Yes, these two are everything, but it’s SO much more than just that…
Imagine living through the worst year of your life… and then the next year you get a movie where practically all of your biggest fangirl dreams come true. Things that you never thought you’d get to see on screen become reality. That’s why Toy Story 5 has meant so much to me this summer.
Toy Story 5 is now my favorite thing in the entire franchise, and I’m very proud of my cowgirl for the box office records she’s broken, making her starring role the highest-grossing movie in the series. It’s also my husband’s and son’s new favorite (my guys can handle a female lead!). Although I’ve been away from this blog for over a year, and am not online as much anymore in general, Toy Story 5 is just too perfect for me to keep quiet. Now that it’s on digital, I’ve watched all the bonus features, and the movie is constantly playing on repeat, I thought I’d finally get something written. I don’t consider this a review – I’m no critic, and I don’t want to be. This is just my random thoughts as a genuine fan, who’s been waiting for this amazing movie for a very long time.
Just because I haven’t been posting regularly about Toy Story 5 doesn’t mean I haven’t been following along with news just like I did with the previous movies and shorts. I’m really glad I wasn’t trying to report about anything this time around, because there was so much to keep track of, it was utterly overwhelming! And after years of Jessie stuff being fairly rare, I’ve spent way too much money this summer on the onslaught of merch, not to mention all the movie tickets. My family and I saw the movie first at the El Capitan in Hollywood on opening night, and I’ve seen it nine more times in local theaters. We even went to Disneyland the week after it came out, and met Buzz and Jessie together at Disney California Adventure – to hear the crowd in line cheer for the newlywed Lightyears as they walked up to the meet-and-greet spot holding hands was super special and something I’ll never forget.
Before I get into my ramblings here, I’ll share a little bit about where I’ve been since my previous post. Life took some incredibly difficult turns for me last year, and there was no way I was able to be involved with fandom things. My mom was in poor health for most of the year, and she ended up passing away from a stroke a year ago in August. Within three months of her passing, my family and I had packed up and sold our house in Maryland and moved all the way across the country, back to California where I grew up and where my relatives still live. The two things that have helped me the most (besides family and friends) as I try to heal from last year’s trauma have been being back home and Toy Story 5. I still struggle over the loss of my mom, and likely always will, but through this film I’ve been starting to come back to myself again, little by little, and I’m so grateful for the joy it’s brought me exactly when I needed it most.
Now, let’s dig into the movie! This is not going to be spoiler-free – in fact, there will be spoilers all over the place – so if you haven’t watched it yet (seriously, why???), stop right here. It’s not my fault if you read on, and something is spoiled for you. But if you’ve already seen Toy Story 5, and feel like reading one of my fangirl tangents, get comfy, cause this is gonna be a looong one…
JESSIE
Oh Jessie, my sweet cowgirl. You finally got the love you deserve.
For us Jessie fans, it’s been quite a ride since the glory days of the early 2010s – Toy Story 3, the Toy Story Toons, and Toy Story of Terror – when she was a prominent part of the series. Then, from Toy Story That Time Forgot and Toy Story 4, where she had much smaller roles, to the shorts that came after where she was virtually nonexistent, for about a decade it seemed as if Jessie was being demoted to less-than-secondary status.
But everything finally changed with Toy Story 5. I feel like the best possible people were in charge of this movie, between Andrew Stanton directing, Kenna Harris co-directing, and everyone else who had a role in telling Jessie’s continued story. One word that has come up in discussions with my friends is JOYFUL. Even with its serious moments, Toy Story 5 is a joyful return to everything I love best about the franchise – especially Jessie.
Jessie has been a very special character to me, for very personal reasons, for a very long time. I first posted on here about why relate to her, and how my husband and I see ourselves in her and Buzz, years ago. With the added depth and emotion Toy Story 5 gave to her story, I feel even closer and more connected to her now. Her insecurities and doubts, blaming herself and feeling useless, and feeling like she just can’t go through the same heartbreak again, are all deeply relatable. Her resilience despite everything she’s been through, pulling herself up by the bootstraps and keeping on going, is something else I’ve lived. And I think we all want to know that we matter to those who matter to us, and that we can make a positive difference in their lives.
One of the many things I appreciated about Jessie’s story was that her goal was always to get back home. Hearing initially that the movie was going to be about her, and that Buzz was going to have to go help her, I worried how she was going to get in that situation. Was she going to spiral because of Emily, and run away from everyone she loved? No, her heart was always true to Bonnie – and to Buzz. She never wanted to leave any of them. But as her story shows – another thing that was powerfully relatable to me – sometimes things have to go terribly wrong, and all hope has to seem lost, before you finally get everything you’ve ever wanted.
Jessie never asked to be Sheriff; the role was handed to her by Woody, both because he thought her capable of it and because she was the favorite toy. And yet she takes the job seriously, and gives it her all. She tries her best to be a good leader, and take good care of Bonnie and the other toys. I remember in one of the many interviews I watched with the filmmakers, it was said that Jessie was secretly calling Woody because she didn’t want the others to be worried. She’s the only one (besides Bullseye) carrying the burden of knowledge about how threatening tech really is, and wants advice from her “big brother” who’s out in the world and who can tell her if what the toys outside said is true. No matter how badly she’s been hurt in the past, and even in the present, she cares deeply about everyone in her life, and through the course of the film she succeeds in what she set out to do.
Totally switching gears from all the emotional stuff… let’s talk about Jessie’s playtime ballgown. She looked so pretty dressed like that! I often sew Jessie-inspired clothing for myself, for Disneyland days and such, so I think her dress is really creative and fun. But let’s face it, we all know something that fancy isn’t Jessie’s garment of choice; she goes along with it for the sake of imagination and play. What I don’t like is hearing people call her a princess now. She’s not. Jessie exists for those of us who don’t see themselves as princesses, and it’s important to have that representation.
It doesn’t take a ballgown to make Jessie pretty, either. Throughout the entire movie, she’s positively beautiful. All the toys look fantastic, but she seems to have a sort of special glow about her. I’m not one to know how to talk correctly about the technological or artistic aspects of animation, but I’m guessing lighting has a big part to play in this. From the characters to the sets, everything just looks… stunning. And the houses! I’d gladly take either Bonnie’s or Blaze’s house. To this historic preservation nerd, they’re both vintage perfection.
But getting back to my cowgirl… and her spaceman…
BUZZ & JESSIE
If you had told me back in 2010 that I would ever see the day where Buzz and Jessie would passionately kiss and canonically get married on screen, I don’t think I would have believed that fangirl dreams that wild could possibly come true. And yet here we are! Thank you, Kenna, you’re truly my hero.
Besides that good stuff, which I’ll get to in a minute, there are so many other sweet little moments between Buzz and Jessie, that establish how close they are now. The first time I watched the movie, I missed a lot of them – it moved pretty fast at first, but with more viewings it sort of slowed down, and I was able to catch lots of details that I really appreciated the more I saw them.
In the opening wedding scene, Buzz and Jessie’s little exchange is adorable. Without anything being said, you know exactly what Buzz is thinking, catching that bouquet. My little cousin’s Toy Story 5 Tonie narration says that Buzz gives her a “loving smile.” He’s getting ideas about proposing right then and there, and I think Jessie totally knows what he’s thinking, with the way she giggles and smiles back. Did you notice the traditional musical notes of “Here Comes the Bride” (Lohengrin‘s “Bridal Chorus” if you want to be technical) when the camera is on her in that moment? Subtle, brilliant foreshadowing!
Then there’s the scene where Jessie is confronting Lilypad on the bed. Buzz is SO supportive – encouraging her, reminding her to stay calm, and then climbing up to intervene when he knows she’s getting upset. He reaches for her arm, and her waist, when she goes to fight Lily, just like he reached out to calm her in Toy Story of Terror. I loved this clip when it first came out as a sneak peek, and I love it still. To me, it shows how much he loves her, how well he knows her, and how prepared he is to be both her husband and her deputy. I have a feeling those “stay calm” moments happen often!
So about the deputy thing… ever since the earliest announcements that referred to Buzz as being “recently deputized,” my friends and I wondered if that was code for “engaged” or “married.” And then when promo and merch images started to pop up, the star badges read as married to me as well, and I couldn’t help but wonder if those stars were a kind of foreshadowing, too, sort of a substitute for wearing wedding rings in the toy world. Maybe it was just my fangirl heart wanting to see it that way, but I suspect Buzz saw it that way himself. Being “deputized” means more to him than just helping her keep the other toys in line, especially with him wanting to propose to her and make the ultimate commitment. To Buzz, it means being her partner in every sense of the word.
And as Jessie’s deputy, Buzz wants so badly to make her proud. At first it bothered me a little that he keeps saluting her – c’mon man, that’s just your girlfriend! – but then I came to realize that he’s just trying so hard to do his absolute best by her. It means the world to him that she deputized him! And saluting is just sort of his default show of respect, a part of his Space Ranger programming. One of my favorite interviews mentions how the multi-Buzz served as a vehicle for Buzz to prove himself as a leader, worthy of being Jessie’s deputy:
“[The Multi-Buzz] ultimately are a way that Buzz can come into his own as a deputy for Jessie, and represent this reverence that we have for Jessie.”
– Kenna Harris, Co-Director
“Commander Lightyear” certainly does come into his own! The moment when he’s in the barn, giving his speech to the Hi-Tech Buzzes, he says her name with such love and slaps that sticker back on his chest with such authority – he’s just so proud of his girl, and honored to be her second-in-command.
Another favorite scene of mine is when Buzz and Woody and the others all find Jessie at Tire Swing Hill. She’s thrilled to see everyone, but especially Buzz. I have always felt, since Toy Story 3 days, that while Jessie is perfectly able to take care of herself, she enjoys letting Buzz be her knight in shining (plastic) armor sometimes. It’s so great when he tells the Multi-Buzz that “she meant that for me, JUST me!” You get your girl, Buzz! And it’s really sweet how he helps her up onto Bullseye – again, we all know she can get into the saddle on her own, no problem, but she lets Buzz offer these little gestures of love. I fully believe in that moment (like at the beginning of the movie) she has suspicions about what he wants to ask her. And the flirty way she asks him to pull her string? Well, she can reach it herself easily, we see her do it. That was just another cute couple-y moment shared between them – and one that left my friends and me wondering how much the filmmakers were aware of certain fanfics from back in the good old days, that shall remain nameless.
There’s almost something magical between them during the horseback rescue adventure, too. Buzz has found his other half, he’s complete again, and he’s living his best life riding the pegasus. When they break out of the chicken coop, and he throws his arm up – classic Buzz, showing off – Jessie looks back and giggles. Sure, she might be glancing at everyone, just tickled by the adventure. But there’s no way she’s not looking at Buzz, and reacting to him, too. I feel like they’re at their best right there, there’s a lightness about them now that they’re reunited and working toward a shared purpose. Buzz can keep up with his wild cowgirl, and he enjoys the challenge.
One of the things I’ve always admired about Buzz is how he can be both a tough, capable Space Ranger (and in this instance, leader of the Multi-Buzz) and a gentle and supportive husband-to-be to Jessie. I’m gonna shout this from the rooftops – IT IS NOT WEAK TO BE IN LOVE. Love itself is strength! It’s not weak, either, to take a back seat and let your soon-to-be-wife have her moment to shine. In this, Buzz has grown so much! He would do anything for Jessie, not because she’s telling him to, but because he loves her and he wants to be there for her however he can. The best relationships are partnerships, and I see that in the two of them, every time they interact. She makes him her deputy because she knows she can trust him to take charge and have her back when needed, just like he trusts her with her plan to rescue Lily and connect Bonnie and Blaze.
Even though they’re toys, there’s something so REAL about Buzz and Jessie, and that’s what I love most about them. They’re not about flowery, sappy declarations of romance (outside of Spanish Mode, anyway) – they show their love for each other in their everyday lives, like real couples do, in a million little things. With Jessie’s painful past, and all her trauma from being abandoned, Buzz’s steady devotion is her security. After she discovers the lunchbox, and Buzz finds her, it seems to me like Jessie’s confidence surges – as my favorite of the Toy Story 5 kids’ books says about Buzz, from Jessie’s perspective, “things are always better when he’s around.” And you can plainly see how lost Buzz is when Jessie is missing and he’s desperate to find her. These two keep each other grounded.
It baffles me how there are people who went into Toy Story 5 without a clue that Buzz and Jessie were already together. Between their romantic subplot in Toy Story 3, where they became a couple, and Toy Story of Terror, which also showcased their relationship, it’s pretty obvious – technically, they’ve been a thing since Toy Story 2, from the moment they met. That’s 27 years of undeniable chemistry, folks. In Toy Story 5, they just take that next big step of commitment. Let’s be realistic here, unless it’s reality TV, NO ONE is going to propose to someone they’re not already in a serious relationship with. And in the commentary, Kenna says, “poor Buzz, he just wants to marry his girl.” HIS GIRL. She’s already his.
Which is a good segway into the fluffy stuff of my dreams…
THE KISS
I’m gonna start off with Buzz’s continuous attempts to propose, because that all leads up to the glory that is the kiss.
Had he been given the chance, and things hadn’t gone awry with the Jordan twins, Buzz was ready to propose to Jessie right there in the laundry basket. He wasn’t tongue-tied, his nerves hadn’t gotten the better of him yet, he was just going to say it. But then everything went wrong, and rapidly so, with Lily’s arrival. Jessie was distracted, and the moment was never quite right. And then she was missing.
Back in Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, Buzz struggled to talk to Jessie. The stammering was sweet, but I thought it was even sweeter to see him lose those nerves around her in Toy Story of Terror. So when Buzz started to struggle again, with proposing – after them being together for years – it seemed as if he was regressing a little. But I talked this over with my husband, who assured me that proposing is positively terrifying, and Pixar got it right! The more I watched the movie, the more I realized Buzz is in fact perfectly comfortable around Jessie, except when he’s trying to propose. And the more time goes by without him getting a chance to talk to her, the more the suspense builds for him and the worse his nerves get.
But then there’s the glorious moment by the tunnel, when it all pays off. This is where we get to see that Jessie knows Buzz just as well as he knows her. As he tries to get the words out to ask her to marry him, she figures what he’s trying to say almost instantly. She takes his hand, and his fingers close around hers naturally. I have no doubts that under other circumstances, like if there wasn’t a giant truck barreling towards them, Jessie would have let him fumble through the proposal on his own, smiling at him and thinking he’s adorable. But they were short on time, and she had to speed things up! He’s looking down, distracted, when she pulls him in for the kiss, which is what surprises him. But I love that he just relaxes into it, and kisses her back. Maybe she uses this method to stop his babbling often!
It took me a few viewings (and the soundtrack) to realize that the moment they kiss, the music does a sort of “ding dong ding dong” thing reminiscent of wedding bells. Not actual bell tones, just suggestive of it, but obviously so. That musical cue is everything, and makes the kiss even better. She’s said yes before she even says a word.
And I think Buzz knows it. His face when they pull apart is priceless – he’s so happy, and it’s evident how much he loves her in his eyes. Woody is happy for them, too – he has witnessed their relationship progress every step of the way. Even Lily and the Hi-Tech Buzzes are happy. And then Jessie accepts Buzz’s proposal: “You’re stuck with me, deputy.” She smoothes the star sticker back onto his chest before their Buzz drones fly them to safety from the oncoming traffic, while they stare longingly after each other. Fangirl sigh.
At the El Capitan on opening night, when Buzz and Jessie kissed, the whole theater roared with cheers. Another moment I will treasure forever about this movie!
And about Buzz’s foot pop during the kiss? Let’s be real here, Pixar could NEVER get away with Buzz’s Toy Story 2 wing pop nowadays – there would be all kinds of outrage. Besides, if his wings had popped, they would have hit the arms of the Hi-Tech Buzz who was holding him, and he’d have been dropped on a busy highway. If you do a little reading up on the background of the foot pop trope, you might be surprised, it’s actually not as innocent as you might think. And since Jessie was the one initiating the kiss, it would have looked a little silly and one-sided if her own foot had popped. They had to show Buzz’s reaction to a pretty intense kiss, and his foot was no different than his wings, really.
So Buzz is left in complete awe that his cowgirl said yes… leading up to…
THE WEDDING
As if them kissing on screen wasn’t amazing enough, Buzz and Jessie are married now, too? How did we get here? How did we get so lucky? Like, who was creeping on our Tumblrs back in the day, and knew exactly what we wanted? Someone there at Pixar is secretly one of us!
Going back to my favorite interview about the movie:
“[Buzz and Jessie’s wedding] came from a very vague place, where early on, on my own personal wish list, coming into the film with Andrew, I told him, ‘I don’t know what it is, I don’t know what’s making me feel this way, but we got to have Jessie and Buzz smooch. It’s gotta be big. I think it’ll be a part of, I don’t know how, a climactic action sequence.’ He was on board, and from there we came up with ending the film with another wedding between Jessie and Buzz to celebrate not just Buzz and Jessie but the newfound friendship between Blaze and Bonnie.”
– Kenna Harris, Co-Director
I’ve been trying to figure out just exactly how the whole playtime thing works. I know most of it is how Bonnie and Blaze envision it in their imaginations, but the toys seem to have their own part to play in it as well. There’s subtle action going on apart from what the girls are making the toys do. And there are reactions by the toys that obviously the girls couldn’t make happen. So the best I’ve been able to guess is that there’s a sort of collaboration going on between toys and kids, even if all the toys are able to contribute are their own emotions and slight movements that would escape the humans’ notice.
For example, there are lots of sweet facial expressions during the wedding. Buzz is SO happy and proud to be walking toward his bride! All he has wanted the whole movie was to marry Jessie. He doesn’t care if their positions in the ceremony are reversed, neither does she – they just care that it’s happening. She’s positively glowing with happiness herself. And there’s the tiniest little head shake and smile Buzz does, while Jessie is making her “pinky promise” vows and before he says “I do” – it’s as if he can’t believe that she’s really standing there with him, that they’re truly getting married. That’s not the girls doing that, it’s totally him.
When Buzz and Jessie sit up after their first round of wedding vows, while Bonnie and Blaze are out of the room, it must have felt like waking up married in Vegas! It hasn’t even been a day yet since she accepted his proposal, they haven’t had a chance to talk things over or just enjoy being engaged for a while, and here they are in the midst of their own wedding! But they smile at each other, and look down at the real wedding ring encircling their hands. How much more official could a toy wedding be, than to use a real wedding ring? I thought that was a perfect little touch.
When they get back into the vows, I love that there’s a bit of a throwback to Toy Story 3‘s paso doble when Jessie dips Buzz. And the sultry way she says “I dooo,” as she traces Buzz’s button and walks her little fingers up his chest – ahhh so great! Again, that’s their own reactions right there, as they lean in for a kiss. This time, Buzz is puckered and ready. But Trixie just had to interrupt!
If there was ONE thing I would have changed, it would have been for Trixie not to have interrupted at the exact time time she did, and robbed us of a second on-screen kiss. But hey, maybe one kiss was all they were allowed for a family-friendly movie? If that’s the case, I’d much rather have them kiss on their own than just have the kids make them do it. And I understand that Trixie’s scandal was necessary to show that Bonnie and Blaze play in the same creative and melodramatic way. Buzz acknowledges in his earlier conversation with Woody that the ceremony itself is pretend, so it’s not how it plays out that matters, just that it does. For the toys, it’s the intention behind the ceremony that makes it official. Another great new book even says that “for Buzz and Jessie, there’s nothing pretend about it.” The commitment and love between them are what’s real, which is evident when Jessie reaches for Buzz’s hand, and they smile. No matter what crazy twists and turns the playtime happened to take, when it’s all said and done they’re husband and wife.
Would Buzz and Jessie have preferred a little less drama at their wedding? Maybe – especially Buzz, after Trixie kicking him around. But then maybe the craziness of it all holds a special meaning for them, because of the joy it brought to Bonnie and Blaze. The playtime scene was designed to fulfill Bonnie and Blaze’s dreams of friendship as well as Buzz and Jessie’s dreams of getting married in one fell swoop. So what if things were a little different? At the end of the day, Buzz is still Jessie’s “handsome space ranger husband,” and she’s his “super cool sheriff wife.” That’s all that really matters, isn’t it?
Also, I think it worked out perfectly that Woody was there, and Bo came to pick him up, which allowed them both to be present for the wedding. In a way, Buzz got to have his best man after all, and I imagine Jessie would have chosen Bo as her maid of honor, had she been given the opportunity. And Mr. Pricklepants as the “ordained” officiant of the wedding, with Mrs. Potatohead playing the “organ”? Genius. Oh, and, about the kilt – honestly, I love Buzz in a kilt, and think it suits him. “Buzztholomew MacLightyear” would be a great competitor in the athletic events at Highland games!
Yeah, the wedding isn’t typical. But with all the congratulations given, and photos taken and sent, the toys all know it’s the real deal. Andy’s and Bonnie’s toys have been waiting years for this, just like us fans! And the music that plays during the ceremony? Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.” Canon! Ok, canon is a musical term, and not just fandom speak. And that’s a very popular piece of wedding music, too. But I doubt that it was completely accidental!
Buzz and Jessie’s marriage moment was mentioned in an Instagram post by Steph Waldo, Toy Story 5 story lead, and it’s another one of my favorite little bits of commentary about the movie:
“Jessie and Buzz finally getting married.” A comment on this post by Tessa Abrams, one of the story artists on the film, pointed out the “love in their eyes.” To see it all written out by people who helped create that scene means the world to me. They’re actually, truly MARRIED. Buzz and Jessie, to infinity and beyond.
WOODY & BO
I know, I talk about Jessie and Buzz a lot, and I have no regrets about that. But I really enjoyed Woody’s role in Toy Story 5, too. He’s such a good friend – don’t we all want a friend who would drop everything to help us if we needed them? His conversation with Jessie via the walkie-talkie gives off such big brother vibes, and I love when we get to see them acting like siblings.
Woody’s friendship with Buzz is also perfect. The moment when Buzz says he’d like him to be his best man is one of my absolute favorite scenes in the whole movie. And Woody understands exactly how Buzz feels, when he’s worried that Jessie is missing. I also think it’s adorable how happy Woody is for Buzz and Jessie – not just when they get engaged, but also when he thinks they already are. “Fiancée?!? Buzz Lightyear, you never told me!” And it IS good to see them fighting again – they bicker like brothers, which, let’s face it, if you look at Jessie and Woody as siblings, they ARE brothers now!
After the gut-punch goodbyes of Toy Story 4, I was relieved to see that Jessie and Buzz can stay in touch with Woody and Bo on the road, via the walkie-talkies. (Woody being surprised that Buzz never told him he and Jessie were engaged suggests that Buzz talks to Woody on the walkie-talkie sometimes as well – how else could Buzz have told him?) Also, it seems as if Woody and Bo visit – Duke, too, since he knows Jessie well enough to call her Red. I don’t have a problem with Woody and Bo living a life of their own, so long as they stay connected with their toy family. I’d like to think they sort of stick to wandering and helping toys within the Tri-County area, so they can pop in every now and then.
I loved Woody and Bo together in Toy Story 5, much more than in Toy Story 4. Even though they didn’t have a ton of shared screen time, the moments they did have were sweet ones. I was very happy to see that Bo was much nicer than last time we saw her – sure she teases Woody, but that’s normal established-couple kind of stuff, nothing like the sarcasm and insults from before. I love when she shakes her head “no” about the poncho. And helping him color in his bald spot during the credits? Super cute.
Going back to the poncho… Woody’s poncho was another favorite thing, for my whole family. His anguish when Jimmy Dean eats it always makes us laugh. Personally I love aging, balding, “dad bod” Woody. He’s funny, and realistic, and I’m sure relatable to a lot of people. He’s on the road with Bo, and he’s happy and living life. We all get older and change, what’s wrong with Woody doing the same? Having spent so many years with these toys, seeing them show their age a little, too, makes me feel even more connected to them.
BONNIE, BLAZE & EMILY
It amazes me how much of this movie speaks to my life. As much as I identify with Jessie, I was also a lot like Bonnie as a kid – and still feel like her, and Blaze, sometimes. I was the one still playing with toys while all my friends had moved on to more grown-up interests. Even as an adult, I’ve had trouble fitting in with the status quo – mom groups are positively brutal, worse than school in my opinion. When Bonnie’s mom tells her that she loves her and wouldn’t change a single thing about her, that’s one of the moments that really hit me in the theater, because I could hear my mom saying the same sort of thing. If she could have watched the movie with me, she would have seen little me in Bonnie.
And then there’s Blaze. Out of all the characters introduced in Toy Story 5, I think she has to be my favorite – along with Jimmy Dean. Blaze is the sweetest, kindest girl, and authentically herself. She’s the perfect friend for Bonnie, and I told my son on the way out of the theater that we all need a Blaze in our lives. And Jimmy Dean, well, he’s just the most precious baby. Jimmy Queen’s “blah blah blah” during playtime cracks me up!
Oh, and Emily. Sure, all us Jessie fans have harbored resentment against Emily for decades – how could anyone abandon our sweet cowgirl? So it’s good to know she at least remembered Jessie fondly, enough to name her daughter after her old favorite toy, and for Jessie to have that closure. But the scene with Emily and her daughter was something else that touched me personally – Emily was my mom’s generation, and her daughter Jessie was mine. Those things in that lunchbox were my childhood – I wore those hair bobbles in my braids! Just another dimension that makes this movie mean so much to me. But can we PLEASE let the Andy’s-mom-is-Emily thing go now?
NEW TOYS
The new Toy Story 5 toys were way more likable (to me) than most of the ones introduced in Toy Story 4. (I fully believe that the previous “Jessica” incident had something to do with Giggle.)
First, Lilypad… oh how relevant the story of tech dominating our lives, and the evils of social media, is to me! I’m seriously burned out on all the techno mumbo jumbo myself right now. But sadly tech isn’t going anywhere, so I’m glad they came up with a middle ground of moderation with tech and the importance of true human connection. And I’m also glad that Lily redeemed herself in the end, and became a friend to the toys. I’ve never been much for villains, so I’d much rather see her have a change of heart, and know the toys can all move forward and live in harmony in Bonnie’s room.
The tech trio are a lot of fun, with the way they play off each other. They have made my family and me laugh so many times! And I love how excited they all are at the end – both for Blaze and Bonnie, and Jessie and Buzz – when Lily sends them photos from the wedding. I like that Atlas and Snappy have been to Disneyland, too, along with Blaze.
But, besides Blaze, the Hi-Tech Buzzes are definitely my favorites of the new characters. My family and I loved them – most of my son’s laughter that first showing at the El Capitan came from scenes with the Multi-Buzz. Of course since I’m already a Buzz fan, I’d find these new iterations appealing. But it’s endlessly entertaining to focus on different ones and find all the clever little things the animators have them doing in each scene they’re in. And I think it’s great how they look up to Buzz, and respect him as their leader, even though he’s older and doesn’t have all the fancy updated bells and whistles – also that they admire Jessie, as all Buzzes do, yet respect completely that she’s with her Buzz, and look up to her as a leader as well. Fifty Buzz Lightyears sounded so silly at first, but really their purpose in the story is an important one.
Finally, I just have to say how ironic it is that one of Bonnie’s cyberbullying “friends” is named Heidi, considering I’ve been cyberbullied so many times over fandom stuff. That’s not the only weird coincidence – at the end, when Bonnie (I think) says, speaking as Trixie (I think), “I’m moving to Palm Springs!” Yeah, that’s the part of California I’m from. So crazy!
THE OLD GANG
Oh, Bullseye., the sweetest, most loyal bestest boy. I know Bullseye has always been more of a dog than a horse, but I never truly understood or appreciated him and his relationship with Jessie until I had a velcro dog of my own. There was a fantastic Pixar video where Bullseye was described as a “good dog, little sassy, loooves mama.” That’s my little wiener dog 100%! I wish I could go back in time two years and name him Bullseye, but it’s becoming his nickname now.
Something else I didn’t know I needed in my life was how much Bullseye loves Buzz. He’s SO excited when he sees Buzz riding up Tire Swing Hill! And you see him look to Buzz other times as well, like when Jessie’s up on the bed confronting Lily. If Jessie is mama, Buzz is dada, and they’re the cutest little family – their family photos during the end credits are perfect!
I know Toy Story 5 didn’t give the rest of Andy and Bonnie’s secondary group of toys quite as much time to shine as Toy Story 3, but I think it did a far better job at it than Toy Story 4. My favorite scenes with the old gang were when they were teasing Buzz about proposing to Jessie. That made my heart happy, it felt like it was straight out of fanfiction! And I mean that as a good thing, because it’s something my friends and I wanted to see. From Trixie and Dolly immediately figuring out what he was up to, to Mrs. Potatohead’s “Finally!” and Mr. Potatohead’s “Don’t worry, lover boy, your fiancee’s coming,” I loved it all. That kind of banter is what I’ve always enjoyed most with them. The new voices didn’t bother me, either. I think they were all well matched, and everyone was in character.
This movie truly felt like a return to classic Toy Story to me, in the best way.
NOW WHAT?
I feel like a lost puppy right now, like Rapunzel looking for her new dream. Having a movie about Jessie – and about Buzz and Jessie – has been an unbelievable dream come true. I’d love to think there’s more on the horizon, after the teasing comments about Toy Story 6 (and maybe even Toy Story 7). We got shorts after both Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4, too, so I can’t help hoping that there might be something like that in the not-so-distant future.
What would my new dream be? Well, to see more of Buzz and Jessie, of course! It’s always been Buzz and Jessie for me, and always will be. I’d love to see more of them being married and living out their happily ever after, whether through shorts or as a part of something bigger (or both, I’ll take both!). Speaking of shorts, how cute would it be to have a wedding reception with the other toys, where we could see them dance again? Or maybe Buzz and Jessie get to go on vacation with the girls (Disneyland honeymoon anyone)? And my little fangirl heart would be eternally grateful (and giddy) to hear them called the Lightyears – Jessie Lightyear – officially on screen. Buzz doesn’t have a last name for nothing!
More of my wildest dreams? Jessie with her hair down, which would drive Buzz crazy. More kisses – lots more, even little ones. Holding hands, cute cuddles, and couple-y things. Teeny tiny wedding rings, drawn on by Bonnie with a silver Sharpie. A dollhouse of their own. Maybe even being parents to a toy kid someday – I’ve always imagined them with a little guy with red hair, blue eyes, and Buzz’s chin (Bonnie is creative, she could make that happen). And really, what else would get Buzz flustered again at this point, than desperately wanting to be the best dad? Buzz is a “family man” after all. I mean, my other Toy Story dreams came true, why not put everything else out into the universe, and see if anything else sticks?
Seriously though, I just hope Pixar knows how very happy they’ve made the Jessie (and Buzz and Jessie) fans, myself included. I’m talking floating, singing and dancing, fangirl-squealing happy! I can’t say thank you enough, to Andrew Stanton for being so dedicated to making a quality continuation of the series, and to Kenna Harris for being the advocate for Buzz and Jessie’s kiss, proposal, and marriage. Jessie’s story was clearly created with lots of of love and care, and I’m so grateful to everyone who brought this beautiful film to life, cast and crew alike. Toy Story 5 came into existence exactly when I needed it, and it will always have a special place in my heart.
At the end of the Toy Story 5 credits, it says: “dedicated to our loved ones past and present who were there for us at the right time – you mattered.” Well, this movie was there for me at the right time, and everyone who had a hand in making it matters. You made a difference – just like Jessie.
Images © Disney/Pixar.
Thanks to my fangirl bestie Amanda (@cowgirlamanda95 on Instagram), who I’ve been friends with since Toy Story 3 days, for being my sounding board and proofreading this monster of a post for me! We still express our awe to each other daily that this movie actually exists.
Toy Story Fangirl 