Is Toy Story 5 Woke? Will It Even Matter at the Box Office?

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: The Walt Disney Company is responsible for some of the biggest, most important stories and movies ever told. And yet, now they're being so bold as switching Toy Story from being a boy brand to a girl brand, and maybe from something timeless to very timely. Today we'll tell you why we're worried about a Jesse-centric story and why it may be a betrayal, even of Walt Disney himself. It's a great day, it's a glorious day I say to have you joining us folks right here in the studio, located at Somewhere Sunny USA, where the studio is glistening because you're listening to what we have to say. Smash that like button, subscribe, and if you see the hype, the time is always ripe to hit the hype. And we'd love to have you join us for more videos, so click it and stick it to the algorithms. It's the notification bell. Well, they're switching to Jesse the cowgirl. Toy Story 5 will be a departure from what you've seen before. It's no longer about Buzz and Woody, and we can say that because the journalists, the drive-bys, the access types, they've seen the film, and that's what they say. Marvin Montanero writing this one at thebarkplace.com. Hollywood media unanimously praises Toy Story 5 and confirms Jesse is indeed the main character. This is a Jesse movie. The first reactions to Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5 are in, and if Hollywood access media is to be believed, the beloved animated franchise has somehow delivered another masterpiece nearly three decades after the original film debuted in theaters. Following the film's premiere, entertainment journalists and critics flooded social media with glowing praise for the sequel, calling it emotional, profound, funny, moving, and even one of the best films of 2026. We've got this one from Scott Menzel, who is a film critic, says Toy Story 5 ranks right alongside the first three films, delivering a perfect blend of humor, heart, and that signature of Pixar magic. Toy Story 5 is a wonderfully heartfelt return to form for Pixar Animation Studios and a reminder of why the Toy Story franchise remains one of the greatest film series ever made. Emotional, hilarious, and genuinely moving, Toy Story 5 may very well end up being one of the best films of 2026. Laughingplace.com is just putting this out there for everybody to see. Toy Story 5 is Jesse's movie, and it's exactly what the franchise needed. Joan Cusack breaks your heart wide open as the yodeling cowgirl rediscovering her purpose. It's full of laughs and delivers some emotional, happy tears. We've got this from Harvey Edgerton, and I love this one. He says, "I have a feeling that Toy Story 5 is going to repeat what happened with Toy Story 4, where it gets praised by critics, divides the general audience, and gets torn a new one by YouTubers and social media. Tell me I'm wrong." But I'll tell you this, folks, we were not wrong about Toy Story 4, and now in retrospect, everybody agrees it is by far the weakest, by far, and it actually takes away much of what the original three had to say. Now, the one reason I'm going to posit that this might actually work for Disney is because of Andrew Stanton. But we've talked about in the past, and Lorne, you know, you and I have been on opposite sides of this. You think Toy Story 5 is going to underperform, and I think it could go either way. Let me fill in the blank as to why I think it goes either way. Andrew Stanton is the director here. Andrew Stanton is, he is a man of great highs and horrific lows. He's been with Pixar for a long, long time. And if we go through his IMDb list, you all are going to see this guy knows how to win and he knows how to fail. And that's why I'm looking at this and I'm saying, which one is Toy Story 5? If we go down, what is he known for? He's known for WALL-E. He's known for Finding Nemo. Just, we don't, you could just stop there. This guy is in charge of WALL-E, which is one of the greatest Disney movies ever made. It's not necessarily a kid's movie, but it's one of the greatest Disney movies ever made. And Finding Nemo, which I think is a kid's movie and also is one of the greatest movies, at least Disney movies ever made. I still love A Bug's Life. There's nothing wrong with A Bug's Life. It's yeah. However, he is also a writer on the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV miniseries. He added additional screenplay material to Lightyear. He worked on John Carter. In fact, he wrote the screenplay. In fact, it was a devastating moment in his career to step away from Toy Story 3 and write John Carter. [00:04:32] Speaker 2: I think John Carter gets a bad rap. I'm not against him. [00:04:37] Speaker 1: Darn it. You're right. And I agree with you. I like John Carter. [00:04:40] Speaker 2: But still, it's considered a flop. It is. It is a flop, technically. But I think it's a better movie [00:04:46] Speaker 1: than it gets credit for. Okay. So, Lorne, now that you see what this guy is in charge of, I mean, he's legendary. So if anybody's going to switch a boy brand to a girl brand, it might be him. [00:04:59] Speaker 2: My argument, though, is not even necessarily about the quality or lack thereof of the film. I'm making the argument that the audience is sending a message to Hollywood that we're done with sequels and remakes. We want you to do something original. And I think that Toy Story's time may have come and gone. I think that it's had 30 years. That's a good long run. And so I'm thinking that the audience may just wait for streaming. I'm not sure they're necessarily going to show up at the box office. You will have a core that will. And I'm not saying the movie's going to flop. I think it'll do decent business. It'll probably be a $700, $800 million movie. I don't think it's going to hit a billion, though. And I could be completely wrong. But I suspect that what people are reacting to right now is the Taylor Swift news. I think they're reacting more to Taylor Swift than they are to Toy Story 5, if you get what I mean. [00:05:51] Speaker 1: Now, here's a very strange take, I think, from the Daily Kryptonian. And I'm up for strange takes. I like the Bizarro. But they're listing this out as the second best Toy Story ever. But what what draws my attention is, and I appreciate that they've got Toy Story 4 at the bottom. That's correct. It's easily at the bottom. But if I were to rank them, I don't put the original Toy Story at the top. I put Toy Story 3 at the top. I think Toy Story 3 is the strongest. So I would go Toy Story 3, Toy Story 2, Toy Story, and then Toy Story 4 doesn't even belong anywhere on the list. I think it's it's abysmal. I don't know where I'll put five after I see it. But you know, you've got this kind of this kind of a reaction. So maybe audiences will agree that it's it's way up there. Maybe. Maybe. [00:06:37] Speaker 3: I just don't know nobody knows about this thing. That's that's funny. Like, I talked to a lot of people every Sunday. No one knows about this movie. That's kind of one of the things that shocks me is it's not the marketing as far as I can tell has sucked. And I don't know what it's like down there. But right now, everything's FIFA. FIFA is getting all the attention. It's all that advertising space is all FIFA. So it's just like this thing is just kind of go by the wayside. I think that maybe maybe I'll be right twice. I think this thing caps at 800. [00:07:17] Speaker 1: Maybe I can see that. But let's walk through you know, I always enjoy the great things in media. They're not accidents. There's a reason that they resonate. So Carrie, I know that your channel you you dive deep in. So let's dive deep for a minute. And let's deprogram Toy Story movies. Is that okay with you? Sure. Let's talk. Let's talk about why they actually matter. Okay. Because there's something deeply psychological that the films that resonate. So unless we're talking about like Fast and Furious, that's a different thing. But these movies, there's there's a message in there. There's an ethos that that connects with people. Okay. So in Toy Story, the message there is betrayal, forgiveness, working as a team to redeem. Right. So that's that's the story. Woody betrays Buzz. It's based off jealousy. It really is. It's a CGI Cain and Abel situation situation, but nobody dies. There's a forgiveness aspect. And so that redeems them. And then together through the redemption arc, they they managed to make it back to the goal. And the goal is Andy. Okay. So that's the original Toy Story. And that that works pretty well. Right. Because it's a buddy comedy. The buddy comedy is the betrayal. And how do you how do you get along? Okay. And then and then you couple that with right, the Cain and Abel thing. You're not sacrificing a less than versus the best of. Instead, it's you're an old fashioned toy. And this is the new fad. Okay. Toy Story 2 is about do you abandon your friends? Toy Story 2, I think the the message that's in there is a stronger message. Like if you could be gifted heaven, which is what Woody views, right? Because he's got a temporary time with Andy and the other toys, but he can have eternal paradise. He has a collector's toy with these other with these things. If you could have that, but it's a faux heaven. Would you rather have authentic temporary love? That's the that's Toy Story 2. That's a deep question. So kudos to them for coming up with that for their sequel. And then Toy Story 3 is all about like, how far would you go with your friends? How would how far would you go? And the answer is, well, you would go up until the very, like they're actually, there's a depiction of hell in Toy Story 3, which is crazy. Like, would you stay with your friends through hell? And then the answer to that is that if you would, then there's a chance that you actually slay the dragon at the edge of hell. There's, it's not a guarantee that that's, that's the drama that's in it. But if you are willing to go through to the precipice of hell with your friends for the right cause, you might actually come out on the other side with the ultimate treasure. And then Toy Story 4, the message is, what if we forgot all about that and abandoned our friends and just gave up on all morals whatsoever? Anyway, so Carrie, these, these movies are deeply impactful. Stepping away, the vehicle for them has always been Woody and Buzz. So I think that's why there's some trepidation here because they are sort of archetypal characters. And so when you switch that now to Jessie, it can, it can work. But I think there's also that fear of if you take Jessie and use her, Hollywood is so hesitant to lift up the feminine and the maternal. They much more are interested in having female characters be sort of a beta representation of, you know, what they view as proper masculinity. And then it's always not quite, you know, what women really want to be, at least most women. So Carrie, what do you think about the idea that there's something deeply important in some of these stories that, that have held on for so long and people continue to watch and kind of the danger when you take these, these deeply meaningful stories and characters and you repurpose them in today's time? [00:11:18] Speaker 4: Yeah. Well, I think people are, are worried about what could happen with this, this iteration of Toy Story for a good reason, because it's happened so many times where a story that's being repurposed or retold, or you see another sequel, another sequel, they lose the original, instead of imparting values through storytelling and imparting meaning and the kind of things you were talking about, loyalty, friendship, these things that are universal and eternal. And as someone in your chat even said, biblical values, traditional values that get to the very heart of us as human beings, they're relationship oriented, these are the things that every human being can relate to, these are human values. Woke storytelling is very different, it, it abandons values meaning in favor of preferences or in favor of group preferences, identitarianism, this kind of scolding people, lecturing people all based around what gender people are, what race they are, what sexuality, all these different characteristics. And so I think people have audiences, fans have seen this happen so many times, where the beloved property that used to tell stories that was used as a vehicle to tell stories about eternal values has now been hijacked. And it's used to tell a story about how like women are going to be the future, what is it the future is female, or it's being used to tell a story about that's meant to be about like this race, or this sexuality, or just an identity preference kind of vehicle. And that just strips it of of anything that's deep. I think that was your question, right? People are worried that's going to happen because they're making it about the girl. [00:13:03] Speaker 1: Yeah, well, and that's why when we see, I'll point this out, this is, this is the kind of stuff that gives us pause. And I'm, I'm not trying to prejudice my view before I get into the movie. And I'm not trying to tell people that it's going to be bad or a flop or whatever. These are the kind of statements coming from the access media that cause us all to go, wait a minute. It says Pixar at their absolute best and their most important story yet. Oh, come on. Right. Is it the most important story yet? Because it's just based on the girl character. And if that's the case, if that's what we're doing, then it starts to feel like Ray again, right? It starts to feel like, here we go. Here we go. Because, you know, Woody and Buzz are genuinely good characters. You know, they're masculine characters, but they're not, um, they're not, they're not toxic in any way. And you, you know, I don't know what would make this be a more important story than their stories. It can be equally as important. It can be differently important, but the most important. And when we start hearing this, I could pull up multiple, uh, accounts parroting this line, but I think that's the concern when people start seeing that and the value judgment as well, because it's Jesse. Now, this is the story that our generation needs. I've seen that over and over. This is the story of, you know, that we need right now in history. And it's like, oh no, what are we doing? Yeah. What are we doing now? [00:14:27] Speaker 3: Here's where I think the, the issue lies, because I think the Ray comparison is actually flawed. The problem is Jesse is a comp is the derivative character, right? Like she is a sidekick. Um, and so like, that's the root. That's the lore of her character. She is, she was there for Woody. She was part of Woody's show and all this kind of stuff. And she's always been like this solid figure who, she has been tough. She's been fun. She's been, uh, the love interest of Buzz. Like, like you've, you've seen these elements to her. So there is a way, as you were saying, to do that correctly, to make the story where it, where she's the driving force somehow. Um, because maybe she sees something that no one else saw that the tablet did or something. Right. And, and you kind of replay the whole, like a Buzz and Woody thing between Jesse and the tablet or, or whatever. But like, there's, there's a story that could be told. The issue is, I don't think that they have the desire to write the story because I wonder if this is the classic thing that Disney has done where they've taken the trusted director and put them in to fill the hole that, uh, basically is just to kind of give it the prop up the credibility, kind of like Lilo and Stitch, which really didn't divide people. Most people just thought it was either meh or bad. And, and yet they're like, they tried to pull out the fact that that director came back and all this kind of stuff to do the voice of stitch. And it was just like, they, they leaned on someone else's credibility to accomplish the purposes that they want. And this is the Disney issue. So, and again, we're, do I want this thing to be good? Obviously I don't want them to ruin the characters any further, but I don't know the way that they destroyed Woody's character in the fourth one. Can they ruin the characters any, any worse? Like, I don't know. [00:16:31] Speaker 1: By the way, a shout out, uh, in the bottom right side of the shared screen, you can see that, uh, about 300 of you are watching this on X. Good to see you all, all of you out there. We, uh, don't always shout out enough our, uh, X viewers. Uh, but, uh, follow along with me on this and I'm gonna explain why I'm worried about this movie. I'm not, I'm not sold that it's gonna be bad. Okay. I'm not, I'm not condemning it, not dooming it. Just saying, I have a concern here. Greg Pomes, who lists himself on the right side as he, him says, "Toy Story 5 is Pixar at its absolute best. Very funny and extremely heartfelt, beautiful animation. I didn't think going into the film that we needed another Toy Story, but it's extremely timely and relevant. The story is exactly what is needed in today's world. Pixar has a masterpiece that will go down as one of the best films of the year. So let me explain why that worries me when I see those things. One of the reasons that Pinocchio is a great movie is because it's timeless. Yes. Pinocchio doesn't exist in the 1900s. Pinocchio doesn't exist in the 1800s. The message of Pinocchio is utterly timeless. And I'll give you just a flavor of how timeless Pinocchio is and the kind of thought that goes into movies that are as amazing as something like that. In the movie Pinocchio, Pinocchio becomes a jackass. All right. Literally, he becomes a donkey because he, as a, in his quest to become a real boy, he actually misaligns himself and he turns to vices. He turns to, you know, gambling and smoking and all these things and, and, and to alcohol and he becomes a jackass. And Pinocchio realizes at the last minute what he's becoming, which is all a metaphor, right? He realizes what he's becoming and he flees the vices of life. And where does Pinocchio go next? Because it's really strange. I mean, this is bizarre. Pinocchio goes to save his father and the, his companions, but mostly it's his father. Where is his father? His father is in the very depths of the abyss inside a whale. And Pinocchio has to go down into the belly of the whale like Jonah to find his father and free his father. And you could say to yourself, okay, why in the world would the little marionette doll who was becoming a jackass and, and flees from that, why would he have to go into the belly of the whale to save his father? Like, that makes no sense, but psychologically it sure does because Pinocchio is being searched for by his father when he is acting like this. This is the story of the prodigal son, but instead of the father staying at home, the father goes out to find him. This is lost sheep, right? So this is the lost sheep narrative. Where will the, where will the father figure, the patriarch go? Where will Geppetto go to find Pinocchio? Where, what, at what level would he go to, to, to find his son and rescue him? Well, into the belly of the beast in the deepest abyss you can imagine in the darkest place possible. So that's where Pinocchio has to go then. And the, the only reason that Pinocchio can rescue him is because he's become more of a real boy because he has accepted that the vices of life are not sufficient for his purpose, right? And that's where he finds then his conscience, Jiminy Cricket, which whose, whose ladders are JC. Okay. That's timeless. That is so incredibly deep. It's from Walt Disney, by the way, so incredibly deep to figure out why that story lays itself out the way it does. And yet, it's so psychologically poignant. So when we see somebody say it's timely and relative or relevant, I say, I don't want timely. Thank you. I want timeless. Thank you. Timely is, [00:20:37] Speaker 4: it's about preferences. It's about whatever ideology is currently popular. This whole, you know, that's what people do not want. We're tired of it. We're tired of it being about, you know, the future is female or pride month or whatever is timely. Nobody wants that. They want the timeless. And that was perfectly stated that, that Pinocchio is about self-sacrifice. It's about, as you said, rescuing your father, the traditions of your father. It's about maturity, growing up, becoming a real man, the soul. It's about all of that in a kid's movie, but the subtext is there. [00:21:11] Speaker 3: Yeah. It's all there. It's all there. The one thing I'll push back is I'll say timely does work if it's truly counter-cultural, right? So if it's, if it's timely can be getting back to something that matters. The question is, is that what this movie is ultimately doing? [00:21:32] Speaker 1: I would say it's harder to do that though, with a kid's movie because kids, I don't disagree, but if kids, if kids are being properly raised, then, you know, the way that I think the best way for a child to be raised is rather timeless. Like, I think, I think children should be, I find it distasteful when, when kids are brought into politics. I find it distasteful, you know, when kids are used as props or when they're surrogates for our own beliefs or when their childhood and the chance to explore the natural world and explore the world of stories and fantasy, when that's interrupted, uh, by the parent's desire to either, uh, you know, live vicariously through the child or to subjugate the child to whatever it is, the latest catastrophe in the adult world that the child needs to, you know, join in the drama farm with. I find all that distasteful. So for kids' films, I think it's harder to be timely. [00:22:22] Speaker 3: But you can bring, but you can bring that into the moment. And that's where like, when you take those values and you bring them into the moment, it can be timely, right? Like correction, uh, strengthening and encouragement and all that stuff can be timely. There's nothing wrong with timely. It depends on what, what is the actual source of the, or what's the reason for the timely, right? [00:22:47] Speaker 4: Like how, how about it can be timely as long as it's timeless? [00:22:50] Speaker 3: Yeah, no, and I'm fine with that. But it's just that like, I just don't want a paradox. I just don't want to blanket this, this, this idea, uh, because I think of like things like Star Trek where like, uh, Gene Roddenberry wrote episodes that were very timely, but they were timeless. And so, uh, it's like you, you, you have this balance where if something is timeless, it can be timely. It's just, again, I don't want to keep safe. [00:23:17] Speaker 1: We, we need to hand it to Schrodinger's Lauren for the final thoughts. [00:23:22] Speaker 2: If it's going to be a true message, then it has to be timeless. But the, the part I'm going to push back on a little bit is saying that it's hard in a kid's movie to do that because, and I have to bring it back around here. This is what Star Wars did. That was at a time where everybody was cynical. Every message was dark. George Lucas decided to make a fairy tale movie for kids. That's message was you need to have hope. And it's timeless. And it became timeless. And then you, you pivot then to what the sequels became, where all of the main characters became broken down losers. They failed at every objective that they had. And look where that's gone. It's gossiper in less than 10 years. [00:24:04] Speaker 1: So, we can pretty well predict where Toy Story 5 is going to go. If it's timeless, it's going to do great at the box office, and it's going to stand for decades to come as something kids want to see. If it is, uh, timely, then get out the boo birds, because it's going to be less than Disney wanted, and a ding on a franchise that once was fabbo. You know, when you stick around for the entire video, it really does help the channel. And we're so appreciative of that, ladies and gentlemen. Imagine that, that you would stick around and hear everything we have to say. The studio is glistening because you're listening each and every day. If you're not yet subscribed, well, you should be. And click that like button. Until the next time, keep learning, keep growing, and as always, keep having fun.