Toy Story 5 praised for ‘normalising’ male balding after Woody’s reveal in trailer

If you’re still in denial that it’s been 30 years since the first Toy Story film was released, then this will really make you feel it.

Yesterday, the trailer for Toy Story 5 dropped, taking fans on a nostalgic trip once more with the revival of all their favourite characters, from Woody to Buzz Lightyear and from Jessie to Forky.

For one toy, the ageing process is starting to show – but fans are loving how it’s been portrayed.

The plot for the fifth instalment in the hit animation franchise couldn’t be more apt, as the abandoned toys unite to battle against the tech that has ‘invaded’ children’s homes.

After leaving his plastic pals in Toy Story 4 (2019) to reunite with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and enjoy the freedom of living as a lost toy, pull-string sheriff Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) also returns to help the group, now led by Jessie (Joan Cusack), take down frog-like tablet Lilypad.

There’s one thing that doesn’t quite return, though – and that’s his hair.

Something the internet couldn’t help but notice in the latest trailer is that the beloved cowboy is, in fact, balding: where his head was once covered in brown hair, Woody now sports a bald patch at the back.

Perhaps that’s unsurprising when you remember that, in Toy Story 4, the time lapse placed Woody in his late fifties.

The other toys point it out, too, after almost being blinded by the sunlight reflecting on his bald head.

‘Someone needs a brown marker,’ they remark, while Lilypad (Greta Lee) asks, ‘What are you, some sort of old man toy?’ upon their first meeting.

‘What?’, Woody replies incredulously, to which Forky mocks: ‘She thinks you’re old because you’re bald, Woody.’

The iPad hits back once more, quipping that youngster Bonnie, who has long forgotten her toys in favour of her tablet, ‘needs help from someone at least from the same century’.

What follows is an epic adventure from the group, who call in backup to remind kids of the importance of playtime in what audiences are already declaring a valid ‘lesson’ for today’s society.

Viewers are also praising the honest representation of ageing in Woody’s hair loss, given that an estimated two out of three men will experience some hair loss by the age of 35, the most common type (male pattern baldness) affecting seven million men in the UK.

X user @aijanuart writes: ‘Woody is bald. we, who watched Toy Story 1 in elementary school, were also bald. We’re all getting older, folks.’

@rolly_onchain declares ‘childhood officially over’, while @MCstanning writes: ‘I FEEL OLD ASF WTF’.

@AParkMind adds earnestly: ‘I think this a really clever move by pixar. The actors are getting older and it makes sense to give a reason why they sound a little old. Additionally it’s a visual representation of his how old some of these toys are especially in comparison to the new modern tablets’.

Further explaining to Metro why the move from Pixar is so important, Dr Anatalia Moore, an NHS GP and cosmetic dermatologist, says: ‘It might seem like a tiny detail, but showing a character with thinning or balding hair in a big family film is actually really meaningful, and I think it’s a great step forward for the film industry.

‘Hair loss is incredibly common in men, yet it is still something many struggle to talk about openly.’

She goes on to say that ‘what people often underestimate is the emotional impact’ of hair loss, since hair is ‘closely tied to identity and confidence’ and particularly in an age of hair transplants being so common and thickening treatments endlessly advertised online.

‘That is why moments like Woody’s hair in the new Toy Story film matter, especially for children,’ she argues. ‘When young audiences see characters who are not perfectly polished, it helps normalise the reality that bodies change, and ageing is nothing to be embarrassed about.

‘It encourages kinder conversations around appearance and self worth from an early age.’

Dr Moore concludes by saying that ‘seeing a well-loved character simply exist with thinning hair sends a reassuring message that confidence and identity are not defined by hair, and that is a really positive thing for both adults and children to see.’

Another aspect of the upcoming film that’s been highly praised is the commentary on how tech has become so influential on kids.

@SketchesbyBoze says how making tech the ‘villain’ highlights ‘the effect these devices have on kids’, and @glitterjuj writes that it made them ’emotional’ to be reminded of how ‘kids need toys’.

‘They could have chosen just another wacky adventure, but instead are tackling a subversive lifestyle shift that has affected us all, not just children. Doing so in a light, entertainment film is difficult. Kudos to them if they pull it off’, posts @u_m_a_m_i.

@runawayrailways agrees: ‘in this bleak landscape for children, this movie is going to be so needed’, as @Undercovercopfr hailed the new story as ‘progressive’.

‘Seeing Bonnie turn into a full-on iPad kid glued to Lilypad actually hurt my soul. Pixar is straight-up poking at the wound of screens vs. real toys. Anyway I feel nostalgic’, @TomBradyEgo chimes in.

Directed by co-writer Andrew Stanton, Toy Story 5 welcomes back its plethora of star actors to voice the toys, including Keanu Reeves, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberger, Kristen Schaal, and Bonnie Hunt, who reprise their roles from the first four movies.

Joining the ensemble are the likes of Conan O’Brien, Craig Robinson, Ernie Hudson, Shelby Rabara, and Scarlett Spears, marking the first main film in the Toy Story series without involvement from co-creator John Lasseter, who left Pixar in 2018.

Toy Story 5 is set for release on June 19.

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