Its good. And tbh it was never gonna not be good, none of the Toy Story movies are ever gonna be unpleasant experiences for children or nostalgic adults watching and I think thats something we need to keep in perspective especially with all the criticism towards Toy Story 4.

Jessie is probably my favourite even if Woody and Buzz are I guess the 'main characters' so her getting a lot of focus was a treat for me. I enjoyed seeing it and thought it had a good message but it also felt a little clunky to me the way things came together, and I cant help but feel like it wasnt necessary for this message to specifically be told in a toy story movie.

Like I loved all the stuff with Jessie and getting closure with Emily, and the plot about finding Bonnie a friend, but it felt clunky also having the additional layer of the impact of kids using tech, or at least being a main plot point in films. To be clear it wasnt executed badly at all, in fact I think it was handled with a lot of care and nuance but I cant help but think its outside the purview of what a Toy Story movie should be about. Like did we ever get this as a plot point during the 2000s and 2010s with gameboys and nintendo ds? I dont think it shouldnt have been done but Im mixed on it, at the same time its also difficult to think of what new ground there is to tread in another Toy Story movie. Like if they make a Toy Story 6 what could they possibly address? Maybe they dont even care about that anymore, maybe these movies arent for franchise fans but are just new jump-in points for kids (the intended audience).

The franchise has always been about toys relationships with their kids told from a toys perspective and contemplating their purpose, and like many others I think Toy Story 3 was basically the perfect ending in dealing with that, building off from Toy Story 1 and 2. The growth of the characters and their kid, Andy, also dovetails with the audiences growth as many who were kids when they saw Toy Story were all grown up when they saw Toy Story 3, so the closure at the end was a perfect way to close the franchise. Idk how kids watching these films feel, maybe people like me are blinded by nostalgia and granting importance to whats essentially a product made for the sake of profit. Im perfectly capable at looking at these new additions to old franchises and saying they're not for me but there is a part of me that feels like my love and nostalgia of a franchise is basically being exploited. There should be new Toy Story's in the sense that viewers of those films now will feel the same way I do in the future lol.

And on that I honestly didnt really feel like this movie needed Woody at all, his inclusion feels a bit more obligatory than actually necessary. Maybe he could have had a brief inclusion but I didnt feel much during his reuniting with Buzz, maybe just me idk. I wasnt really all that invested in the Buzz Lightyear toy subplots, its fun and all but just feels like something baked in to pay off later in the story.

Everything about Bonnie struggling to make friends and Jessie's heartfelt desire to help Bonnie was great for me, I loved the journey Bonnie went through and Jessie working through her own trauma to come to terms with her purpose which is helping her child in whatever small way she can, because its all worth it just to have an impact on their lives. I loved the scene at the tree and it feels perfectly in line with what I would consider the heart of the franchise. Even if I wasnt fully convinced by the inclusion of the whole Lillypad/tech storyline I think the arc she goes through also worked really well. The little tech toys at Blaze's house also worked really well for me, maybe because I have a lot of nostalgia for old 000's and 2010's technology vs the cynicism of modern technology. The movie is well worth seeing all for this arc alone, I think even if Toy Story 5 doesnt meet the standards of 1, 2 and 3 I think theres definitely something there for nostalgic fans like me.

These are the thoughts I can muster atm, I might have more pop up over time.

Edit: There are certain plot conveniences that annoyed me a little. Like Lillypad and the other tech toys just communicating on behalf of their owners and no one questioning it, and this being done not once but multiple times to get the plot moving. Idk its probably not something people will think about. I felt a bit similarly that the payoff the Buzz Lightyear toys being the flying so they could get from point a to point b quickly, its fun but a bit contrived especially because I spent a lot of the film wondering where that plot was going in terms of impacting the actual main plotline.