In 2023, it was announced that the Toy Story franchise was getting another installment after many thought it was the end of the road for Pixar’s favorite toys. Growing up in the ’90s, Toy Story was a staple of my childhood. As I aged, and more movies were added to the franchise, Toy Story continued to be a safe space for me and many others who grew up in the same timeframe.
Now that I have kids of my own, I was thrilled to watch the new installment alongside them. I may have grown up with Andy being the toys’ primary “kid,” but girls would grow up thinking it was Bonnie.
I prepped my oldest for her first movie theatre experience and got excited over all the merchandise and promos. But once the movie started, my excitement was overshadowed by dread.
Warning: This article has spoilers ahead for Toy Story 5.
Toy Story 5: Plot
Before seeing the movie, the Toy Story 5 trailer showed that Jessie was the star, as she tried to save Bonnie from a new type of villain: a tablet named Lilypad.
Bonnie was given a Lily after showing anxiety over problems making friends. Her parents hoped Lily would help Bonnie learn how to socialize and connect. On the contrary, Bonnie grew addicted to Lily and felt ongoing pressure to “keep up” with her so-called friends.
The toys then went on a mission to fight Lily, save Bonnie, and get her back to the carefree little girl she once was.
Jessie, Buzz, Woody, and the gang are just as charming and inspiring as always as they try to protect Bonnie’s innocence.
The movie ends happily, of course (this is Pixar, after all), but the movie’s lessons and tense scenes with children and tech made me sick.
Dark Scenes I Wasn’t expecting
As soon as Bonnie was given Lily, she immediately dove into the world of online gaming. She was up all night playing games on it, turning my excitement about the movie into stress.
I looked down at my three-year-old’s face as she processed Bonnie’s change in character. A once carefree and whimsical character was now riddled with anxiety and overstimulation. Mix those feelings with the fear of missing out on making friends, and Toy Story 5 was darker than I imagined.
Bonnie Chose Lily Over Her Toys: As expected, Bonnie grew curious about her tablet and spent hours playing with it. Her excitement over connecting with friends on Lily forced her to ignore Jessie and the gang. A scene I wasn’t expecting was when Lily sent a message to Bonnie’s dad as Bonnie, asking him to place some of her old toys in the garage. Bonnie quickly turned into a teenager at age 8.
The Sleepover: Once Bonnie connected with friends from dance, they invited her to a sleepover. She was thrilled to go to her first sleepover, but that excitement died when she found out her “friends” didn’t play with toys and only played on their tablets. She tossed Jessie and Bullseye aside and grabbed her tablet to fit in.
To make matters worse, it was revealed that Bonnie barely slept because her friends forgot to look for her during a game of hide and seek. As an adult watching, it was hard not to wonder whether her friends’ forgetting to find her was intentional. Either way, thinking that this could happen to any of my children was gutting.
Online Bullying: After a hard sleepover, Bonnie made it clear that she wanted to be friends with them because she was dying for friendship, not necessarily because she got along with them. Bonnie was later trolled by her friends in a group message after the girls found out Bonnie was looking for her lost toys, Jessie, and Bullseye. The girls called Bonnie a baby who still played with toys.
Bonnie was beside herself. As a viewer, you could feel the ball in her throat as she choked back tears. She eventually shared what was upsetting her with her mom, but it didn’t take away the pain of being bullied by so-called friends.
Abandonment: Abandonment has been a recurring theme in Jessie’s character since her owner, Emily, abandoned her as she grew older. Andy later did the same, and now Bonnie was close to getting rid of her toys at just eight years old.
It’s not that Jessie’s heavy abandonment issues shocked me, but between her dire need to keep Bonnie safe, bullying, and being played with again, it was a heavy side-plot.
What Toy Story 5 Reminded Me To Teach My Kids
I always knew I’d have to teach my daughters life lessons around kindness, bullying, inclusion, and the like. Small steps towards those conversations have already been had, but after seeing Toy Story 5, I realized my conversations need to be amplified. After all, Bonnie is only eight years old, and she was thrown headfirst into the deep end of tech, overstimulation, and mean girls.
Limits With Tech: While I don’t have a tablet for my three-year-old, I know that day will come soon. Toy Story 5 taught me a few things about tablets and kids. Not only would I set time limits throughout the week, but I’d also slowly introduce the tablet and its features. (Her usage would also be monitored.)
Bonnie’s parents didn’t appear to have time limits with Lilypad, and Bonnie’s mental health and sleep declined because of it. Bonnie’s parents also didn’t realize the extent of Bonnie’s hunger for friendship with the wrong crowd. Her mom and dad didn’t read the cruel group messages until after Bonnie was distraught by her friends mocking her for playing with toys.
Advocate For My Kids: Some Pixar fans online say the real enemy wasn’t Lilypad but her parents. While I wouldn’t go that far, I do think there were small things her parents could have implemented.
- Instead of helping Bonnie with social skills to make friends organically, they gave her a tablet.
- They ignored obvious signs that Bonnie was going through something monumental.
- Bonnie’s parents didn’t try to get to know Bonnie’s new friends (to make sure Bonnie was in a safe atmosphere).
- After learning that the girls were bullying Bonnie, her parents did nothing other than delete the chat.
In an ideal world, Bonnie’s parents saw Bonnie’s sleep-deprived eyes and how negatively Lilypad affected Bonnie’s well-being. Instead of supporting and protecting her, they assumed Lilypad would make things better.
How To Treat Others: Along with basic manners in a social setting, it’s important to teach my daughter how to treat others. Mocking a classmate for still playing with certain toys is hurtful and doesn’t make her any cooler for judging someone else. I always assumed the bullying conversations would be for when she’s older, but it looks like I need to start young.
Conclusion
Toy Story 5 is a fun, emotional, and relatable animated film. The characters are mesmerizing and familiar, and the messages are heartfelt. However, as a mom of two, I wish I knew how intense the dark scenes would be so I could prepare myself better.
After watching the movie, my three-year-old was empathetic to Bonnie and Jessie’s struggles. She was upset that Bonnie was a different character from the previous movies, and hated that Jessie and Bullseye were on their own until finding home again.
I think seeing the movie was a learning curve for her, and a great reminder for me that I need to put in the work to make sure my daughters are self-sufficient, independent, kind, and self-aware.
