A sinister new tablet threatens the honest-to-goodness toys\u2019 existence, but Buzz, Woody and Jessie\u2019s big tech moral battle feels compromised<\/p>\n
The fifth episode of the Toy Story franchise is as slick and smooth as you like, as glitchless as Toy Story 6 or Toy Story 7 might be \u2026 or will be. As a piece of family-entertainment content it has the unblemished sheen of a brand new smartphone. But at heart, it has gone dead. For all the intensive, high-energy creative work that has clearly gone into this film\u2019s every frame, the jeopardy, the novelty, the ideas and the passion are lacking; the crucial Toy Story theme of mortality feels underpowered, and the film even calamitously loses its nerve with its own big idea \u2013 those squeamish about spoilers had better look away now \u2013 the sinister way addictive tech devices are undermining the imaginative play that kids once had with honest-to-goodness toys.<\/p>\n
Here a creepy tablet device called Lilypad (voiced by Greta Lee) enters the children\u2019s world, but ultimately proves to be capable of sentimental self-sacrificial heroism when it comes to their mental health. Really? At least Lots-o\u2019-Huggin\u2019 Bear, the villain from TS3, had the courage of his evil convictions.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/51553c520f6c6db4e8da4a664995201d261ab740\/493_0_2014_1612\/master\/2014.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=31923b6ec64cb540e09774cf643a1cb6\" "\\"Toy")
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