Toy Story 5 is headed to theaters next week, but its review embargo drops tomorrow. While the movie’s critical reception is yet to be seen, traders are already predicting a high rating for the Disney-Pixar film on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer.
The market for Toy Story 5’s RT rating forecasts the film will ultimately end up with a “Fresh” rating of 93.3% on Tomatometer.
For information purposes only. Not trading advice. Kalshi is not affiliated with Disney.
What’s it about?
This time, the toys are facing one of the greatest threats to playtime: technology.
Woody and Buzz, voiced by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, and the rest of the gang are in danger of losing Bonnie’s attention to a new interactive tablet toy called Lilypad, voiced by Greta Lee. The film also stars the voices of Joan Cusack, Keanu Reeves, Wallace Shawn, Tony Hale, Bad Bunny, and Conan O’Brien.
Even though Lilypad presents a challenge to the traditional toys, the filmmakers insist she won’t be the villain of the film.
“She is to the toys because they’re understandably intimidated,” director Andrew Stanton said. “She’s just the next phase in Bonnie’s life. She’s built like a toy in the sense that she wants to help the kid go forward, but she’s got very different skills and zero experience, whereas Jessie has nothing but experience and is probably unprepared for what to do.”
The film will also expand on Jessie’s backstory with her original owner Emily, who we learned had abandoned her in Toy Story 2. The new film will take Jessie back to Emily’s house only for her to discover that a new family lives there with a young girl named Blaze.
If traders are correct, Toy Story 5 will be the lowest rated of the Toy Story movies on Rotten Tomatoes. However, those films set an extremely high bar. All four of the previous movies have a rating of 97% or higher.
What are the critics saying?
While reviews are limited, TechRadar’s Jasmine Valentine saw a special 45-minute preview of Toy Story 5 last month. Her review didn’t reveal any new details outside of the trailers that have been released to promote the film. But she did suggest that you should bring some Kleenex.
“I was expecting to watch footage from Toy Story 5 and feel angry – angry that the world is so tech-reliant, angry that we’ve collectively abandoned whimsy and imagination when it comes to engaging young minds, and angry that millions will likely see the new movie and immediately abandon its messaging,” Valentine wrote. “Instead, I was left feeling guilty and incredibly sad during those first 45 minutes and worryingly, it reminded me of exactly how I felt while watching the end of Toy Story 3.”
Carlos Camacho @AyCarlosCamacho wrote on X that he also got to see a special, limited preview of Toy Story 5. He called it a resonant film with a strong message, just like the rest of the Toy Story franchise.
“Jessie is the true heart of the story and her arc will make more than one person cry with a big surprise,” he wrote. “Buzz and Woody have less prominence, but they have a very fun dynamic that recalls the spirit of the first Toy Story.”
Toy Story 5 opens in theaters on Friday, June 19.
The takeaway:
Kalshi markets now predict:
Toy Story 5’s Tomatometer rating: 93.3%
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