When Toy Story first hit theaters back in 1995, the internet barely existed. Google hadn’t been founded yet, and Apple was literally days away from shutting down. Fast forward three decades and we’ve got Pixar making a fifth installment where Buzz Lightyear and a bald Woody team up to fight an AI-powered tablet called Lilypad. The irony is so thick you could cut it with a plastic action figure.
The new trailer shows exactly what’s happening here. Bonnie, who inherited Andy’s toys in Toy Story 3, gets this sleek tablet as a gift. She immediately gets glued to the screen, completely ignoring her parents when they mention screen time limits. The old-school toys watch in horror as this device slowly steals her attention away from them.
When Tech Becomes the Real Antagonist
What’s interesting about making an AI tablet the villain is that it’s not wrong. The trailer has Jessie confronting Lilypad about Bonnie’s wellbeing, and the tablet responds with an unsettling “I’m always listening” before parroting back Jessie’s entire speech in a computerized voice, then switching to Spanish. It’s creepy. It’s effective. And honestly, it might actually stick with kids in a way that traditional villain arcs don’t.
“Tech’s invaded our house,” Jessie tells Woody. “I’m losing Bonnie to this device.”
Woody’s response cuts deeper: “Toys are for play, but tech is for everything.”
That line lands differently depending on who’s watching. For parents in the theater, it’s a gut punch. For kids, it might plant a seed about whether their own devices are actually making their lives better or just… always there.
The Screen Time Question Nobody Really Wants to Answer
Look, we all know that excessive screen time isn’t great for children. The research is pretty clear on that front. But here’s the thing about technology and kids: it’s not going anywhere, and Pixar knows this. They’re not trying to convince anyone to throw their tablets in the trash. They’re just holding up a mirror and asking if we’ve thought about what we’re looking at.
The funny part? Toy Story 5 is being released into a world where kids are watching it on those exact same devices. Streaming it at home instead of going to theaters. Watching clips on YouTube before they see the full movie. The meta-commentary is almost too perfect.
Could this movie actually change how children view their screen time? Probably not. But it’s definitely going to spark some conversations at dinner tables and car rides home from the theater. That’s more than most kids’ movies attempt to do these days.
At the very least, it gives parents something to show their kids that’s actually trying to say something, rather than just being colorful noise designed to keep them quiet. Even if the irony of that statement is completely lost on everyone involved.
