It was only a matter of time before Pixar skewered the iPad kids. After burning through the children who play with sporks in the surprisingly satisfying Toy Story 4, a LeapFrog Connect clone is the toy du jour concerning Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and Forky this time. Ironically set to the soulful rhythms of The Rolling Stones’ 1964 hit “Heart Of Stone,” the new teaser for Toy Story 5 introduces Andy’s beloved toys to the future. How quaint the discovery of a spaceman action figure 30 years ago looks in hindsight.
There isn’t much to the teaser, aside from our old friends that neither Pixar nor Disney can put away—as if someone (read: shareholders) had double-dog dared them to make a fourth sequel—observing their new playmate, the “LilyPad,” with horror. But it does indicate one major thing about the film: Woody (Tom Hanks) is back. And while we can’t confirm his relationship status with Bo Peep (Annie Potts), with whom he absconded at the end of Toy Story 4, we can surmise that he has since divorced Bo and that no-fault divorce for toys exists in the Toy Story universe. However, while we’d love to see a B-Plot in which a single and mingle-ready Woody downloads Hinge on his child owner’s tablet, the movie is actually about Jessie (Joan Cusak) getting the gang back together to eject another new toy from the playroom.
Earlier this summer, at the Annecy Animation Festival in France, Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer, Pete Docter, laid out the basic plot. “Toy Story 5, it’s toy meets tech. If you remember from Toy Story 4, Woody has left the kids for a life of adventure with Bo and her friends, helping lots of toys in need,” he said. “And Sheriff Jessie is now in charge of Bonnie’s room with a recently deputized Buzz Lightyear to assist.” Andy’s younger sister and successor to his toy kingdom, Bonnie, is now eight and “more concerned about being socially connected and making friends.” Her tablet, the LilyPad, “can be a little sneaky and prickly because in her mind, to better socialize, Bonnie needs to move on” from her toys./ Faced with a future where Bonnie spends every trip to the restaurant staring blankly at her LilyPad, Jessie springs to action and calls the toys back to town.
