Film Review: TOY STORY 5
RELEASING EXCLUSIVELY IN AUSTRALIAN CINEMAS ON THURSDAY JUNE 18
Wednesday 17th June 2026
Written by: Tom Wilson
This is the story of two girls. One is a human child, the other is an antique cowgirl doll, and both of their lives are turned upside down by technology. With A.I. changing the face of the planet and toddlers growing up in the mesmerising glow of devices, the plot isn’t surprising but raises some interesting concepts. The first ever fully CGI feature film, we wouldn’t have the Toy Story series if it wasn’t for technology. Now, five movies in, tech is the antagonist.
Bonnie is having a hard time making friends, so her parents get her a Lilypad so she can connect with the kids around her. Bonnie is immediately hooked, but it all goes sideways when she starts to get bullied, and both Lilypad and the toys battle to take care of her.
Seeing Bonnie get bullied to tears online by girls in her neighbourhood is heartbreaking, and this scene is probably going to hit different for audiences in this country given our recent social media ban for children. The Toy Story series has never been afraid to tug at your heartstrings, but fair warning: if the When Somebody Loved Me scene in Toy Story 2 had you misty-eyed, Jessie’s arc in this film will have you absolutely bawling. Fortunately they haven’t forgotten to make you laugh, and they score big here too. Toys with low batteries stagger around like drunks, and Woody’s bald spot is bright enough to blind you. It’s taken five movies, but the writers finally give us an answer to the biggest plot hole in the series – if a Buzz Lightyear doesn’t know he’s a toy, why does he freeze when humans are near? The rapid pace of technology – and how quickly things become obsolete – makes for some fun gags, like trying to navigate with a GPS that hasn’t been updated in years and almost running into a house.
Bonnie remains as pure-hearted and adorable as ever, and we are introduced to a new character, a young girl named Blaze with an adorable pet pig. Thanks Pixar. I’ve spent the last two years telling my daughter she can’t have a pet pig, and now you put an adorable oinker in one of the biggest movies of the year. This will not be forgotten.
Toy Story was the first movie I saw without my parents in the cinema. I would have been the same age as Andy. Now I return to the cinemas as a 40-year-old father of two for the fifth installment, and I haven’t been hit this hard by a movie in a long time. If you’ve been let down by a franchise lately, fear not. Toy Story is back, as funny, charming and emotionally devastating as ever.
Toy Story 5 releases exclusively in Australian cinemas on Thursday June 18th.
Photo: Sarah Marshall