Toy Story 5’s haters are wrong about its anti-tech message

The main selling point being used to promote Toy Story 5 is that it’s all about “toys vs. tech.” There is a contingency claiming the movie is pushing an outdated message or “for boomers,” but the film itself takes a more measured view. In the movie, eight-year-old Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) gets her first tablet and her toys, led by Jessie (Joan Cusack), feel sidelined.

Bonnie becomes consumed with the device—staring at the screen for hours, clutching it like a security blanket—and later experiences cyberbullying in a group chat with kids from her dance class, a moment that the film treats simply but importantly. Writer-director Andrew Stanton draws a line between the imaginative play that studies show is essential for development and pre-programmed technology-based games that do not foster creativity.

The film acknowledges educational and artistic apps exist, but Bonnie mainly plays a mindless game where turtles run in a circle. Toy Story 5 resists a one-note “tech bad, toys good” stance.

toy story, toys, tech, bonnie, jessie, joan cusack, andrew stanton, tablet, cyberbullying, imaginative play