The short version is that Toy Story 5 ably matches the quality of its predecessors, has interesting and timely things to say, and is a fun and entertaining animated film for both children and adults. As with the previous sequel seven years ago, this new film has been met with both cynicism and anxiety in the lead-up to its release. Fans of the series can rest easy. If Toy Story 3 was a masterful conclusion to the original trilogy, and Toy Story 4 represented a well-crafted epilogue, then Toy Story 5 is a whole new adventure that we did not realise we needed.

Bonnie’s toys face a new challenge this time around, as she is gifted a “Lilypad” – essentially a tablet computer for children to play games and engage in social media. With Bonnie spending all her time using “Lily”, her toys conspire to rid the house of its new interloper.

On the face of it the premise seems both limited and wrong-headed, particularly for a franchise whose high technology CGI supplanted pre-existing children’s entertainment in the first place. Thankfully Toy Story 5 is much smarter than that. Its handling of this new digital threat is smartly developed and surprisingly nuanced, and unlike an increasing number of governments around the world it understands the problem facing kids today is not social media but a lack of media literacy.

As is always the case with Toy Story, events rapidly spiral out of control, and out of Bonnie’s bedroom. A cleverly developed narrative sees multiple story threads develop in parallel before interweaving into a hugely satisfying climax. The long-running bromance of Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen) is partially sidelined this time around, in favour of a richly developed and charming story about Jesse the Yodelling Cowgirl (Joan Cusack). The change in protagonist helps to refresh this franchise, and allow it to both revisit old themes with a new perspective and tackle some new ones as well. Cusack’s winning vocal performance, coupled with some consistently funny interplay with her horse Bullseye, really spark this new adventure into life.

New adventures bring new characters, including the seemingly villainous Lily (Greta Lee) and the wonderful Mr Smartypants (voiced by comedian Conan O’Brien, and I suspect the less you know of the character going in the funnier he will be). Cumulative sequels are definitely putting pressure on the ensemble cast to each get their moment in the spotlight. All of the old favourites are there – Rex (Wallace Shawn), Duke Kaboom (Keanu Reeves), Bo Peep (Annie Potts), and so on – but their screen time is sadly limited.

Andrew Stanton, whose films Finding Nemo and Wall-E still stand up as two of Pixar’s very best, takes over as director from Toy Story 4‘s Josh Cooley. Stanton’s presence is noticeable from the get-go: there is a very strong handle on story, and some absolutely beautiful animation – particularly during the fantasy sequences as Bonnie plays with her toys. It demonstrates the importance of the Toy Story brand to both Pixar and Disney: it was Pixar’s first feature film, and is appropriately being treated like a crown jewel piece of intellectual property. I had concerns a fifth film would mark a shift to treating the franchise as a profitable commodity, rather than the quality art it represents. That, thankfully, has not happened.

This is wonderful family entertainment, and Pixar’s best new film since Turning Red in 2022. Is there still room for further sequels? It is hard to say, but this strategy of one new film at a time, spaced out by several years, appears to be a hugely fruitful one.