Preamble
Has it really been 7 years since Toy Story 4? Well, how time flies. I’ve really enjoyed writing about the Toy Story movies over the years, and I could not think of a better way to discuss the latest film than to give it the one great shot treatment. With that said, what was your favourite shot from Toy Story 5? Let me know in the comments below.
One Great Shot
Jessie staring down Lilypad on Bonnie’s bed is the centrepiece shot of Toy Story 5. It distils the theme of the film. The fourth sequel is all about connection and the quandary of what constitutes genuine connection versus a faux sense of the word. Jessie is an advocate for Bonnie making real friends who see and value her for her personality. Lilypad sees connection in very binary terms. It’s all about how many friends Bonnie has online and how many remote activities she engages in with them.
The excellent thing about Toy Story 5 is how it cements each character’s relationship with connection. For Jessie, revisiting her original kid’s house, she comes to learn and see that Emily did truly value her due to naming her daughter Jessie. Like previous entries, Toy Story 5 takes human concepts that we take for granted and filters them through these toy-based characters. In this movie, Jessie’s existential grappling after Bonnie’s initial rejection is akin to closing your heart off and never wanting to fall in love again.
Lilypad experiences a different kind of heartbreak insofar as one of her actions leads to a cyberbullying incident that hits Bonnie quite hard. As such, she decides to give herself away (via hopping on a donation truck). Jessie’s real talk with Lily cements the film’s play with connection and how technology and real-life social bonding can work together in an almost symbiotic manner.
