Toy Story 5 reminds us of something we should never forget about play

By Aaron Bradbury

I won’t spoil Toy Story 5!

But I will say this: I left the cinema thinking less about the characters and more about childhood.

There is a powerful message woven through the story that speaks directly to the world children are growing up in today. It is a reminder that play, imagination and human connection matter more than ever.

For generations, toys have never simply been objects. They have been spaceships, dragons, cafés, schools, castles and worlds yet to be discovered. A cardboard box becomes a rocket. A teddy bear becomes a best friend. A handful of wooden blocks becomes a city. Children’s imaginations transform the ordinary into something extraordinary.

Yet increasingly, childhood is becoming mediated through technology. Technology undoubtedly has a place in children’s lives. Used thoughtfully, it can inspire creativity, support communication and open doors to new experiences. This is not an argument against technology. It is, however, a plea that technology should never replace the richness of real play.

Play is where children learn to negotiate, create, solve problems, take risks, build relationships and make sense of the world around them. It cannot simply be downloaded or streamed. It happens through movement, conversation, curiosity and imagination.

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges facing early childhood today is not that children have access to technology, but that opportunities for uninterrupted, child-led play are becoming squeezed. Busy lives, packed routines, increasing academic expectations and the ever-present attraction of digital devices can slowly reduce the time and space children have to simply play.

When that happens, we lose something important. We lose the moments where children invent stories that adults could never have imagined. We lose the conversations between friends building imaginary worlds together. We lose the joyful chaos that comes from creating, pretending and wondering what might happen next.

Those experiences matter because they shape who children become. As someone who has spent much of my career advocating for play, I couldn’t help but reflect on how relevant this message feels today. It reinforces what decades of research have already shown: play is not a reward after learning; it is one of the most powerful ways children learn.

Perhaps Toy Story 5 is reminding adults of something children have always known. The most valuable toy is rarely the one with the brightest lights or the newest technology. More often than not, it is the one that invites imagination.

As educators, parents and policymakers, we have a choice. We can continue to make childhood increasingly busy, structured and digital, or we can protect the spaces where imagination can flourish. Because when children play, they are not escaping reality. They are learning how to understand it.

What I left the cinema thinking, is that if Toy Story 5 encourages even a few more families to put down a screen, pick up a toy, build a den or simply spend time imagining together, then perhaps its greatest story won’t be the one on the screen at all.

It will be the stories children create for themselves.