Disney and Pixar’s latest addition to the larger Toy Story franchise, Toy Story 5, has officially hit theaters, sparking a range of reactions, conversations, and debates among fans—especially lifelong fans who were kids when Toy Story first hit the big screen in 1995. Thus far, reviews of Toy Story 5 and myriad ratings online have been incredibly positive. On Rotten Tomatoes, for example, the flick currently has an impressive 94% critic score and 95% audience score.
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While the latter is likely to fluctuate to a degree over opening weekend, this has certainly been a very positive start for the movie, which is particularly notable considering how difficult sequel stories (much less fifth movies in a franchise that has spanned entire decades and has a cult following behind it) are to pull off. Among the reasons Toy Story 5 has stuck this landing is its respect for and connection to its predecessors, and one of the best examples of this is the movie’s continuation of one of the funniest jokes in the whole franchise.
Toy Story 2 Gave Buzz a Luke Skywalker Story Arc
Toy Story 2 was a massive risk for Disney and Pixar. Toy Story was a beloved story that honestly felt like it had a perfect ending, so while it was exciting to see these fan-favorite characters returning to the screen, there was a legitimate risk that a sequel story would ruin that. In that sense, Toy Story 2 was actually a bigger risk than Toy Story 5, as it was the first to break that barrier. Thankfully, though, this sequel proved to be absolutely brilliant—so much so that many fans name this as their favorite Toy Story movie overall.
Many factors made this movie a success, from the inclusion of brand-new characters like Jessie and Bullseye, who proved just as charming as the original cast of characters, to the fact that Toy Story 2 reflected yet another heartfelt story arc with a much deeper message (and, it’s worth mentioning, Toy Story 2’s Stinky Pete might be the franchise’s greatest villain of all time). Among those updates, both funny and heartwarming, was a truly hilarious update to one of the franchise’s best and most important characters.
Namely, Toy Story 2 gave Buzz Lightyear an unexpected Star Wars storyline. In Toy Story, Buzz had already named Zurg as the “sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance.” However, Zurg hadn’t yet made an appearance or played an actual role on screen. That changed in Toy Story 2, which finally depicted who Zurg really was and, in a totally unexpected twist, revealed that Zurg was actually Buzz’s father. Of course, Star Wars fans will immediately recognize this twist, as it’s the same one in The Empire Strikes Back that confirmed that Darth Vader was really Luke Skywalker’s father.
Toy Story 2 made sure that audiences didn’t miss this connection as well, with Buzz even dropping to his knees and yelling, “No,” reminiscent of Luke’s reaction in Star Wars. Buzz’s father-son bond ends much more happily than Luke’s, though, as they end up playing ball together, with Zurg saying, “That’s my boy.” This seemed to be more or less the end of this Star Wars joke in Toy Story, but Toy Story 5 has just brought it back in the perfect way.
Toy Story 5 Had Yet Another Perfect Star Wars Reference
Toy Story 5 begins with an army of many Buzz Lightyears coming to life and trying to make sense of the strange new world. Ultimately, this leads them to encounter Buzz and Woody, at which point Buzz reveals that Zurg is their father. The Buzzes respond very similarly to how Buzz did in Toy Story 2—and that’s when Toy Story 5 makes this joke even better. Buzz responds to their distress by saying, “Search your feelings; you know it to be true.” This is yet another callback to Darth Vader’s reveal in The Empire Strikes Back.
In addition to being fun and a great reference for fans of Star Wars movies and TV shows, this moment in Toy Story 5 actually reflects a much bigger and more important aspect of the Toy Story franchise. That is, the continuation of this joke proves that Disney and Pixar are still being thoughtful about these sequels, and they still want to respect the originals. Particularly as more and more sequels come out and those who love the films get older, this is an important bit of reassurance for fans.
Of course, that in turn raises questions about whether there could be a Toy Story 6 and beyond. While Disney hasn’t yet announced another Toy Story movie, it’s far from off the table. Clearly, these movies still perform well, and they make Disney plenty of money. Both factors are undoubtedly going to be weighed when decisions are made about the future of the franchise. In the meantime, though, fans can rest assured that Toy Story continues to be in good hands.
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