I won’t lie, I had my doubts about this film. Since Woody left the gang to be with Bo Peep, which I admit somewhat works with his development but also not really. However, Pixar proved me wrong with this film. This time, there is no villain but rather a thought of how technology can be both be good and bad for society, especially for kids.
I love how Pixar was able to present Lilypad as a complex device. Despite the surface she looks like the villain who attempts to get in Jessie, Buzz, Woody, and the gang’s way in an attempt to have Bonnie make friends, Pixar does a great job of presenting layers to this character. It would’ve been easy to make technology the villain since it has been recently at the forefront of all of the tragedies lately, they try to expand the idea of technology and how it can be used as a weapon when it falls into the wrong hands or in this case, Bonnie’s dance classmates. There’s so much pressure for kids to grow up quicker than they need to and the film does a great job of balancing the ideas of technology and how the world evolves while wanting to keep the innocence of kids. Kids need toys in order to build they’re imagination and without them, they are becoming vulnerable to a world that is invested with negativity and cruelty in how we speak to each other. Pixar warns us the dangers of having kids so young online and how there words damage those around them without realizing it.
The characters that stood out in this movie were Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Lilypad, and Bullseye. There dynamic felt connected and we were able to explore more of Jessie’s backstory and get some closure between her and her first owner Emily. As much as Jessie tries to avoid the inevitable and stop Lilypad from interfering in Bonnie’s life, technology, unfortunately is going to be around and childhoods won’t be like she remembered. However, it would’ve been easy to make Jessie cynical and while they did that in terms of her feelings towards technology, they also were able to ground her and have her development to where she could compromise with having technology around while also keeping Bonnie’s childhood alive. I love that she was able to team up with Smarty Pants, Snappy, and Atlas in order to get back to Bonnie. Those tech toys were funny as they’re presence lifted the film from having technology be the villain of the movie. While they could’ve been annoying, since Smarty Pants is a potty training device, they were able to balance out the humor to make it enjoyable for both kids and adults. Also, the bond was so strong that when Jessie has a moment of anger/hurt and lashes out, Smarty Pants never once blames Jessie for that moment. It shows so much growth and development in a character that could’ve been one note and for me it was nice to see.
Joan Cusack is perfect for Jessie as her balance between conveying anger, hurt, and joy for Jessie is perfect. The range she has for the character, I can feel her passion flow through her where it fits nicely. When Jessie gave the speech about how technology is making kids older, I got chills when she said that. There was so much rage in her voice that it was hard to look away and having her worth be challenged to the point she runs away, I teared up. Jessie has always been self-conscious when it comes to being neglected, so to see it happen to her a third time, it would send her over the edge. However, when Emily’s daughter comes into the picture, she realizes her impact has carried over a lifetime was great to see and gave her the strength to try to compromise with Lilypad and get her back to Bonnie.
Now, speaking of Lilypad, she is an interesting character. On the surface/trailers, they made her out to be the villain. However, despite her actions not being honorable (e.g. putting Bonnie’s toys in the garage), Lilypad attempts to help Bonnie the only way she knows how: algorithm to the perfect friends. She had good intentions and she isn’t the villain in this story if I’m being honest. I mean, sure she’s portrayed as such in the movie, however she does mean well and didn’t know about humans. The naiveness in technology was captured well in this film and despite there intentions, human emotions/motivations are complicated and when Lilypad realized that, it devastated her. She never wanted to hurt Bonnie and I love that the writers were able to give an IPAD layers, which is something I never expected.
Heads up, there is a side plot with the fifty Buzz Lightyears attempting to find “Star Command”. While this could’ve been a gimmick, they were able to balance it with the main plot of the film. Unlike Toy Story, a demo Buzz was able to find solace in being cared for by a kid. The comfort of that kid was beautiful to see as for a moment we were in the scene, the kids were able to switch off the devices and actually play with a toy. It was beautiful to see and the scene could’ve been ruined with that Buzz leaving them, but instead chose to stay and it shows the development/integration of knowing what its like to be loved and have an impact on a kids life.
Finally, the love scenes between Buzz and Jessie were nice, along with the connection that Woody was able to get back when he comes back to the gang. However, I wish Buzz and Woody wouldn’t have fought so much as it kind of ruined the dynamic. Know things would change but I believe there friendship was too advanced for them to be fighting about who will be “in charge”. It didn’t fit the tone/style of the movie and this could’ve been improved.
Side note: I was skeptical about Bullseye getting a voice because I love the quiet loyalty that this horse has for both Woody and now Jessie. However, Pixar proved me wrong as it was only in a play scene and it worked with the dynamic/style of the scene. I was able to feel the over the top villainy that Blaze had for Bullseye and it was awesome!
Overall, this movie is a cautionary tale for any parent if they are thinking about getting their kid a tablet. While it can entertain the kids, there are serious consequences that can come with having those devices (e.g. cyber bullying). It was devastating to see and anyone thinking that Bonnie deserved to get bullied because she neglected Woody is not okay. This is a movie that will take you by surprise and prove that once again, Pixar knows what they are doing in terms of storytelling/animation.
Stick around for a mid-credit scene as you will not regret it!
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