Mandalorian and Grogu: I had committed to not seeing this movie as I felt it was a money grab from a tv series that Disney decided to make longer and push onto the gullible Star Wars fans. Ever since the sale of the Star Wars franchise to Disney, they have found new and profound ways to mess it up. I did watch the first season with the Mandalorian, but I found it to be mildly entertaining but overall Meh. In the first season for those who watched they ended with the image of a Baby Yoda (unnamed at that point). But it grew tiresome in the formula. The Mandalorian gets roped into doing some quest. It is unexpectedly dangerous with some creature we have never seen before and don’t need to do so again. But he is victorious after taking a pounding. Yippee! The second season I couldn’t justify finishing. It was too much of a time commitment. There is so much good content out there, and this wasn’t it. The Star Wars franchise has been a sharp decline. And yet there was a beacon of hope (A New Hope as it were) with the Andor tv series which proved itself time and again to be a quality addition to the Star Wars universe. It proved that they can actually put together some good content for this world, after all the missteps. Then there has been the Mandalorian and other spin off series and movies of various levels of competence, like the atrocious Boba Fett.
So back to this movie: in short the plot here is somewhat of a rehashing of the story in Return of the Jedi with Han taken to Jabba the Hutt as a prize for disappointing the mob boss. Here Sigourney Weaver of all people requests that the Mandalorian assist the Hutt twin descendants who wish to find Jabba’s lone son located in a far off planet. Once he is secured they will provide the location of their real target. True to formula there is the Hutt’s son found and he doesn’t appear to be much of a prisoner. He also happens to be all buffed out in a way that you would never expect from what we knew and saw of Jabba in the original series. Jabba the Hutt was a very large slovenly slug. Young Hutt is all ripped and buffed out fighting in a Gladiator-style coliseum. What?? Things happen. There is a pause and then more parallel things occur like with Han and his rescue from Return of the Jedi. It is strangely similar but seems unnecessary. Grogu turns out to have more skills than his little body would suggest. But ultimately it is more of the same and quite boring. It is a sad state indeed when Star Wars becomes boring and repetitive. Nothing new to see here! Amazingly too the voice of Martin Scorsese is here. Odd. So there are attempts to enlist A-list talent to elevate the effort but it falls flat. I wish I had better news for fans of Star Wars.
Toy Story 5: This is the fifth installment of the series that early on defied the common wisdom about sequels and put forth some quality efforts. All the same cast and crew are returning here with Woody who now sports a bald spot and is considered “old”, and Buzz. Jessie in the latest development is the new sherriff in town, or errrr the child Bonnie’s room. Bonnie is a lone child with parents in with her. Now it seems to be that Bonnie doesn’t have friends. She actually plays with toys, and she has an active imagination. Her parents have made the choice to limit devices and screens for her. This is unusual amongst her peer group, who seem to be well engaged in their technology.
One theme for this movie is “The age of toys is over.” Other discarded toys maintain that they are finished as the kids (their owners) have ignored them for the games and devices. Devices and screens have taken over. This is a very true reflection of current times. Just go to a restaurant and watch most families eat with all with their faces in their screens and no one talking. It also means in the playground at school and backyards in the neighbourhood that kids aren’t connecting there. They are locked inside with their screens. Mom and Dad are happy because they know where their child is, but they have only a vague idea of where their imagination is going.
Jessie’s paretns ultimately relent and buy Bonnie plays a Lilypad, which has internet access, and various games and chat functions. Jessie the toy cowgirl is very old school. She believes that children need other children to play and interact. Jessie has her own identity crisis to deal with as since Bonnie’s attentions are directed to the new screen, Jessie is having flashbacks to her initial owner Emily, who simply just grew up. Jessie isn’t ready for that kind of rejection again. Especially not from a child so young, who still needs play.
Jessie wants Bonnie to have a real friend who will use her imagination. The online group Bonnie joins ultimately turns on her and shames her because she likes toys. The Lilypad has kids acting out and teasing /bullying in ways that they would be unlikely to do in real life. Jessie is distraught. Can devices and toys act together to provide a more full life for kids? It is a real question. Devices make kids grow up too fast. Once again we see this as a reflection of real life where young people struggle with human interactions, cyber bullying takes place, and they are filled with anxiety. Just look at Bonnie’s body language and outward attitude with another young girl Blaze looking to find some ways to connect with her.
Puzzlingly Buzz apparently has a thing for Jessie. Which as far as I am concerned was a development that is completely new. It manages to infiltrate the story so that Buzz is focused on saving Jessie.
Meanwhile a truck load of upgraded technology-engaged Buzzes, who seemed to take from Tom Hank’s other movie Cast Away, are looking to find Star Command. It is unnecessary but made to fit in nicely to the story to allow for more connection between technology and toys. Overall, sadly this was a weak effort. I am not sure that beyond James Bond I am hard pressed to think of any story that can extend into five meaningful stories. Certainly not Star Wars.
There are some good points to show the current state with children and devices. However much they try to lean into toys and tech working together, reality is that we don’t see that in the real world we live in. Today’s kids are growing up too fast with devices. That is one way for me to show how old I am. Disney further tries to make this more appealing by engaging Taylor Swift to perform the closing credits song. But overall the music isn’t as strong as prior movies, with songs from Randy Newman “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and Sarah McLachlan’s “When She Loved Me“. This effort does try to bring it all together but it isn’t the same. Much like Woody blinding other characters with his bald spot, this series seems old and past its prime.
