With the upcoming Toy Story 5 scheduled to be released this year, the first trailer of the film has turned out to be a mirror of modern parenting in modern society. Talking about this in an interview with Empire Magazine, director Andrew Stanton revealed how the big problem stems from the fact that toys, as we know them, have become obsolete. He said:
Honestly, it’s not even really about a battle so much as the realisation of an existential problem: that nobody’s really playing with toys anymore. Technology has changed everybody’s lives, but we’re asking what that means for us — and to our kids. We can’t just get away with making tech the villain.
And taking this theme of the algorithmic upbringing of kids nowadays, many experts on the subject have also weighed in on this, claiming that this Disney film can be that widespread conversation starter on this subject.
Experts Say Toy Story 5 Is the Conversation of a Modern Problem
As we can see in the trailer of Toy Story 5, Bonnie is seen engaging with a tablet-like toy, something that has taken her away from her beloved collection of toys that she used to play with in her younger days. This is a correlation to the modern situation of childhood, where kids are increasingly growing up on digital platforms instead of in the real world.
But the wider problem here stems from a lack of present parenting, something that was the norm till the early 2010s, when parents were always interacting and raising their children. But now, they have been replaced with a screen, and their interaction has become algorithmic, something that child psychiatrist Suzan Song believes should never have been the case (via CNBC).
According to a former lecturer at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Nir Eyal, that conversation needs to be nuanced and articulated to make both kids and parents realise those problems. He says that instead of telling the kids how screens are bad, they need to make them understand the reason why, which is also the core theme of the film.
Thus, with nuance being presented through an engaging medium such as an animated film, Toy Story 5 has all the potential to raise serious awareness and make parents question their choices.
Why Toy Story 5 Is a Film for Parents More Than It’s for Kids
While the Toy Story franchise may have always been a kids’ film series, the upcoming fifth installment is very much centered around a parental decision and policy, more than something that children can incorporate into their lives.
While screens, by default, may be more engaging, it’s up to the parents to realise that interactions through the screens take away from the building blocks of social interactions with human society. And more than that, it’s a wake-up call for the parents to take more involved steps in the development of their children by instilling that knowledge early on.
Lastly, it can also make new parents focus on the things that will affect their kids in the future, which will guide them towards the pros and cons of the usage of screens, giving them a clearer pathway for their child’s upbringing.
Here’s an overview of the upcoming Toy Story 5.
| Director | Andrew Stanton |
| Major Cast | Joan Cusack, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Greta Lee, Tony Hale |
| Release Date | June 19, 2026 |
What are your thoughts on the theme of the upcoming film? Tell us in the comments below.
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