More than 30 years ago, Woody had a problem.
A shiny new Buzz Lightyear had arrived in Andy’s room, and suddenly the cowboy who had always been his kid’s favorite toy wasn’t so sure there was still a place for him. It began a story about toys, growing up and what happens when the way a child plays begins to change.
Three decades later, Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang have faced plenty of new toys. But “Toy Story 5” gave them something considerably harder to compete against: technology.
Now, that battle for playtime is coming home.
Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 5” will begin streaming on Disney+ September 23, bringing the latest chapter in Pixar’s landmark franchise to the service following its theatrical run. The movie finds Bonnie’s toys confronting Lilypad, a frog-shaped tablet voiced by Greta Lee whose arrival threatens to fundamentally change Bonnie’s relationship with her toys.
It is a conflict that feels almost inevitable for “Toy Story.” The franchise has always been about more than whether one toy can defeat another. Beneath the adventures, comedy and occasional existential crisis, these movies have continually explored what play means to children and what happens to their toys as those children change.
Technology creates an entirely different version of that question.
Lilypad isn’t simply another Buzz Lightyear walking into the bedroom and becoming the coolest toy around. She represents a different way to spend playtime altogether. For Woody and his friends, that makes the challenge considerably bigger: what place do traditional toys have when a screen can seemingly offer a child an endless number of games, stories and experiences?
Of course, Woody wasn’t exactly hanging around Bonnie’s room when the trouble began. After leaving at the end of “Toy Story 4” to help lost toys find children of their own, Woody remained in contact with Jessie and his old friends. When he learns that they’re in trouble, however, the cowboy heads back to help, reuniting him with Buzz and the rest of the gang.
The returning cast once again includes Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, Joan Cusack as Jessie and Tony Hale as Forky, alongside familiar characters including Bo Peep, Hamm, Rex, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head and Slinky Dog. The technological side of the toy box also introduces Conan O’Brien as Smarty Pants, a tech toy designed to make toilet training fun, and Craig Robinson as Atlas, an upbeat hippo GPS toy.
The movie also brought another major name into the “Toy Story” world through music. Taylor Swift wrote and produced the original song “I Knew It, I Knew You” alongside Jack Antonoff, returning to her country roots for a song inspired by Jessie’s continuing journey from “Toy Story 2” through the newest film.
For families wanting to go even further back into the toy box, Disney+ is also streaming “Toy Story 30 Years and Beyond – A Special Edition of 20/20.” The 42-minute special looks at Pixar’s history through the franchise that started it all, featuring interviews with original cast members including Hanks and Allen as well as Swift.
There is something rather fitting about “Toy Story 5” now arriving on Disney+.
The newest movie asks what happens when screens begin competing with toys for a child’s attention, and families are about to watch that story on one of those very screens. Yet perhaps that is also why the question at the center of “Toy Story 5” feels so relevant. Play has changed tremendously since Woody first worried about Buzz Lightyear replacing him in 1995, but kids haven’t stopped needing imagination, connection or stories.
The toys have simply had to learn how to share the room with a few more things.
“Toy Story 5” begins streaming September 23 on Disney+.