Toy Story 5 Sets Franchise-Best 95% Audience Score as Opening Nears $200 Million

Q: As audience scores hit a record high, why did critics give 'Toy Story 5' its lowest rating ever?

Critics did not reject “Toy Story 5”; they rated it very highly. Its 94% Rotten Tomatoes critic score is simply the lowest in an unusually acclaimed franchise where every earlier film scored between 97% and 100%, so the “drop” is relative, not a sign of poor reviews. What appears to have lowered it slightly is that many reviewers saw the film as strong but less essential and less cohesive than its predecessors. Several praised the animation, emotion and ambition, yet questioned whether a fifth installment was necessary at all, saying parts of the story felt designed mainly to reunite familiar characters rather than break major new ground. Reviews also pointed to structural issues. Critics cited cluttered or disjointed subplots, a less sturdy narrative than earlier entries, and a message about children, screens and imaginative play that sometimes felt too explicit or sermon-like. Some said the film’s technology theme was timely but handled in a way that could feel forced, closer to a cautionary lesson than the franchise’s usual effortless emotional storytelling. Comparison with the earlier films also worked against it. The first four “Toy Story” movies are widely treated as near-masterpieces, so even a well-reviewed sequel can score lower if it feels less surprising, less devastating emotionally, or more familiar in its beats. That helps explain why audiences are embracing it while critics, though still positive overall, were a bit more reserved.

Q: Does reuniting Woody and Buzz betray the emotional ending of 'Toy Story 4'?

Yes—at least partly. Reuniting Woody and Buzz in *Toy Story 5* does soften the emotional finality of *Toy Story 4*, which ended with Woody leaving Bonnie and separating from Buzz to begin a new life with Bo Peep. That is the main criticism attached to the new film’s story choice. Several reviews and plot descriptions indicate Woody’s separation was less absolute than *Toy Story 4* suggested, with the new film making it relatively easy for him to reconnect with the group. For viewers who saw *Toy Story 4* as Woody’s definitive farewell, that can feel like a reversal of hard-won closure and a narrative convenience designed to restore the classic ensemble. At the same time, the reunion is not being presented by Pixar as a simple undoing. Director Andrew Stanton has said he never viewed *Toy Story 4* as the end of the broader story world, but as part of the “Bonnie years.” *Toy Story 5* uses the reunion to explore a new theme—the decline of imaginative play in a screen-dominated childhood—giving Woody, Buzz and Jessie a fresh shared purpose rather than merely replaying old dynamics. So whether it feels like a betrayal depends on what a viewer valued most about *Toy Story 4*. If the power of that film was its sense of goodbye, *Toy Story 5* weakens it. If the priority is keeping these characters together for a meaningful new story, the reunion can feel less like betrayal and more like a correction.

3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jun 20

Toy Story 5 posted a 95% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, the highest in the franchise and above Toy Story 4’s 94% and Toy Story 3’s 90%.
That audience mark contrasts with a 94% critic score, making it the series’ lowest critic-rated entry even as viewers rate it the best.
Early reception comes with a caveat: the 95% score is based on roughly 1,000 early viewer ratings, versus about 250,000 reviews for older Toy Story films.
Box-office momentum is reinforcing that response, with the film projected to approach a $200 million domestic opening weekend.
If that pace holds, Toy Story 5 could become the franchise’s third $1 billion grosser after Toy Story 3’s $1.06 billion and Toy Story 4’s $1.07 billion.