Toy Story 5’s First Reactions Just Instantly Ended the Debate About Pixar’s “Unnecessary” Sequel

Toy Story is one of the best franchises in the history of animation, with four excellent movies already released. However, fans didn’t embrace Toy Story 5 unanimously. Pixar had already crafted the perfect closing to Toy Story with the third movie in 2010, before 2019’s Toy Story 4 brought the whole gang back to explore what happens after the happy ending. That means Toy Story 5 is once again reviving a franchise that has officially ended on the big screen, twice, which raises some understandable concerns. Skeptics can finally relax, though, as the embargo has lifted for journalists and film critics to share their thoughts on social media, and the Toy Story 5 first reactions are overwhelmingly positive. 

The first people who watched Toy Story 5 are unanimously in love with the movie. “Toy Story 5 is a genuine home run,” Andrew Salazar from Discussing Film summarized his reaction, while Jazz Tangcay from Variety said, “Toy Story 5 is magical and pure perfection.” Film critic Scott Menzel also adds that “Toy Story 5 is a wonderfully heartfelt return to form for Pixar Animation Studios and a reminder of why the Toy Story franchise remains one of the greatest film series ever made.” It’s clear the movie is being hailed as another hit for the franchise, and the reasons why make sense.

Why Toy Story 5’s Reactions Are So Positive

Even though Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) are a big part of the cast, Toy Story 5 shifts its focus to Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack). The story revolves around a tablet named Lilypad (voiced by Greta Lee), which steals the attention of Bonnie (voiced by Scarlett Spears). In the case of Jessie, that brings forth her old abandonment trauma, as she sees another owner leaving her behind. Those story elements seem to have resonated well with journalists.

Tangcay says, “Jessie finally gets the story she deserves! It’s emotional, funny, genuinely warm, and perfect in every way.” Meredith Loftus from Collider also adds that “Toy Story 5 hit me in places I was unprepared for! Exploring the divide between technology and toys through Jessie results in a deeply profound, moving story that had me in a puddle of tears. I put it up there with Toy Story 2 & 3. It’s *that* excellent!”

In the slightest of critiques, io9‘s Germain Lussier wrote that the movie is “a tiny bit disjointed at the start as it builds multiple different story lines,” but continues that it pays off with a “phenomenal third act.” There is also praise for Taylor Swift’s song, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” which Tangcay and others call “perfect,” while Daniel Baptista from The Movie Podcast singles out Conan O’Brien’s new character, Smarty Pants, as an “all-time great” franchise character.

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For all the debate and questions about the need for Toy Story 5, these reactions shouldn’t really come as much of a surprise. Pixar has proved time and again that it knows exactly what it’s doing with this franchise, and that the sequels are being made when there’s a good story and a clear emotional core to underpin it. In fact, Allen told ComicBook that Toy Story 5 is the most emotional one of the entire series, and the reactions do seem to support that, especially with it returning to Jessie’s story with her first own, Emily.

With there still over one week to go before the movie’s release, Pixar is clearly confident in the sequel, and rightly so. Even without good reviews, this movie was destined to be a box office hit and almost guaranteed to break the $1 billion barrier (something the previous two films managed as well). The reactions only help that cause, giving us another installment to love, laugh at, and no doubt cry over.

Toy Story 5 releases in theaters on June 19th.