Toy Story 5 returns with Jessie and a tablet that pits screen time against play

Though it seems to have divided critics, Toy Story 5 has proven an undeniable box office success. It’s achieved the franchise’s biggest ever opening weekend, raking in over £227 million in the two-day stretch. We loved the new installment – entertainment editor Daniel Welsh described it as “a return to form for the beloved animated series [and] for Pixar in general, after a hit-and-miss run for the once-untouchable studio”.And as ScreenRant pointed out, the movie should satisfy long-standing viewers on another front too: it addressed a decades-long plot hole.Buzz Lightyear doesn’t know he’s a toy for much of the first 1995 Toy Story movie. He truly believes he’s a Space Ranger and tries to contact his Space Command. But that leaves a problem fans have previously pointed out on sites like Reddit: if Buzz doesn’t think he’s a toy, why does he freeze when Andy (the human owner of the toys) enters a room he’s also in?All the other toys stop moving and talking whenever a person can see them, presumably so they can keep up their secret activity unnoticed.But, some fans have argued, if Buzz saw himself as another human, it didn’t make sense for him to maintain the illusion of inanimacy.Toy Story 5 seems to have given us an answer.The new movie begins with a batch of Buzz Lightyear toys, all of which (though they’d probably prefer “of whom”) think they’re real Rangers. Like Andy’s Buzz Lightyear, they try to contact their Space Command and can’t get through. Instead, they end up in a shipping crate in a shipyard. When a worker gets close to them, all of the toys freeze. And once they come back to life, one of them asks: “Why did we freeeze?”Nobody has an answer, though one Buzz muses: “fascinating”. It doesn’t fully explain the plot hole. But it does address it, and it shows that freezing isn’t a conscious choice for the toys – meaning Buzz probably froxe because he didn’t have any other option.Related...Toy Story 5 Producer Lays Out Why Film Is The First In The Series To Be Rated 'PG'Toy Story 5 Has Divided Critics – But There's One Thing They Can Agree OnToy Story 5 Delivers Laughs, Tears And A Joyful Return To Form

Toy Story 5 puts Jessie in the main spotlight for the first timeThe fifth instalment in the Toy Story series is currently the biggest film in the world, winning widespread praise from critics, pulling in big money at the box office and starting topical conversations about young people’s use of tech.But what you might not have realised is that Toy Story 5 is the first in the saga to receive a “PG” rating on both sides of the Atlantic.Past iterations of Toy Story have been rated “U” (for universal) in the UK and “G” (for general audiences) in the US, meaning they’re suitable for audiences of any age.Toy Story 5, however, has been given a “PG” label, meaning – according to the British Board Of Film Classification – that it should “generally not unsettle a child aged around eight, although parents and caregivers should be aware that some scenes may be unsuitable for more sensitive children”.At the movie’s premiere, producer Lindsey Collins was asked by ABC’s On The Red Carpet why Toy Story 5 had been given a slightly more severe classification than its predecessors.“I think it’s because the stakes are very human,” she offered. “And I think that’s a first for Toy Story, that the stakes are human.”View this post on InstagramAccording to the BBFC’s website, Toy Story 5’s PG rating is due to “mild bad language” and “rude humour”.This is most likely down to the introduction of a new character, Smarty Pants, a potty training device voiced by US comedian Conan O’Brien.Smarty Pants is one of Jessie's new friends in Toy Story 5Because of the nature of Smarty Pants’ character, he often communicates using differing forms of toilet humour, which will have also contributed to Toy Story 5’s PG rating.As for its more “human” stakes, voice actor Tom Hanks previously shared that the fifth movie featured “one of the most heartbreaking scenes” he’d “ever seen” in a Toy Story film, exploring themes of cyberbullying.Toy Story 5 is in cinemas now.MORE FILM NEWS:Toy Story 5 Delivers Laughs, Tears And A Joyful Return To FormTaylor Swift's Toy Story 5 Song Was Written And Recorded In Eight 'Hectic' HoursToy Story 5 Has Divided Critics – But There's One Thing They Can Agree On

Five films in, it’s easy to see why Toy Story remains one of the most beloved franchises in animation. Andrew Stanton returns to direct “Toy Story 5“, co-writing the film alongside McKenna Harris, a former Disney story artist, the movie hits all the notes we’ve come to expect — humor, adventure and heart-tugging emotion — while finding a fresh reason for these characters to return. This time, Woody, Buzz and Jessie and the rest of the gang are back to face a challenge unlike anything they have encountered before. Their mission is no longer just about protecting their child, it’s […]...Keep on reading: 'Toy Story 5': The toys are back, fighting for our attention

Tech takes over? A neighborhood once filled with children’s noise and giggling now echoes with the blips and dings of screens. This is what Jessie and the gang aim to bring back, the joy of playtime, in the latest Pixar movie, “Toy Story 5,” which was released on June 17 in local cinemas. The animated […] The post Review: How ‘Toy Story 5’ mirrors kids’ screen time reality appeared first on Interaksyon.

Toy Story 5 addresses modern concerns about children's screen time versus imaginative play.

The animated sequel sets up a tug-of-war between physical and digital play for children but is still eager not to be an anti-tech screedFor more than 30 years, Pixar’s signature Toy Story series has been entertaining children while giving voice to their parents’ anxieties. This is especially pronounced in the film’s sequels, as the living toys who dedicate their lives to the happiness of their owner/child experience all different sorts of potential and parent-paralleled obsolescence, from physical wear-and-tear and a child reaching young adulthood to the toy equivalent of empty-nesting (still hanging around the playroom but no longer anyone’s favourite). It’s only natural – maybe even a little belated – that Toy Story 5 would address the encroachment of technology, which continues to make its way to children earlier and earlier. So many years after the tech breakthroughs that allowed Toy Story to become the first computer-animated feature, and Pixar to become a household name in family entertainment, has the formerly Steve Jobs-owned company turned against the kind of innovation that built its success? Continue reading...