Toy Story 5 has recently been released, and with it brings a much-beloved, decades-spanning franchise to its long-awaited conclusion - hopefully. The question on everybody's mind, however, is whether this final movie is better than any of its predecessors. To give you the answer to this question, we've ranked the entire Toy Story feature-length franchise - including Lightyear - from worst to best.
6. Lightyear (2022)
Lightyear does have quite an interesting concept - showing us the in-universe movie that inspired the toy that we've followed all these years - and it could've sparked a few other amazing origin stories for some other classic Toy Story characters. However, many parts of this seemed to fall quite flat for me, and it seems like Pixar is trying to forget about it completely.
What makes this movie as uninteresting as it is is the amount of comic relief there is all throughout. Buzz has three crew members and a cat sidekick, and all but one crew member seem to exist almost entirely for comic relief, a lot of which often feels quite unnecessary. Not only this, but Sox the cat always manages to be able to do whatever is convenient for the plot, meaning they're never really in any danger.
This movie does explore some quite interesting ideas of failure and recognising the value of teamwork, as well as having moments of finding purpose and facing your fears, which are played quite well. Really, the best part of this movie seemed to be the action sequences. There are a few really fun moments within the final act - its just a shame that most were undercut by unnecessary comic relief. I just don't understand why they decided to retcon the idea of Zurg being Buzz's father, which is even referenced in Toy Story 5, making me think they're trying to erase the existence of this movie entirely.
5. Toy Story 4 (2019)
While Toy Story 4 may not feel incredibly necessary, I do still think it has its merit - even if it's by no means in the same league as some of the other movies in this franchise. In this movie, we see the creation of a toy in Forky, creating the idea that a toy - and it coming to life - isn't manufacturing or even a tangible thing, but instead a manifestation of a child's imagination.
Unfortunately, Forky doesn't really make much of an impact on this movie and somewhat fails to make himself known. He seems to only exist as a device to show the power of a child's - especially Bonnie's - imagination and creativity, as well as being a catalyst for Woody's eventual leaving, due to his joining the road trip.
The same impact can be said for the antagonist, Gabby Gabby. Her whole objective is to gain a voice box from Woody, and she seems to exist to show how some types of toys are slowly phasing out. However, she doesn't really do much that can be considered villainous, causing parts of this movie to feel somewhat aimless; however, she does manage to secure herself as a barely passable antagonist.
This movie explores ideas of finding your identity outside of traditional roles, mostly within the existence of Forky and his slow acceptance of his new identity as a toy, and redefining your self-worth, with Gabby Gabby finding a new kid after waiting for the same one for so many years.
4. Toy Story 5 (2026)
The main worry with Toy Story 5 is that it may not justify its existence, especially due to the last movie feeling that way. However, after rewatching each, this movie feels like one of the most relevant to not only a child, but also the world we live in. One thing I didn't realise was how much more this movie focuses entirely on the main three characters - Woody, Buzz, and Jessie - compared to the others, which felt much more like ensemble movies.
One thing I loved throughout this movie was its message spanning many different generations. While this is mainly focused on children and them playing with toys, it also doesn't forget to show that parents are just as surrounded by this technology as their children. This adds a really interesting layer to say that this addiction isn't unique to children and teens, but instead spans multiple different generations.
This movie's themes are laid on much thicker than past movies, with its main moral being the blight of technology on every facet of anybody's life in today's age. There's also a beautiful B-plot within, of Jessie's fear of being left behind once again, showing the importance of toys in a child's life and development, as well as the impact they can have on them into adulthood. While this may not be among the greats, this is still a very worthy outing for this franchise and a perfect sendoff.
Read our full review here: Just Another Cash Grab? - Toy Story 5 Review
3. Toy Story (1995)
The original Toy Story is undeniably incredible. I could go on about how revolutionary this was, being the first movie to be created entirely using 3D CGI; however, it being the blueprint doesn't necessarily make it the best.
This movie is where many characters are at their peak. For example, Buzz and Woody's rivalry is one of the best parts of this, before they reconcile and become friends. While this rivalry is somewhat recreated in Toy Story 5, there's a simple magic that the original has which seems impossible to recreate.
This explores many ideas of acceptance in many facets, including Buzz accepting his reality of being a toy, as well as Woody accepting Buzz as part of the family. There are also very simple themes of friendship. This movie is where they were able to keep it simple, before having to up the stakes and make the themes more complex, meaning it can often feel somewhat small-scale and straightforward.
2. Toy Story 2 (1999)
This movie ups the stakes quite a bit, with many bigger set pieces throughout, including a plane chase at the end. It's incredibly obvious that they were given a much higher budget for this movie, which really paid off.
We're introduced to Jessie and Bullseye in this movie, who later become integral parts of the team. However, in this, Jessie sometimes can come off as slightly "too much", and her energy can feel tiring to watch at times. This also gives us much more backstory for Woody, including a peek at his origin.
This introduces Stinky Pete, allowing the movie to explore themes of purpose, being left behind, and a philosophical question of: is it better to live forever, or live a meaningful, fulfilled, yet limited life? These are shown through Stinky Pete's unwillingness to leave his box, out of fear of dying, yet not realising his purpose as a toy.
1. Toy Story 3 (2010)
Each Toy Story movie starts with a 'playing sequence'. This is a scene in which we're inside the child's mind, either Andy or Bonnie, as they play with these toys, imagining wild adventures. Toy Story 3 has easily the best opening for any movie in this franchise, in my opinion.
This movie introduces Lotso, as well as Bonnie, and I feel as if this movie is just as much hers as it is Andy's. This is partly due to one of the best scenes in possibly the entire franchise, being the final scene of Andy passing his toys to Bonnie. This is so special because it's the first time we really get to experience Andy's true love for these toys and how special they were to him. As Andy is introducing each toy to Bonnie, it feels as if he's almost passing his imagination on to the next generation, as well as this franchise's legacy.
There's no doubt that this is the least family-friendly of the Toy Story movies, some parts almost feeling like a horror movie, especially in the final act. The toys get stuck in some kind of prison at some point, bringing this movie up a notch from the lightheartedness that it originated as.
This explores themes of moving on and letting go through both Andy going off to college, letting go of his childhood, and Lotso's inability to move on after being forgotten, forcing many other toys to be subjected to the same fate he went through. It's hard to describe what makes this the best, but the idea of moving on and letting go of what you once held so dear is perfectly crafted for this movie, and is part of the reason any subsequent sequels feel so unnecessary.
No AI was used in writing this article.