In 1995, when the first Toy Story movie debuted, neither Google existed nor was Apple flourishing. Over thirty years later, not only is Pixar still creating Toy Story films, but the latest installment features Buzz Lightyear and a balding Woody combating an antagonistic AI tablet called Lilypad.
Toy Story 5 brings classic characters like Mrs. Potato Head, Rex, and Slinky Dog face-to-face with the ominous advance of technology.
The trailer reveals Bonnie—who received Andy’s toys when he left for college in Toy Story 2—playing outdoors with her toys until a surprise package containing the Lilypad tablet arrives. Bonnie becomes engrossed in the tablet, ignoring her parents’ calls to end screen time.
In the Toy Story 5 trailer, Lilypad, or Lily, emerges as a dark antagonist. Jessie questions the tablet about Bonnie’s welfare, to which Lily appears uninterested, prompting Jessie to insist on listening.
“I’m always listening,” Lily responds menacingly, repeating Jessie’s emotional address in a robotic voice before translating it into Spanish.
“Tech’s invaded our house,” Jessie confides to Woody. “I’m losing Bonnie to this device.”
Woody answers, “Toys are for play, but tech is for everything.”
Will Toy Story 5 emotionally engage its young audience to reconsider the impact of excessive screen time? Perhaps that’s ambitious, but it does provide them a more thoughtful alternative to shows like Cocomelon.