'Toy Story 5': In Defence Of Bonnie, And The Unfair Fan Comparison Of Her To Andy

WARNING! SPOILERS for Toy Story 5.

Toy Story 5 has proven a hit at the box office and with critics, silencing some naysayers who questioned the need for it's existence. The fifth big-screen entry in Disney/Pixar's popular franchise, the film sees the beloved toys battling for attention in the age of devices and screentime, while also delivering an important message about making connections beyond the screen.

However, some longer term fans of the franchise have expressed deep dissatisfaction with one of the film's major characters: Eight-year old Bonnie Anderson, the current owner of the toys. Many have compared Bonnie unfavourably to the toys original owner, Andy Davis, due to events that occur in Toy Story 4 and 5. However, these comparisons are not entirely fair. Let's look back at Bonnie's franchise history so far, why some fans have taken issue with her, and why they should give her grace in the face of the seemingly perfect Andy.

The Gift of Toys

Bonnie makes her franchise debut in Toy Story 3, first appearing alongside her Mother, a receptionist at Sunnyside Daycare, when Andy's Mother drops off the box of donated toys. Andy's Mother comments on Bonnie's growth, suggesting the families know each other.. Aged 4 at the time, Bonnie also attends the centre while her Mother works. She later retrieves Woody from the sidewalk after his escape from Sunnyside, after which he spends a wonderful afternoon of play before resuming his quest to return to Andy.

At the end of the film, inspired by finding her address written on the box they were packed in, Andy donates his toys to Bonnie. This is where most of them have been since.

Bonnie seems to be a creative, good-hearted child, known to occasionally rescue broken toys from Sunnyside, such as Chuckles the clown and bring them home for her Mother to repair. Sounds like a nice kid, right? So why do fans have a problem?

Bonnie's 'Crimes'

In Toy Story 4, set a year after Toy Story 3, Bonnie is now 5 years old and soon to start Kindergarten. Woody has lost favour among Bonnie's toys, and is not often picked for playtime. Fans take issue with the fact that by the end of the film, Bonnie has lost Woody, seemingly abandoning him in favour of Forky, a 'toy' she made from trash/craft supplies at Kindergarten, and breaking her promise to Andy that Woody would be cared for.

In Toy Story 5, despite begging her Mother to drive out to the Manoukian Farmhouse to retrieve the lost Jessie and Bullseye, once there, the now eight-year old Bonnie rejects the toys and chooses to leave them behind. To fans, this represents another broken promise.

Why these criticisms are unfair

These criticisms of Bonnie aren't entirely fair. Bonnie was only four years old in Toy Story 3. This makes her younger than Andy was in the first film, during which he celebrated his seventh Birthday. No reasonable person in real life would hold someone to a promise they made about toys at just for years old. Besides this, not playing with Woody everyday doesn't mean he wasn't taken care of. A young child's favourite toys would be expected to change regularly. She may have cycled back to playing with Woody at a later date, but due to his departure, we'll never know.

There's also the fact due to toys being sentient in the Toy Story universe, Woody has some agency in the events that transpire in Toy Story 4. Woody struggles with no longer beingthe favourite toy, or the leader of the room, but these are his issues, not Bonnie's.

No action of Bonnie's directly leads to Woody being lost. It is Woody's choice to leave the RV during the roadtrip to go after and retrieve Forky. It is also Woody's own choice to stay a lost toy at the end of the film, so he can remain with his beloved Bo Peep and help other lost toys.

As for Toy Story 5, those fans slamming Bonnie for rejecting Jessie and Bullseye are neglecting the context and series of events leading up to the rejection. As mentioned earlier, Bonnie is at first desperate to retrieve Jessie and Bullseye upon learning they are missing, but on the way, her Dance class 'friends' tease her in their Lilypad group chat for being upset over her lost toys.

Bonnie did not want to reject Jessie and Bullseye. She was cyber-bullied and embarrassed into giving them up. Once she makes a connection and finds a true friend in Blaze at the end of the movie, Bonnie once again happily re-embraces toys and play.

Andy wasn't Perfect

One of fans biggest arguments against Bonnie is their claims that Andy would not have made the mistakes of which they are accusing Bonnie.

"Andy would never have neglected Woody."

Or..

"Andy would never have abandoned Woody for a fork."

To those fans, take a moment to think back to the very first Toy Story. At the beginning of the movie, Woody is undoubtedly Andy's favourite toy, and therefore the boss of the toys in Andy's room. However, after receiving a new Buzz Lightyear toy, Andy does, for a time, neglect Woody in favour of Buzz.

The fact he eventually begins playing more equally with both is beside the point. Bonnie may also have eventually come back around to playing with Woody.

Then, in Toy Story 3, Andy's rather reckless decision to pack his toys in an unmarked trash bag rather than a labelled box triggers the whole film's main plot when Andy's Mom accidentally throws the toys away, leading them to escape into the Sunnyside donation box. Point being, Andy was not as perfect a toy owner as some remember him to be. Andy made mistakes of his own, some very similar to Bonnie's.

So, why the unfavorable comparisons of Bonnie to Andy? Well, it seems most of these comparisons are coming from fans who grew up with the early Toy Story films. They may be looking at Andy with rose-coloured nostalgia glasses. Another factor may be the advancement in Disney/Pixar's ability to animate humans, which was relatively low during the first two films. Bonnie's mistakes are more visible because she has a greater onscreen presence in her Toy Story films than Andy did in his.

In the end, both Andy and Bonnie are characters moving through the stages and struggles of childhood with the quiet assistance of their toy companions. Hopefully, fans will eventually find room in their hearts for both.