Before Disneyfication, fairy tales were terrifying, designed to teach kids about dangerous aspects of the world.
Pixar may be taking a page out of the Brothers Grimm’s book. From the beginning, its Toy Story franchise has been about fear of replacement, with the original 1995 movie centered around the friction between cowboy toy Woody and newly arrived space-ranger toy Buzz Lightyear. That the movie itself was a leap forward for digital animation mirrored the on-screen story.
Toy Story 5, which hits movie theaters today, also has the potential to warn against the dangers of technology. Here’s what we know so far—with a little history and data thrown in for good measure.
What is ‘Toy Story 5’ about?
Toy Story introduced the world to Andy’s favorite play things: Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the whole gang of toys. In the first film, Woody worries he will be replaced by the newer, shinier space ranger, which is a fear many modern workers can relate to.
Toy Story 5 appears to take this fear of replacement one step further, adding in an even more tech-heavy element. Jessie, Buzz, and the rest of the toys fear being replaced by a tablet called Lilypad. They call in their old pal Woody to help save the day.
What do ‘Toy Story 5’ and AI have in common?
Workers, especially office workers who do their jobs on a computer, can likely relate to the recurring theme of perceived obsolescence in the Toy Story films.
These days, artificial intelligence threatens to replace employees with technology in almost every field.
The Iceberg Index, an MIT labor simulator, found that 11.7% of the U.S. labor market has measured skill-centered overlap with AI. To further put that in perspective, that’s $1.2 trillion in potential lost wages.
While the Iceberg Index is speculative, real-world calculations by Goldman Sachs economist Elsie Peng found that AI has “reduced monthly payroll growth by roughly 16,000 jobs” in the United States in the past year, though the analysis didn’t fully account for gains from data center construction and AI-related increases in productivity.
What will ‘Toy Story 5’ say about technology in education?
Toy Story movies make the case for human interaction. This can also be seen in the classroom. Beyond jobs, technology is also impacting education, and not always for the better.
At the beginning of the year, neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath gave written testimony to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation about the negative impact of technology in education.
Using data from the Program for International Student Assessment, he concluded that Gen Z is the first generation to show lower cognitive capability than previous ones.
Horvath found a correlation between this decline and the rise in screen time in educational settings. Textbooks have been replaced by Chromebooks. Typing has overtaken writing with pen and paper. It is easy to get distracted while on a computer. Retention suffers.
When did the first ‘Toy Story’ movie come out?
The Toy Story franchise is a product of the digital revolution of the 1990s. The first movie came out in November 1995. It was Pixar’s first feature-length movie, the first full-length computer-generated animated movie, and the beginning of a partnership with the Walt Disney Company, which purchased Pixar in 2006.
The film was also a big commercial and artistic success. It was the highest grossing film of 1995, earning $192 million at the domestic box office and $362 million worldwide.
The flick was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay. This marked the first time an animated film had received that honor.
At the end of the first movie, Woody and Buzz find a way to not only coexist but also become buddies.
Nearly 31 years later, the newest iteration has the potential to do the same with technology, while also warning against its pitfalls. Is the lesson that workers need to adapt? The real-world implications make the stakes high. For now, the only way to know for yourself is to get to a movie theater this weekend.
What are people saying about ‘Toy Story 5’ so far?
Early buzz suggests the film is a hit with critics and audiences, with Rotten Tomatoes showing a 93% score for both. According to Variety, Toy Story 5 is expected to generate $150 million from North American theaters this weekend, continuing what has been a historically strong box office run for Hollywood in 2026.
