DVDizzy Forum

In the teaser, fans are introduced to the new character Lilypad, a high-tech, frog-shaped smart tablet voiced by Greta Lee that makes Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the rest of the gang’s jobs exponentially harder when they go head to head with the all-new threat to playtime.

Director Andrew Stanton and co-director Kenna Harris state, “It’s been a hilarious and poignant journey exploring how our favorite team of legacy toys might respond to today’s world of technology, and we’re thrilled to share this first glimpse with audiences. Having the remarkably talented Greta Lee bring Lilypad to life — balancing a playfully antagonistic tone with humor and heart — has been incredible.”

Toy Story 5 is directed by Academy Award winner Andrew Stanton (WALL•E, Finding Nemo, Finding Dory), co-directed by Kenna Harris (Ciao Alberto), and produced by Lindsey Collins (Turning Red, WALL•E, Finding Dory).

The Disneynerd wrote: ↑Sun Jun 15, 2025 5:48 am

Sotiris wrote: ↑Fri Jun 13, 2025 7:47 pm We’ve Seen the Opening of ‘Toy Story 5’ and It Changes Everything
https://collider.com/toy-story-5-openin ... tim-allen/

"Woody is called back for help!"... this makes the big farewell in the 4th one so much more impactful!!! Woody saying goodbye to his best friends to live an independent life with his girlfriend and finding value without a child, only to casually reunite and babysit Bonny again...
its giving me Direct to Video vibes

Thumper_93 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 16, 2025 2:34 am

The Disneynerd wrote: ↑Sun Jun 15, 2025 5:48 am "Woody is called back for help!"... this makes the big farewell in the 4th one so much more impactful!!! Woody saying goodbye to his best friends to live an independent life with his girlfriend and finding value without a child, only to casually reunite and babysit Bonny again...
its giving me Direct to Video vibes

It is. This movie is an easy way to make money and to sell toys. There's no need to make more movies from the Toy Story universe. I would have preferred shorts like they did some years ago.

Hardbackyoyo wrote: ↑Wed Nov 12, 2025 8:10 pm

Thumper_93 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 16, 2025 2:34 am

It is. This movie is an easy way to make money and to sell toys. There's no need to make more movies from the Toy Story universe. I would have preferred shorts like they did some years ago.

Nothing in Pixar’s record with this franchise has ever said "cash grab." I get why sequels make people nervous, but Pixar hasn’t treated Toy Story like a cash grab in 30 years. The shorts are fun, but they can’t explore character growth the way the films do. TS5 has potential to build on TS4 the same way TS4 built on TS3. Why can't you just give them the benefit of the doubt?

Thumper_93 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 13, 2025 9:46 am

Hardbackyoyo wrote: ↑Wed Nov 12, 2025 8:10 pm
Nothing in Pixar’s record with this franchise has ever said "cash grab." I get why sequels make people nervous, but Pixar hasn’t treated Toy Story like a cash grab in 30 years. The shorts are fun, but they can’t explore character growth the way the films do. TS5 has potential to build on TS4 the same way TS4 built on TS3. Why can't you just give them the benefit of the doubt?

They made the fourth movie to sell toys and they have made this one to sell more toys.

Hardbackyoyo wrote: ↑Wed Nov 12, 2025 8:10 pm

Thumper_93 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 16, 2025 2:34 am

It is. This movie is an easy way to make money and to sell toys. There's no need to make more movies from the Toy Story universe. I would have preferred shorts like they did some years ago.

Nothing in Pixar’s record with this franchise has ever said "cash grab." I get why sequels make people nervous, but Pixar hasn’t treated Toy Story like a cash grab in 30 years. The shorts are fun, but they can’t explore character growth the way the films do. TS5 has potential to build on TS4 the same way TS4 built on TS3. Why can't you just give them the benefit of the doubt?

PatchofBlue wrote: ↑Thu Nov 13, 2025 12:28 pm

Hardbackyoyo wrote: ↑Wed Nov 12, 2025 8:10 pm

Nothing in Pixar’s record with this franchise has ever said "cash grab." I get why sequels make people nervous, but Pixar hasn’t treated Toy Story like a cash grab in 30 years. The shorts are fun, but they can’t explore character growth the way the films do. TS5 has potential to build on TS4 the same way TS4 built on TS3. Why can't you just give them the benefit of the doubt?

Speaking just for myself, it's because I really don't think that the 4th Toy Story movie built on the franchise at all, and so I don't expect number 5 to do that either. Woody's little midlife crisis from the 4th movie was entirely manufactured, and breaking from Buzz and company didn't bring him to a more enlightened place. Pixar just remembered how profound it was when Woody and friends let Andy go off to college, and the suits thought they could apply that onto another separation, and it would work just as well ...

PatchofBlue wrote: ↑Thu Nov 13, 2025 1:13 pm Woody's got a complex around feeling forgotten, yes, but the first three movies brought those issues to a much more satisfying resolution. Number 4 had to retcon some things we had known about both Woody and the attitudes of the larger story.

Some things that number 4 expects us to buy into in order to make Woody's TS4 storyline work:

-1. Woody has to leave Bonnie because he's not actually fulfilling his function as a toy under Bonnie's care/Bonnie doesn't actually care about Woody

We saw how quick Bonnie was to take to him in the third movie when she saw him on the sidewalk and immediately bonded with him, and after only a single afternoon with each other, they were tight. Pretending that she's over him all the sudden, and this is supposed to be some sign from the universe that he needs to move on, is a textbook retcon.

-2. Woody will never actually find happiness with as another kid's toy

A huge revelation for Woody in number three is that even though his time with Andy has some to an end, he has the capacity to bring more happiness to other kids in similar positions. That's honestly a solid take on the matter. Much more than suggesting that Woody's best days are actually behind him.

-3. Woody is only staying with Bonnie out of a very misplaced sense of loyalty.

Woody's loyalty has always been his superpower. That is what convinced him to go back to rescue Buzz from Sid, or Jessie from being shipped off to Japan, or Andy's toys from Lotso. Even him choosing to say goodbye to Andy at the end of three was a sign of trust that it was time for him to grow up as he followed the natural cycle of youth and maturation. Trying to frame his greatest strength as a latent character flaw ... I'm not here for it.

I'm always interested to see a new direction for a story, but nothing about Woody's arc followed his natural trajectory. They had an outcome designed in mind, and they bent the current of the characters in order to fit that template.

Kyle wrote: ↑Thu Nov 13, 2025 3:51 pm Completely agree with PatchofBlue, well said. Its sometimes a bit hard for me to articulate my problems with 4, but you nailed it.

PatchofBlue wrote: ↑Thu Nov 13, 2025 1:13 pm Woody's got a complex around feeling forgotten, yes, but the first three movies brought those issues to a much more satisfying resolution. Number 4 had to retcon some things we had known about both Woody and the attitudes of the larger story.

Some things that number 4 expects us to buy into in order to make Woody's TS4 storyline work:

-1. Woody has to leave Bonnie because he's not actually fulfilling his function as a toy under Bonnie's care/Bonnie doesn't actually care about Woody

We saw how quick Bonnie was to take to him in the third movie when she saw him on the sidewalk and immediately bonded with him, and after only a single afternoon with each other, they were tight. Pretending that she's over him all the sudden, and this is supposed to be some sign from the universe that he needs to move on, is a textbook retcon.

-2. Woody will never actually find happiness with as another kid's toy

A huge revelation for Woody in number three is that even though his time with Andy has some to an end, he has the capacity to bring more happiness to other kids in similar positions. That's honestly a solid take on the matter. Much more than suggesting that Woody's best days are actually behind him.

-3. Woody is only staying with Bonnie out of a very misplaced sense of loyalty.

Woody's loyalty has always been his superpower. That is what convinced him to go back to rescue Buzz from Sid, or Jessie from being shipped off to Japan, or Andy's toys from Lotso. Even him choosing to say goodbye to Andy at the end of three was a sign of trust that it was time for him to grow up as he followed the natural cycle of youth and maturation. Trying to frame his greatest strength as a latent character flaw ... I'm not here for it.

I'm always interested to see a new direction for a story, but nothing about Woody's arc followed his natural trajectory. They had an outcome designed in mind, and they bent the current of the characters in order to fit that template.

Hardbackyoyo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 13, 2025 5:36 pm

PatchofBlue wrote: ↑Thu Nov 13, 2025 1:13 pm Woody's got a complex around feeling forgotten, yes, but the first three movies brought those issues to a much more satisfying resolution. Number 4 had to retcon some things we had known about both Woody and the attitudes of the larger story.

Some things that number 4 expects us to buy into in order to make Woody's TS4 storyline work:

-1. Woody has to leave Bonnie because he's not actually fulfilling his function as a toy under Bonnie's care/Bonnie doesn't actually care about Woody

We saw how quick Bonnie was to take to him in the third movie when she saw him on the sidewalk and immediately bonded with him, and after only a single afternoon with each other, they were tight. Pretending that she's over him all the sudden, and this is supposed to be some sign from the universe that he needs to move on, is a textbook retcon.

-2. Woody will never actually find happiness with as another kid's toy

A huge revelation for Woody in number three is that even though his time with Andy has some to an end, he has the capacity to bring more happiness to other kids in similar positions. That's honestly a solid take on the matter. Much more than suggesting that Woody's best days are actually behind him.

-3. Woody is only staying with Bonnie out of a very misplaced sense of loyalty.

Woody's loyalty has always been his superpower. That is what convinced him to go back to rescue Buzz from Sid, or Jessie from being shipped off to Japan, or Andy's toys from Lotso. Even him choosing to say goodbye to Andy at the end of three was a sign of trust that it was time for him to grow up as he followed the natural cycle of youth and maturation. Trying to frame his greatest strength as a latent character flaw ... I'm not here for it.

I'm always interested to see a new direction for a story, but nothing about Woody's arc followed his natural trajectory. They had an outcome designed in mind, and they bent the current of the characters in order to fit that template.

1.
It’s not really a retcon, it’s natural kid behavior.
Bonnie was simply bonding with other toys over time. Kids shift favorites constantly. Andy did the same thing between Toy Story 1 and 3.

The movie isn't saying "Bonnie forgot Woody and that's bad."
It's saying "Woody can’t define his worth only by whether a kid plays with him every day."

We actually see him helping Bonnie, sneaking into her backpack, and looking after Forky, so his loyalty stays intact. But her changing interests spark his self-reflection.

2.
True. Toy Story 3 taught him he could move on to another child.
Toy Story 4 expands that idea: he doesn't need to be owned by one child at all to bring joy.

Helping lost toys find kids at the carnival is still the exact same mission, just applied to many children instead of one. It doesn't undo TS3. It deepens the theme.

3.
The movie doesn't say loyalty is bad, it shows how loyalty without self-reflection can keep someone stuck.
Woody clings to his role with Bonnie even when she’s clearly fine and loved by other toys. His arc is realizing that letting go is just growth.

Hardbackyoyo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 13, 2025 12:04 pm

Thumper_93 wrote: ↑Thu Nov 13, 2025 9:46 am
They made the fourth movie to sell toys and they have made this one to sell more toys.

If that is true, then how come Disney didn’t merchandise most of the new characters heavily? I didn't see any Gabby Gabby toys anywhere, and Duke Caboom hardly got any. Same with Giggles McDimples.

Not many people know this, but ideas for a fourth Toy Story movie were actually first brainstormed by the people at Pixar months before Toy Story 3's release. The idea that that they made Toy Story 4 to sell toys has no basis in fact.

Hardbackyoyo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 13, 2025 3:30 pm Your entire critique only makes sense if you've already decided TS3 must be the end. If you start from that idea, of course TS4 and TS5 will feel wrong, and that's because you don't want any continuation, and not because the story doesn't support one. I can also tell that you don't like the idea of Woody's whole philosophy being challenged. Sometimes a character's deeper issues don't become obvious until the story finally brings them to the surface. TS4 didn't invent Woody's loyalty problems, it just made them explicit.

PatchofBlue wrote: ↑Fri Nov 14, 2025 4:36 pm

Hardbackyoyo wrote: ↑Thu Nov 13, 2025 3:30 pm Your entire critique only makes sense if you've already decided TS3 must be the end. If you start from that idea, of course TS4 and TS5 will feel wrong, and that's because you don't want any continuation, and not because the story doesn't support one. I can also tell that you don't like the idea of Woody's whole philosophy being challenged. Sometimes a character's deeper issues don't become obvious until the story finally brings them to the surface. TS4 didn't invent Woody's loyalty problems, it just made them explicit.

I mean ... that is exactly where I stand. And more, that's where the series as a whole stood once upon a time. Obviously, no executive is ever going to come out and say "Henceforth and forevermore, there will be no more movies in X franchise," but ... I was there in 2010. We all thought this was going to be the last movie. We all did.

I think hypothetically, we could have had like a billion "Toy Story" that took place between the events of Toy Story 2 and 3, but the third movie opted to take some really big swings, and that's why it was so deeply affecting. It was a statement about letting go and moving on.

Lasseter and Iger looked at that and thought, "Hm, that was fun. Let's see if we can do that again." Which absolutely defeats the point ...

To respond to some of your points in your later post ...

Yeah, kids get flighty about these things, but that's a really sandy foundation to build a theme on. Like, who's to say that Woody won't be her favorite again by Thursday?

I don't see Woody occasionally helping lost toys as being a natural progression of his arc. Really, it feels more comparable to the storyline in Toy Story 2 where he's sort of being exalted into celebrity to be adored just a little by a million kids but never knowing true connection with any one of them.

Woody's essentially decided that his life has become too hard, and there's just no literally NO. OTHER. WAY. So he HAS to call it a day and hang up his boots and go reconnect with his old flame and live a life where no one will ever ask him to do anything hard ever again. (Or rather, it's everyone else who's telling him all this. I suppose if you can convince yourself it's coming from your environment, then it's almost not your fault.)

That's not progression. That's regression.

Challenging a character's philosophy is one thing. Really, that's the point of almost any given story. But not all challenges are created equal.

Like, when I think of Toy Story 4, I honestly imagine someone making a sequel to "It's a Wonderful Life" that ends with George Bailey deciding, "You know what, maybe it's okay to put myself first now and then," and that movie making a billion and winning a bunch of Oscars. You could hypothetically say, "See how he's doing something he never would have done in the last movie? I guess he must have really grown as a person." But we know that's just not who he is. That would not be forward motion.

(I also think there's a lot of weak machinery at work in this movie that further complicates their ability to say anything revelatory. Trying to tell us "there's actually more to a toy's life than just being played with by a kid, ya' know," in the same movie where a kid choosing to play with a plastic fork actually brings that fork to life ... If there is a case to be made for redirecting Woody's entire arc, they absolutely were not making it in this movie.)

That's my honest read of the film, and I'm not going to be soft about it. But I'm also not going to fault someone if they can look at it and see something different than I do.