Toy Story 5 Dropped It's First Look And It Will Destroy Families
First things first, I am a massive fan of the Toy Story series. The first one dropped when I was in 5th grade (Unc status) so I was slightly older than the target demo but I still enjoyed it, which speaks to Toy Story itself. By all measures, Toy Story is a fantastic movie. No, not just for a cartoon either. It is a flat out great movie. From there, we have all the sequels. Take it for what it's worth but here are the Rotten Tomatoes scores for all four iterations:
Toy Story - 100%
TS2 - 100%
TS3 - 98%
TS4 - 97%
That is unheard of in the movie game! Quentin Tarantino is quoted as saying Toy Story is the greatest trilogy (he ignores the existence of the 4th) in movie history.
That is high praise from one of the greatest directors of my generation. The story is fantastic in each film. They all have the right amount of comedy that isn't over the top and I think the 4th one especially has exceptional writing with subtle jokes. Not to mention, there are a ton of life lessons learned throughout that you can easily use as teaching moments for your kids.
Have I cried at the end of 3 and 4? Perhaps.
As a parent, I've grown to love the franchise even more. There was a 3-5 month stretch where all my daughter wanted to watch was Toy Story and she fell in love with the characters. Any parent can tell you that your kid wanting to watch the same thing over and over again is nothing new. However, when it's just one movie it gets old fast. Listen, I love Moana but I was ready for that stretch to be over after hearing "You're Welcome" for the 539th time.
With Toy Story though, we could start with 1 and watch through to 4. That's 6 hours and 16 minutes of runtime! When you're only watching in 15-20 minute increments that can last you for nearly a month before you have to start at the top so you can imagine how much I enjoyed that phase with my daughter.
Which brings us now to Toy Story 5 coming out next June. Am I excited? Absolutely - my daughter will be old enough by then to at least make an attempt at seeing this in the theater which I could not be more pumped for honestly. I love the movies and sharing that with my kids will be a great joy for me.
Am I also concerned? Yes.
SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE ENDING OF TS4
STOP PLAYING WITH MY EMOTIONS, PIXAR!
Here is where I think you have the potential to cause chaos in families and potentially tear us apart (not really but I needed to get you into this blog and now here we are so you might as well finish to see my logic) with two big plot points.
I hated that Woody stayed back with Bo at the carnival but I was also proud of him for being okay to move on with his life. Sometimes you just need a nudge to get out of the nest and fly. Woody is one of the most loyal guys in movie history so staying back with his gal, Bo, was incredibly hard for him to do. Apparently it was so hard that he found his way back to Bonnie's house over 100 miles away. TS5 better explain that to us right off the jump or millions of kids will be sitting in the theater perplexed asking their parents, "How did Woody get home? I thought he was at the carnival." Most parents will deftly explain that one away in a manner befitting a child's level of understanding but there will be some persistent kids who don't accept that reasoning. From there, they will throw a fit in the theater, popcorn will fly everywhere, and you'll be walking out 3 minutes into the movie because your kid is a terror.
The other concerning plot point? The introduction of the iPad as the villain. If I oversimplify the plot, it's plausible that we reach the conclusion that toys are better for kids and to borrow from Mama Boucher, iPads are the devil. Can you imagine some parents going home and trying to explain why they are throwing out their iPads? Meltdown city.
However, some parents might look at this as a good thing. Lots of studies have been done now and concluded that although there are some minor benefits, iPads are hurting kids. Don't believe me? How about the National Library of Medicine Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Child Development: An Updated Review and Strategies for Management Study?
Children's heavy reliance on screen media has raised serious public health issues since it might harm their cognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional growth. This study examines the effects of screen time on many developmental domains and covers management and limitation techniques for kids' screen usage. Screen media has a wide range of cognitive consequences, with both beneficial and detrimental effects noted. Screens can improve education and learning; however, too much time spent in front of a screen and multitasking with other media has been related to worse executive functioning and academic performance. As screen time reduces the amount and quality of interactions between children and their caregivers, it can also have an impact on language development. Contextual elements like co-viewing and topic appropriateness are key in determining how language development is impacted. Additionally, excessive screen usage has detrimental effects on social and emotional growth, including a rise in the likelihood of obesity, sleep disorders, and mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. It can obstruct the ability to interpret emotions, fuel aggressive conduct, and harm one's psychological health in general. Setting boundaries, utilizing parental controls, and demonstrating good screen behavior are all techniques that parents may use to manage children's screen usage. We can reduce the possible negative impacts of excessive screen time and promote children's healthy development and well-being by increasing knowledge and encouraging alternative activities that stimulate development.
There ya have it folks, iPads stink and Toy Story 5 is going to drive that point home for your kids. You're either excited or terrified for this news. I would NEVER tell anyone how to parent. I can only control my kids but I think there are very few instances when iPads should be whipped out. Further studies show that "stories" as opposed to "scrolling" on iPads is not harmful because it allows kids to follow a plot and stay engaged.
My Toy Story Rankings
1. TS1
2. TS3
3. TS4
4. TS2