Screen time – it’s a phrase we hear all too often as parents and it features heavily in Toy Story 5.
The film hits the nail on the head in capturing the essence of how the rise of technology has affected today’s youth, and how as parents we need to be mindful of its impacts.
Picture this – Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the gang are back together again, but they’re joined by a new addition who threatens the toys’ very existence.
Lilypad, a high-tech tablet, quickly becomes youngster Bonnie’s new obsession. Therein lies Toy Story 5’s concept: it’s an outlandish idea grounded in existentialism.
Bonnie was a happy-go-lucky character, her innocence perfectly intact, but she was having a hard time making friends in real life because little did she know that all of her peers no longer played outdoors or with toys; they’re all engrossed in tech.
Once she’s presented with Lilypad, a way for her to connect with friends online rather than in person, Bonnie soon follows suit with her peers and becomes totally absorbed by what’s on the screen rather than what’s going on around her.
The movie has it spot on, right down to the fact that she can’t even hear her parents to acknowledge that they’re speaking to her because her mind is elsewhere.
As she begins to favour Lilypad, Bonnie’s favourite toys – Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, Mr Potato Head, Rex, you name them- are cast aside.
They’re feeling helpless and call on Woody, who’s sporting a bald patch these days, for assistance in regaining Bonnie’s favour.
You can’t help but feel bad for the toys as they try not to become redundant, but at the same time, you become upset for the older gen technology that has been cast aside in favour of the new, good stuff in this ever-changing landscape (I lament my iPod Nano that’s gathering dust in the bottom drawer of my dresser).
Another realistic and heartbreaking aspect of technology infiltrating Bonnie’s life is that the viewer gets a very brief glimpse at how its affecting her mentally.
When it’s revealed that she still plays with toys, she receives an influx of nasty messages poking fun at her, and instead of sharing with her mum what’s happening, she bottles it up and internalises the sadness.
As we know all too well, when things like this are left unchecked in the real world, they spiral into deeper, more consequential bullying and mental health scenarios.
Aside from the existentialism of it all, Toy Story 5’s story is fun, adventure-filled and action-packed. It’s a definite step up from Toy Story 4, which let the franchise down in my opinion.
I have to give special mention to the writers, who definitely deserve a pay rise. Some one-liners had me giggling to myself.
One such line was when Rex, a dinosaur, learns of technology taking over and says, ‘Extinction? Not again!’, which I was a big fan of.
Elsewhere, a child’s digital camera says, ‘My entire SD card flashed before my eyes’, before her battery died and she was put in a drawer for the foreseeable (I almost applauded this one).
With a runtime of just 102 minutes, it’s a tremendously easy, digestible watch (because, let’s face it, our attention spans are non-existent in this new age of technology!)
Long gone are the days when animated films were crafted purely for the entertainment of children; More often than not, they now serve as cautionary tales or fables, or contain thinly-veiled adult humour that goes over the head of the innocent.
Toy Story 5 is the perfect example of this. Having watched the original films in my youth and revisited them in my older (wiser) years, I can confirm this is a welcome addition to the franchise for children and adults alike.
