Self-doubt, burnout … and Taylor Swift: why Toy Story 5 is the ultimate millennial girl movie

Nostalgia hits hard for anyone who has grown up with the franchise. But little could prepare me for the emotional punch of this latest film – and the very specific vulnerabilities it taps Emily named her daughter Jessie. Any millennial woman watching Toy Story 5 over the weekend just about held it together before finally letting the sobs roll at this discovery. The film takes our yarn-haired cowgirl back to her first kid’s home, where she ends up at the tree they used to play in. An unearthed memory box is packed with photos showing Emily grown up, happy and cuddling the child she gave her beloved toy’s name to. Many thirty- and fortysomething women sat watching the scene in the cinema next to their own daughters; some were thinking of the ones they want but don’t have; and others reflected on a decision to be child-free. All of us, though, also took a teary minute for our own girlhoods. Toy Story has always spoken to adults as deeply as it does to kids, and flock-herding feminist Bo Peep gave a lesson on living life on your own terms away from traditional expectations in the fourth film. But this reveal is the moment that truly tugs the hearts of women who grew up with the

Jun 23, 2026 → Jun 23, 2026