What Critics Are Saying About the New Toy Story

It appears that Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the gang have delivered again. Toy Story 5 has a 93% fresh rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and audiences are even more enamored at 94%. A sampling, including a caution of "diminishing returns" for the franchise:

• "This group of toys still has some play left in them, and some lessons to impart, so for a moment, tuck those screens away and enjoy another romp with Jessie, Woody and Buzz," writes Katie Walsh of Tribune News Service. This installment tackles tech, and while it "might not feel as weighty as some of the other toy stories," the "animation remains beautiful, the humor heartfelt."

• Dana Stevens of Slate particularly liked the "intermittent sequences in rough 2D style," which are "meant to show us the way Bonnie's play sessions feel inside her head. ... The joyous chaos of these animations is an illustration of the pleasure Bonnie and her toys take in these mutual pretending sessions: They transform into whatever she needs them to be in that moment, and she in turn gives their lives purpose by providing a space in which they can all create something new together. There are worse designs for living ..."
• Manohla Dargis of the New York Times notes that while the Pixar filmmakers are dealing with the hazards of tech, they work "at a famously technologically innovative studio." Thus, "there is only so far" they "can push this story," and "they simply stop pushing and instead wiggle around the thornier issues ... It's fine, pretty and amusing, but if no one's heart seems in it, perhaps it's time to make way for other toys."
• Bill Goodykoontz of the Arizona Republic generally liked the film, but he also suggests "it all seems somehow incomplete, not fully thought out—something that never could be said about the first three Toy Story movies, and not really the fourth." Pixar would be pushing its luck with a sixth installment. "The law of diminishing returns hasn't quite caught up with the franchise, but we're getting there."