Toy Story 4 ended with a decision that felt, at the time, like a conclusion. Woody chose to stay behind with Bo Peep, giving up his place with Bonnie and the other toys to live as a lost toy — free, unclaimed, no longer defined by a child's need for him. It was a gentle, bittersweet ending for a character who had spent four films learning to let go. Toy Story 5, opening in theaters on June 19, brings him back. And the reason he comes back says a great deal about what this film is actually about. <The Setup> The premise has been described as "Toy meets Tech." Bonnie receives a new tablet device called Lilypad — voiced by Greta Lee — and Lilypad arrives with her own ideas about what is best for the children she serves. The existing toys, Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the rest of the gang, find their purpose and their place threatened not by a new toy but by something that operates on entirely different logic. Woody, drawn out of his self-imposed exile ...
Personal essays on television and film. One viewer's honest thoughts on the stories worth watching — written with care.