Toy Story 5: what critics say about Pixar’s film on toys and technology

Film details

This article summarises what critics have published and is not based on a review of our own from the screening room. Film details from Otros Cines and Deadline; cinema listing according to Cartelera de Cine Live.

What critics say

The fifth instalment of the saga sets up a generational clash: Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and the rest of the group meet Lilypad, a new tablet with ideas of its own that threatens the way the toys understand play. The central conflict, according to critics, is that of handmade childhood fantasy against the advance of a technology that generates absorbing, addictive, individual consumption.

Reception has been generally positive, with nuances. Deadline describes it as a soulful return to form for Pixar. Other reviews, such as Otros Cines‘s or El Antepenúltimo Mohicano‘s, place it at the level of the saga and not far from its predecessors, although they admit the premise can feel somewhat repetitive. The animation and several action and comedy scenes among the best in the series make up for it, they agree.

For anyone unsure, the consensus points to a solid film for families and for those who grew up with the saga, rather than a revolution within it. Someone looking for a total surprise may find it somewhat predictable; someone looking for a story that keeps the tone of the earlier ones has reasons to see it in a cinema.

Related articles

• October releases in Panama: the films and series coming to cinemas and streaming, with dates
• Verity in Panama cinemas: what critics say about the thriller with Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson

Sources

• Deadline, review of Toy Story 5.
• Otros Cines, review of Toy Story 5.
• El Antepenúltimo Mohicano, review of Toy Story 5.
• Cartelera de Cine Live, films showing in Panama.