Toy Story 5 has just wrapped up its opening weekend in theaters, and there’s little doubt that this brand-new addition to the larger Toy Story franchise will be considered a major success. The movie has already broken box office records for Pixar and set records for 2026 box office numbers overall, and the critic and audience Rotten Tomatoes scores continue to be jaw-droppingly high (currently, the movie has a 94% with critics and a 95% with audiences).
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The fact that this movie has had such an overwhelmingly positive reception is exciting to see, not only because it means that Toy Story 5 hasn’t brought down the other Toy Story movies—as can be a risk of sequels—but also because this could mean thrilling things for the franchise’s future, especially with talks of Toy Story 6 already taking place. Yet, Toy Story 5 was still not a flawless movie; in fact, these five things about it make very little sense.
Why Can Bo Peep Never Be in a Movie?
Bo Peep has had a weird history in Toy Story. She was a major part of the first Toy Story, as she was Woody’s love interest and contributed heavily to his jealousy of Buzz Lightyear (especially after her comments about wanting Buzz to be her moving buddy). This dynamic between Woody and Bo continued in Toy Story 2, although the narrative shifted away from them because so much of the story saw Woody separated from Andy’s toys. Then, Toy Story 3 shockingly revealed that Bo Peep was gone completely, as she had been given away.
Audiences hadn’t loved that reveal, which is perhaps why Bo returned in Toy Story 4, now a pants-wearing, adventure-having savior of abandoned toys. The end of that movie saw Woody decide to stay with Bo and separate from his friends, which proved controversial. With Woody’s return in Toy Story 5, it therefore seemed logical that Bo would come too.
However, while she makes an appearance towards the beginning and end, she inexplicably rides off and leaves for almost the entire movie, for no apparent reason. Bo is a popular character, even if that has waned over the years, so it is really odd that the writers decided to basically take her out completely yet again—particularly after they reintroduced her in a way that implied they wanted her to be a symbol of female empowerment.
Emily Named Her Daughter After Jessie…But Left Jessie in a Box on the Side of the Road
One of the most emotional moments in the whole movie is one in which Jessie, who has returned to the former home of her first owner/kid, Emily, discovers a buried box of memories. At first, she thinks the box is Emily’s, but she then realizes it was actually her daughter, Jessie’s. It is through this revelation that Jessie realizes just how much she meant to Emily, and she therefore gets actual closure regarding Emily’s abandonment of her many years ago.
While this is very sweet, it unfortunately doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. If Emily had truly loved and cared about Jessie enough to name her daughter after her, surely she wouldn’t have just discarded her so carelessly. This wasn’t like what Andy did when he gave his toys to Bonnie so that they could have a new life with a new kid; Emily left Jessie in a box on the side of the road. It’s obvious what Disney was trying to do with this plot point, but it really doesn’t hold up logically.
Woody Gains Weight
Much has been said of Woody’s bald spot in Toy Story 5. Viewers spotted it in the trailers and immediately argued that it made no sense for a toy to be going bald. However, the movie explains this in a way that feels pretty logical. No, Woody isn’t experiencing actual hair loss (he doesn’t have hair), but the constant motion of putting on and taking off his hat over the years could conceivably be rubbing away at that part of his head, removing the paint. What doesn’t make sense, though, is the idea that Woody has gained weight.
Throughout Toy Story 5, there are multiple jokes about Woody being an old man, and they actually work fairly well and are consistently laugh lines. Yet, the movie also makes various jokes about Woody putting on weight and actually shows him with a gut at certain points. Unlike the bald spot, this truly makes no sense, as Woody obviously isn’t eating and, as a toy, his body shouldn’t be changing. This actually undermines the entire idea of how toys operate in this world, as a kid would obviously notice if their toy had suddenly gained weight.
Woody and Buzz Don’t Feel As Close
As mentioned, at the end of Toy Story 4, Woody and Bo Peep go off on their own, and the rest of the toys return to Bonnie. It would make sense for there to be a bit of awkwardness when Woody finally reunites with the other toys, simply by nature of spending so much time apart, but the relationship between Buzz and Woody in Toy Story 5 actually feels much more strained than just that. In fact, at many points, Buzz and Woody genuinely seem to not be the friends they once were anymore.
Among the ways this manifests is their weird debate over who is Jessie’s real sheriff, which sees them being competitive and even a bit antagonistic to one another. This felt like such a bizarre, massive step backwards for the characters, almost as if the writers had forgotten decades of character development for the friends who had become more like brothers. Some bickering would have been cute and consistent, but this dynamic just felt out of place.
Bo Peep and Woody Leave Again
Finally, the biggest wasted opportunity of Toy Story 5, and one that was a rather odd choice for the creative minds behind the movie to make, was the decision to have Woody and Bo Peep leave once again at the end of the movie. It had been massively unpopular for Woody to leave his friends at the end of Toy Story 4, so when Toy Story 5 confirmed that he would be back with his friends, many had hoped he would be there to stay. Instead, Woody leaves once again, making their future connection uncertain.
Sure, there would have been the narrative gap to fill regarding Woody suddenly be back in Bonnie’s home, but honestly, neither Bonnie nor her parents seemed surprised at all when her Lilypad showed up in the car after it was clearly lost outside an ice cream shop. Given that, it wouldn’t have been all that hard to bring Woody back, fixing one of the biggest complaints about Toy Story 4.
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