Toy Story 5 Wins 3 Stars for Jessie-Led Story as Pixar Tackles Screen Time

3 articles · Updated · Boston.com · Jun 19

Three-star review from Boston.com’s Kevin Slane says “Toy Story 5” revives Pixar’s sequel run with an original Jessie-centered story that emotionally lands for both children and adults.
Bonnie, now 8, gets a child-focused tablet called Lilypad, and the film’s central conflict pits Jessie against the device’s pull as Bonnie drifts from imaginative play toward constant digital validation.
Slane says director Andrew Stanton handles that screen-time theme with unusual nuance, showing even abandoned early-2000s gadgets as sympathetic rather than simply condemning technology.
The main drawback is bloat: Slane says too many toys and a side plot involving upgraded Buzz Lightyears dilute the story, leaving characters like Forky and Duke Caboom with little to do.
In theaters now, the sequel is framed as a clear step up from “Toy Story 4,” drawing its line not against technology itself but against using screens as a substitute for play and real-world connection.