'Toy Story 5' reignites this controversial debate. Why it matters

NEW JERSEY — On a Monday evening in Cranford, dozens of families gather around a 40-foot-TV to teach their children a lesson about screens.

Woody and Buzz have survived sadistic neighbors, evil toys and tyrannical daycare rulers. But in "Toy Story 5," which hit theaters June 19, their latest enemy is something millions of parents already know well: a screen. Around the country, parents are using the movie to open up conversations in their households as they look to find a balance with technology.

"It's the topic that's on everyone's mind," says Blair Maloney, a mom who brought her 6-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter to the showing. "Something like this can bring it to the surface and get people talking about it."

Nearly 60 elementary school families attended the screening and brief post-film discussion, organized by the Balance Project, a nonprofit that aims to help kids balance independence and mindful technology usage.  The turnout reflects a growing concern among parents trying to navigate questions about screens, free play and childhood in the age of tablets and AI chatbots. The group also hosted a screening in Arlington, Virginia, and has more planned next week in Shrewsbury and Highlands, New Jersey.

(Warning: spoilers ahead!)

'Toy Story 5' tackles conversation about screens, free play and the rise of the iPad kid

A handful of phones glow in the darkness as parents scroll before the movie starts. Restless children, amped up on sugary drinks and chocolate bars, struggle to sit still in the theater’s red vinyl seats. A hush falls over the crowd as the screen pans to a desolate land of forgotten toys.

About 15 minutes into the film, viewers are introduced to Lilypad, a new tablet with the power to play games, answer questions at lightning speed and communicate through a chat platform called "The Pond."

The audience in Cranford shifts in their seats. Bonnie, who became the toys' owner at the end of "Toy Story 3," is immediately hooked.

As Bonnie spends more time on the device, she grows increasingly withdrawn, even as she’s seemingly connected with more friends online. Jessie, with the help of Woody and Buzz, sets off to help Bonnie make some real-world friends.

At one point, Jessie befriends a gang of tech toys that includes a low-tech potty-training product named Smarty Pants, along with GPS and camera devices Atlas and Snappy. As the toys work together to help Bonnie, 8-year-old audience member Molly Moscatiello turns to her mother, who is the founder of the Balance Project. In their household, where they use a Tin Can landline and are holding off on smartphones, they also talk about ways to use tech for good. 

"See, you can use it as a tool," she says, gesturing toward the screen.

Here’s what parents, experts say 'Toy Story 5' gets right and wrong

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple University whose research examines the role of play, praised the movie for its timely portrayal of technology "as we move into the AI period of our life."

The movie follows a May advisory from the U.S. surgeon general's office which warned that screen use now begins in infancy. And more experts are talking about iPad babies – those toddlers you might see glued to a screen at a restaurant, the grocery store or airplane – and the rise of chatbot companions, which have come under scrutiny following high-profile lawsuits involving children's mental health.

A 2025 Pew Research report found that 62% of toddlers under 2 watch YouTube, up from 45% in 2020, and that rises to 84% in children ages 2 to 4. While nine in 10 parents say kids 12 and younger watch TV, 68% say they use a tablet and 61% say they use a smartphone. About one in 10 parents say their 5 to 12-year-old has used an AI chatbot like ChatGPT or Gemini.

"'Toy Story' is a wake up (call) for parents," Hirsh-Pasek says. "My hope is that the nostalgia parents have for this and the beautiful way in which it's displayed in the movie will help us realize that we're losing more than we're gaining."

In the end, Lily redeems herself. She’s portrayed as misguided and misunderstood, not evil. Woody even remarks that Lily is "one of us."

New-York based licensed clinical psychologist Shara M. Brofman says she would’ve liked to see Lily banished in a vein similar to the villains in the "The Lion King" and "Sleeping Beauty." She worries the ending simplifies Lily’s character arc into a bad to good transformation.

"It sounds like the bad guy turned out to, in fact, not be so bad after all," Brofman says. "Children who are younger didn't understand the nuances and the negative sort of critical commentary that adults might have understood the movie was making on cyberbullying and mental health."

Nicki Petrossi, a low-tech parent advocate who runs the "Scrolling 2 Death" podcast, shared in a June 21 video that she found Lily’s morality unrealistic.

"I have a little bit of a problem with the LilyPad having, like, a self-reflection moment and sacrificing herself for Bonnie's happiness," Petrossi shared in the Instagram post. "That's just not how these devices work, or the people that make them. They are seeking our children's attention above everything else."

Brofman also pointed out the irony that a movie about the harms of technology would promote tech products. Belkin is selling a Lilypad-themed iPad case, and LeapFrog toys released a tablet-style Lilypad device for ages 3 to 5, where a description advertises that kids can "stay connected with Jessie, Buzz, Woody and the Tech Trio by texting them using emojis and preset messages."

"That definitely sort of glosses over, if not erases, the important commentary that the film I think worked hard to make about the harm of these devices on cognitive, social, emotional development and mental health," Brofman says.

Back in the theater, the conversation continues

After the film, as restless children run through the lobby and adults check their phones for missed messages, some families stop for pictures with life-size Woody and Andy.

It was a full circle moment for parents like Jamie Knight, who watched the first "Toy Story" in theaters when it premiered in 1995 and now sits beside her own children.

Knight and Maloney co-founded a Scotch Plains-Fanwood community of the Balance Project in January.

"There's a moment where Jessie says, 'These devices, they make them grow up too fast,' and that really resonated," Knight says. "Childhood is so short to begin with, let's not make it any shorter."

And when asked who their favorite character was?

"Lily," exclaims Knight’s 6-year-old daughter Brooke. "I like the frog too," Mae, Maloney’s 5-year-old daughter, chimes in. She pulls on a Jessie toy she brought, which elicits a "Yee-haw!"

Ten-year-old Taylor Lewandowski says the film’s themes of technology were important. Some of her friends, she says, are on Roblox "all the time." She’s only allowed to use the family iPad on weekends, a rule she sometimes finds frustrating.

But mainly, she was thinking about Rosie, a plush koala she used to play with constantly.

A few years ago, they were best friends. Rosie would climb up onto her chandelier or sit on her desk when she got home from school. But lately, she’s sat untouched in a pile of toys.

After watching "Toy Story 5," Taylor says she plans to bring her back out.

This story has been updated with more information.

Rachel Hale’s role covering Youth Mental Health at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Reach her at [email protected] and@rachelleighhale on X.