LISTEN: Variety’s Owen Gleiberman Unpacks Why We Love the ‘Toy Story’ Franchise: ‘Some of the Greatest Movies Ever Made About Childhood’

On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, Owen Gleiberman, Variety’s chief film critic, sings the praises of Pixar’s “Toy Story” movies as the fifth installment arrives in theaters on June 19. Pixar’s pioneering CG animated series, which began in 1995, amounts to “some of the greatest movies ever made about childhood,” Gleiberman enthuses.

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In Gleiberman’s role as a critic, it’s his job to question and interrogate material. But there are times when he gets to express unabashed love for a franchise that has now spanned a generation. The first “Toy Story” debuted in 1995, a landmark moment for computer generated animation that came some 11 years before Disney acquired Pixar. In Gleiberman’s view, “Toy Story 5” is a worthy edition to the world of Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and the gang.

” ‘Toy Story 5’ is as fantastic as all the others. There’s never been a series in all of Hollywood history that is quite like that,” Gleiberman says. “People like to choose their favorite ‘Toy Story’ movie. A lot of people say ‘Toy Story 3’ is the masterpiece. I personally think the greatest ‘Toy Story’ movie is still the first one made back in 1995.”

Gleiberman emphasizes that the five movies to date fit together as a larger piece. And he turned to a musical metaphor to underscore the depth of his appreciation for the artistry of “Toy Story.”

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“Each and every one of these movies is amazing. They all work together. They’re greater than the sum of their parts,” he says. “That got me to thinking that they’re kind of like the Beatles albums. They’re all different and they’re all of a piece. Why choose? And to push that analogy into slightly ridiculous terrain, I thought if the original ‘Toy Story’ is ‘Meet the Beatles’ and ‘Toy Story 3’ is ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ then ‘Toy Story 5’ feels to me sort of like ‘Abbey Road.’ It’s this sublime summing up. It’s a movie that reflects the whole series, and it might just be the perfect ending.”

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