When I first got my 4K TV I was impressed with how good even the early Pixar movies looked. Toy Story 2 was breathtaking with the Zurg opening and airport finale. Of course, they just kept adding detail every time so by Toy Story 4 the detail was incredible. Not lifelike because it’s still stylized but vivid.
Now Toy Story 5 boasts the latest in Pixar animation and the distinction between kids’ bright bedrooms vs. the dark real world is apparent. Whether it’s Bonnie’s bedroom or the new Blaze’s, the girls live in colorful homes. The texture of drawers in Blaze’s house is massive because we’re zoomed in on small toys. And Bonnie’s playtime animation is visualized as watercolor, adding stunning vividness because it’s not trying to be “real” so it can be even brighter than lighting replication natural light.
Woody begins the movie out in the woods at night. The army of Buzz Lightyears leave their deep shadowed shipping crate. When they invade a campsite, they navigate the dark by campfire light. Jesse also finds dark corners of Blaze’s farm, or hides in the dark closet with a walkie talkie.
Surround sound captures beach waves when the Buzzes wake up. Flying buzzes whizz by and rumble. The chapel doors open behind you when Bonnie plays wedding.
Co-director Kenna Harris, production designer Bob Pauley and VFX Supervisor Thomas Jordan get technical in an audio commentary. They specify the improvements on horses since Brave, count the straws of hay in the barn, the challenges of Woody’s poncho and Blaze’s hair. Even Bonnie’s comforter shows technical improvements.
They also discuss new and returning voice actors and references from Bambi to American Gothic. They point out subtle cultural Easter eggs in Blaze’s house.
Deleted scenes include Jessie and Bullseye meeting for the first time, prior to Toy Story 2. The Buzzes in the field attempted a rescue of the Buzz found by a kid. There’s an alternate Blaze playtime. Bullseye showed Jessie his old home and man, this still hits emotionally as storyboards from a subplot they took out. They did explore Jessie meeting old Emily and realized that wasn’t the right move before animating it.
Bonus features explore a lot of the same concepts in more digestible featurettes, but “The Lost Toys” also reveals deleted toy concepts.