Your favourite cowboy goes head to head with ageing and tech in the new instalment
It’s time for Toy Story to bring in a new character: the Cash Cow.
Most people would agree that Toy Story 3 was where it should have ended. Andy’s childhood wrapped up. The toys went onto a new owner. Families around the globe shed tears in their living rooms.
It should have been left in the noughties where it belonged. But Disney knows more than anyone that nostalgia sells. And so they’re back again to tug at our heart strings with Toy Story 5. Will Conan O’Brien’s turn as the potty-training toy deliver that? Doubtful. But here we are anyway.
Released by Pixar on Thursday, the new trailer shows the entire gang back together including Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and Jessie (Joan Cusack) to defeat a new adversary – an interactive tablet by the name of Lilypad (voiced by Greta Lee).
For those of us who have grown up with the core crew, the trailer has us backing their corner. For any newcomers, they might align more with the funny, unbothered and totally gen Z, Lilypad. Especially compared with an aged Woody, sporting a bald spot.
The generation gap feels apparent in the trailer – and it’s a clever way to win over new audiences whilst keeping the same core fandom. It’s a recipe that Disney follows religiously, with their live-action remakes of classics like Snow White (2025) and The Little Mermaid (2023) – a way to churn out revenue whilst forgoing original material.
Toy Story 5 director, Andrew Stanton has come under fire for continuing the franchise after the third installment when Andy’s story concluded. But it’s clear integrity isn’t at the top of exec’s minds. Pixar lost its’ soul long ago (even if they did make a film of the same name). It’s doubtful that Disney ever had one.
With no signs of their longest-running film franchise coming to an end, maybe we’ll see the characters grey-haired and fighting robots in another ten years. Whether anyone will be watching is a different question.
Toy Story 5 opens in theatres in Australia on June 18.
