Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang’s jobs are challenged when they’re introduced to electronics, a new threat to playtime.

As far as I’m concerned, the ‘Toy Story’ series concluded with the excellent third film. I’m well aware that isn’t how things work these days, with successful franchises often continuing long after their natural endpoint, and ‘Toy Story 4’ already felt like a clear example of that. So how does ‘Toy Story 5’ fare? We return to Bonnie’s bedroom, where Jessie has taken over as leader of the toys following Woody’s departure with Bo Peep. When Bonnie becomes increasingly attached to a new interactive device called Lilypad, a child-friendly tablet packed with games, messaging and an alarming ability to monitor almost everything its owner does, Woody is called back to help his old friends deal with a threat unlike any they have faced before.

The modern obsession with screens is an easy target, but I thought the film made some worthwhile points about how technology is replacing real human interaction, not just for children but for adults too. Bonnie initially struggles to make friends because the children around her are already absorbed by their own Lilypads, leaving her isolated on the outside looking in. When she eventually gets one herself, it doesn’t take long before she becomes every bit as dependent on it as everyone else, and the toys discover that Lilypad will go to great lengths to maintain control.

One of the problems with ‘Toy Story 5’ is that it stands in stark contrast to how the series started out, and it gradually abandons the rules that made the original films so believable. The early entries were always fantastical, but they were careful about the world they created and the lengths the toys went to in order to avoid being seen. Here, toys are flying over motorways and causing public chaos, with any attempt at secrecy feeling largely perfunctory. It often seems as though the filmmakers are more interested in creating bigger, flashier set pieces than preserving the grounded charm that made the originals so effective.

That said, these are still very likeable characters and there remains something comforting about spending time with them again. ‘Toy Story 5’ is probably an improvement on its immediate predecessor, but it also reinforces the law of diminishing returns. There are enough enjoyable moments, particularly around its themes of technology and imagination, to make it worthwhile, but I couldn’t escape the feeling that this is a series continuing because it can, rather than because it has anything meaningful left to add.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Andrew Stanton

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Conan O’Brien, Scarlett Spears, Greta Lee, Shelby Rabara, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Craig Robinson, Krys Marshall, Matty Matheson, Alan Cumming, Annie Potts, Keanu Reeves, Bonnie Hunt, Kristen Schaal, Tony Hale, Wallace Shawn, Lori Alan, Jay Hernandez, Blake Clark and John Ratzenberger

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt29355505/