton and co-director Kenna Harris, who also wrote the script together, have managed to infuse a little more heart into the tech versus toys storyline beyond just finger-wagging screentime among kids. 

If there's one aspect of "Toy Story 5" that feels forced so far, it's the return of Woody. The classic cowboy is a pivotal part of the "Toy Story" franchise, but it feels too soon to have him return as a supporting player after venturing out on his own with Bo Peep. Yes, it's been seven years since "Toy Story 4" debuted in 2019, but not much time has passed narratively in the "Toy Story" universe. 

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While the details of Woody's shiny bald spot and bandana poncho are nice touches to make it feel like time has passed and Woody has changed as a wanderer saving lost toys, that's something that doesn't feel like it's been properly earned. But maybe there's more waiting in "Toy Story 5" that will help his return feel a bit more justified beyond Woody's prominence by default.

For now, most of "Toy Story 5" feels like a satisfying sequel, but it all depends on if Pixar sticks the landing in the second half of the movie. At the very least, we're happy that Jessie is getting her own adventure, one that not only feels timely and relevant for today's tech-driven children but one thats ties back to the character's heartbreaking introduction in "Toy Story 2." Here's hoping that this "Toy Story" has the goods to keep the toys alive beyond a mere, presumed box office success for Disney.

"Toy Story 5" arrives in theaters on June 19, 2026.