Please donate to support our award-winning movie reviews

Know Before You Go is currently unfunded and relies on the generosity of users and friends. Any contribution is welcome!

Give Now

Toy Story 5

image for Toy Story 5

Short takes

Not suitable under 5; parental guidance to 8 (bullying themes, mild violence)

Age
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
classification logo

This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Toy Story 5
  • a review of Toy Story 5 completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 23 June 2026.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 5 Not suitable due to bullying themes and mild violence.
Children aged 5–8 Parental guidance recommended due to bullying themes and mild violence.
Children aged 9 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Toy Story 5
Classification: G
Consumer advice lines: Very mild bullying themes and violence
Length: 102 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Cowgirl Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack) and her horse Bullseye (voiced by Alan Cumming), try and help their girl Bonnie (voiced by Scarlett Spears) to make some friends. Unfortunately, with the rise of technology, this is becoming more challenging with seemingly everyone else glued to their devices. Bonnie’s parents purchase her a tablet named Lilypad (Greta Lee) – ‘Lily’ for short – in the hopes that it will help her make friends.

As Jessie calls in her friends Buzz (voiced by Tim Allen) and Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) to fight against the technological uprising, they are forced to consider the way times have changed and how technology has become a part of children’s lives. Will Jessie and Lily be able to work together in the best interest of Bonnie, and will Bonnie finally make a friend?

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Bullying; Cyber-bullying; Technology; Playing; Abandonment; Growing up.

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

  • There are several instances of slapstick-style falling and pushing, that lead to no injury.
  • Woody and Buzz loudly argue with each other on several occasions.
  • Jessie yells at Lily and other technology-related toys.
  • Jessie attacks Lily and hits her.
  • Jessie shoves another toy and he falls backward.
  • Several Buzz toys kidnap Woody and dangle him from a rope, where Woody is getting chewed on by a pig.
  • There are several instances where Bonnie is socially ostracised or bullied online, particularly when other children find out that Bonnie still plays with toys. The other children then sent her mean messages online, making fun of her and calling her a baby.
  • Bonnie asks some other children to play with her, but they laugh and run away.
  • When talking to a technology-related toy, Jessie refers to him as “you kind” in a very hostile way.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • Several Buzz toys emerge from a lake in a creepy-looking sequence.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

  • Jessie expresses that she thinks that something is wrong with her, and that she might not be a good toy since her first kid and Bonnie have both abandoned her.
  • Bonnie is excited to have a sleepover with friends but is saddened when it just entails everyone glued to their own devices, which she goes along with.
  • A child character is very excited for her friend to visit, but receives a message online that the friend is not coming. She is visibly distressed and cries.
  • After receiving mean online messages from other children, Bonnie is visibly upset and decides that she doesn’t want her toys anymore, leaving Jessie and Bullseye behind.
  • Lily feels guilty and sacrifices herself to get donated after seeing how Bonnie was bullied online.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

  • Nothing further noted.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • There is a scene where several Buzz toys pat and interact with forest wildlife. This is seemingly framed as a clear reference to the animated Snow White film.
  • Some toys may be recognisable, such as Mr Potato Head.
  • Lily is similar to other children’s tablets, such as the LeapFrog LeapPad brand, which has released an actual Lilypad tablet.
  • There is also a significant amount of other toys and merchandise being marketed to children in association with the film and its characters.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

  • Jessie kisses Buzz after he tries to propose.
  • In a suggestive manner, Lily says, “When you get a chance, can you introduce me to the ring bearer? Awooga!” about another character.

Nudity and sexual activity

  • None noted.

Use of substances

  • None noted.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • Stupid.
  • Flush me!
  • There are several instances of potty humour throughout the film, including “doody” and “fart” related jokes.
  • A toy is designed to help children with potty training, and has comedic moments where it says toilet related jokes.

In a nutshell

Toy Story 5 is a modern twist on the classic Toy Story films – the original having been released in 1995. In this 5th instalment of the franchise, the focus shifts to cowgirl Jessie and her horse Bullseye. It is a fun watch and likely to appeal to most families looking for a sweet, heartfelt film, and is best suited for children over the age of 5, with parental guidance recommended to 8 due to bullying themes and mild violence.

The main messages from this movie are that you don’t have to change for anyone else, and that through being yourself you will meet the right people.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Friendship
  • Love
  • Being yourself
  • Teamwork
  • Growth.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • In the film, when Bonnie receives the mean messages, she is able to show her mother. This was a very brave choice, and parents may want to emphasise with their children the importance of reaching out to a trusted adult when they are getting bullied online, or if they are aware of it happening to others.
  • The other children often make Bonnie feel left out or different, until she finds a friend who is just like her. Why do you think that it is so important to keep being yourself? How do you think the other children should have treated Bonnie instead?
  • The film emphasises the prominence of technology addiction in children, and that it has stopped them playing with toys as often. In the end, the film shows a neat balance between playing with real toys and using technology. Parents may want to consider and discuss the importance of technology restrictions with their children.