What Parents Can Learn From ‘Toy Story 5’

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“I don’t know, Jessie. Toys are for play, but tech is for everything,” Woody explained in Toy Story 5.

Last week, on June 19, Disney released its latest and fifth installment of the Toy Story film series. On Saturday, my entire family and I went to the theater to check it out – and I have to say, I actually think that I learned something from the movie that I can incorporate into my parenting.

Now, before I get too far into this blog, I feel it is important to note that I was watching this film with a toddler on my lap in a theater. So, while I did catch a few potty-humor references that might offend some, I was not watching this through the lens of a true movie reviewer. The film is rated PG, and, as always, parents should investigate each film before trusting it is a good fit for their children. A good resource to use is Movie Guide. Here is their assessment of this film.

Yet, as I watched this latest tale, I saw Toy Story for the first time through the eyes of a parent – a parent raising children in the age of technology.

In Toy Story 5, Jessie, Woody, Buzz, and the gang face the cold fact that screens are replacing playtime with toys.

Throughout the film, the gang of familiar toy faces attempts to help their kid, Bonnie, make friends. Before they can help her achieve this goal, Bonnie’s parents buy her a tablet named “Lilypad” that advertises games, assistance in making friends, and all-around fun. It doesn’t take long for Bonnie to get hooked on the device and stop playing with her once-beloved toys. So, in true Toy Story fashion, the gang sets out to save their kid as well as find her friends.

Somewhere in the middle, Disney offers a stark reminder of how imminent the current technology takeover is and how it seems to be succeeding in stealing our children’s hearts and minds.

In the film, Bonnie is 8 years old. Without direction, she quickly becomes a screen-loving zombie after receiving the tablet. Every move she makes, she is either glued to her screen or upset that it isn’t charged and she’s missing out on game time with her so-called friends.

What’s scarier is that in 2026, Bonnie isn’t the only 8-year-old who faces this type of addiction or attachment to a device. A survey from Common Sense Media found that when it comes to young children ages 2 to 8, “Children under 2 years old average one hour and three minutes daily, and 2- to 4-year-olds spend two hours and eight minutes. Those age[s] 5 to 8 use screens for about three and a half hours daily (3:28).”

But, again, in an effort to help their child, Bonnie’s parents, like many of today’s parents, purchased the device as a way to hopefully help their child.

Little did they know that they were putting the world in their daughter’s pocket.

In one scene, Bonnie falls victim to mean girls via the chat feature on her device. When her mom finds out, she makes sure to tell Bonnie that she can tell her anything. After Bonnie shows her mom the bullies’ messages, her dad tells her the very next day that they’ve disabled the chat feature.

Unfortunately, as we all know, when it comes to the hearts of little ones, the hurt was already done.

Thankfully, Disney didn’t let this situation be the end of Bonnie’s story, and in the end, the toys do triumphantly find a true friend for their kid. But the message in between goes to show just how quickly and haphazardly screen time can affect children if we let it, and how it is robbing many of them of the childhood joys we once cherished.

Today’s kids aren’t used to jumping in mud puddles or using their imagination; they’re watching streaming networks.

Today’s little girls aren’t dressing up their dolls or playing with their friends outside; they’re creating usernames and talking to people they hardly know.

Today’s little boys aren’t trekking through the woods and exploring the unknown; they’re fighting their friends on video games.

However, today’s parents are the ones enabling and encouraging it.

In a final scene, the gang, along with a slew of Buzz Lightyear toys, flies through a house where an entire family is present. Meanwhile, each family member is glued to a different device throughout the home. Not even the silliness of toys flying through their front door made one of them look up. And, at least to me, that scene showed in a matter of seconds how devastating screen time can be for the entire family unit – not just our kids.

Because it is true.

In the digital age, depending on what captures our attention on our internet-capable devices, we may or may not look away from what is happening around us - no matter what it is - or whose little hands are reaching to grab ours. Instead of making memories with those most precious to us, it is much easier to stick a tablet, phone, or TV show in their faces so they, too, can become just like us and enjoy whatever keeps them busy and distracted.

In Matthew 6:21, it says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I’m afraid to admit that, more than once in my life, a screen has held my treasure and my gaze.

I refuse to let it capture the soul of my sons.

As crazy as it sounds, Toy Story 5 helped me see that.

It is more than a movie about toys on a mission. Rather, it is a wake-up call to moms and dads everywhere about the importance of protecting our children’s childhoods and filling them with moments and things that instill value and truth.

The question is, will we?

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