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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has logged more than 300 safety recalls across more than 100 manufacturers so far in 2026. Here is every passenger car, truck, and SUV recall NHTSA has filed in June 2026 so far, organized by automaker, along with what each one means if you currently own one of these vehicles.

As a society, we're down to spend money on a nice new living room TV every so often. But smaller spaces like the kitchen or a bedroom seem to have been dubbed undeserving of a TV upgrade — even if the current TV is crappy, or even if we spend a lot of time in that room. To be fair, there weren't many exciting options to choose from. I don't know how the stylish budget-friendly small TV market went so untapped for so long, but Hisense was genius for throwing the S5 Déco QLED TV into the mix.

What's special about the Hisense Déco TV

Available in 32 or 43 inches, the Hisense Déco TV is a purposefully small QLED TV with a chic white "art-inspired design." That's not to be confused with matte art TVs that lie flat against the wall like framed art. So while the Hisense Déco isn't a direct dupe for The Frame or the Hisense CanvasTV, it still speaks to the style-conscious part of your brain that cares about the cohesiveness of a space. Why settle for a blatantly techy TV if your bedroom's decor calls for something more whimsical?

The case for an aesthetically pleasing bedroom TV

I've been carefully curating my bedroom's ambiance for years, as most of us do. There are few places more comforting than the personal cave we've designed for ourselves, few activities that sound better than watching something cozy in bed. It simply makes sense for the TV to mesh with the rest of your decor.

The Hisense Déco TV matches my room's color scheme and level of whimsy. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

Outside of expensive art TVs with swappable frames, I don't think I had ever seen a TV that strays from the standard black design. Apparently, neither had all of the people who flooded my DMs when I posted the above photo on my Instagram Story.

"What is this?!", "I've literally never seen a white TV before omg", "I'm scared to know how much this costs but I need it", and "This pic is literally so chic omg" were just a few of the replies. You get the point: There was clearly a need for a classy little decor-centric TV that doesn't cost $600, like the smallest Frame TV.

The display flows right into the central stand, so you don't need to screw on legs. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable The remote is your average Fire TV remote. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

My current dresser was my mom's when she was a teenager in the '70s. It's an eggshell color with swirly gold handles, topped with various trinkets like antique jewelry boxes, perfume, a skeleton hand from Michaels' Halloween section that I use as a ring holder... the classics. I always thought that the arrangement was way too elegant for the old black plasticky TV that also lived there. (The mismatch would probably be less obvious if I mounted the TV on the wall instead, but I ain't doing all that.) The 32-inch Hisense Déco is the seamless addition that I had unknowingly been waiting for.

Instead of standing on two stubby legs, the Déco's curved white bezels flow directly into the base of the TV. The sculptural one-piece build feels avant-garde for TV standards, but also means that no assembly is required.

Picture quality is actually quite sharp for non-4K

The Hisense Déco's screen has some serious pop, especially compared to a dull LED screen. The Déco's full HD resolution isn't as granular as the 4K you'll see on 90 percent of TVs, but I don't think the average $200 32-inch TV buyer will be that picky about upscaling. Shadows aren't pixelated like they were on my old TV, and there's no overall fuzziness. I was thoroughly impressed by the sharpness of subtitles, despite the letters being so small.

A coral reef wouldn't be nearly this colorful on my old TV. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The layer of quantum dots picks up a lot of the slack from the lack of 4K. While LED vs. QLED and FHD vs. 4K are talking about two different TV specs (light and resolution, respectively), the range of a QLED TV's color palette does create a crispier image than an LED TV. These tiny nanocrystals can emit over a billion different colors, deepening black levels and brightening light tones to create a more contrasted picture. The colors on the Hisense Déco are legitimately stunning. They were even rich enough to hold their own against the color-changing bulbs in my nightstand, which are the only lights on in my room at night.

SEE ALSO: I've sucked at sleeping for a decade. The Hatch Restore 3 makes bedtime feel less chaotic, but it's not a cure-all.

I struggle to wind down at night as it is, so I typically don't watch anything that I actually need to pay attention to before bed. If I absolutely need some background noise, Planet Earth or Our Planet for the 40th time it is. The Déco really did the habitats on these shows justice. Between spot-on color accuracy and vibrant hues across the board, it's quite the immersive experience for such a little TV.

Bright objects in dark scenes do sometimes have a glow around them. The Déco's screen uses a direct backlight rather than full-array local dimming, so it doesn't benefit from little clusters of bulbs that turn off to reduce the halo effect. But the casual watcher probably won't even notice — a TV this small isn't meant to have the picture quality of an advanced home theater TV.

I hate when movies show the demon. Anyway, the dark scenes in "Rosario" looked awesome. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable The Déco didn't muddy the overnight recordings from "Paranormal Activity 3" at all. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

The occasional blooming didn't affect my weekend horror movie watching, at least. In my time with the Déco TV so far, I crossed Hallow Road and Rosario off my list and threw in a comfort rewatch of Paranormal Activity 3. Dark scene details in all three films were less gray and significantly more legible from a few feet away in my bed than on my old TV.

If you haven't switched to a smart TV yet, do it

Many small space TVs are such an afterthought that they haven't made it out of the dumb TV phase yet. That was me using my bedroom TV from high school at age 30. The ol' Fire Stick rig can make it possible to access streaming apps on a regular TV for several years. But as I learned, a TV can simply get so old that it can't handle an external streaming device anymore.

A single arrow click on the Fire TV remote was enough to send my old TV into shock. It was so frustrating that I stopped bothering trying to watch anything at all. So not only was that TV an ugly plastic box that didn't match my room at all, but it was doing nothing but collecting dust.

SEE ALSO: If your apartment's trash always stinks, consider Dreame's food waste disposer — it's been great for my small space

After a month or so with the Hisense Déco, I can't believe I put up with a non-smart TV setup for so long. The Déco's Fire TV interface is highly responsive and as easy to navigate as Fire TV always is. You mean I can just click on a streaming app and it plays the content? Without the possibility of spontaneous combustion?

Is it a reach to classify a reliable bedroom TV as a productivity hack? That's one surefire way to pair some universally-hated chores — like folding laundry or cursing out the fitted sheet while you make your bed — with an activity you enjoy, like catching up on a show. It's also nice to not be relegated to the living room couch if I want to watch something live. Now, I can throw the new episode of Abbott Elementary or an NBA game on in my room without propping my phone up to watch YouTube TV. (That app would have sent my old TV into orbit.)

Factors to keep in mind

The Hisense Déco TV is the rare QLED TV that isn't 4K. The difference between the Déco's FHD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) and 4K (3840 x 2160 pixels) would be most noticeable when intently watching a dark film in a dark room or playing video games. But no one would realistically be shopping for the decor-focused Déco TV with expectations for an elevated streaming or gaming experience.

The reflection of my makeup desk in the top left corner was getting distracting. Credit: Leah Stodart / Mashable

QLED TVs are naturally brighter and easier to see in sunlit rooms than LED TVs. That doesn't automatically make them immune to glare in a bright room. The Déco TV definitely struggles to neutralize reflections when watching TV during the day. Because it's designed for such casual use, I'm not that pressed about the lack of glare reduction — plus, there are significantly more expensive QLED TVs that struggle just as much in lit rooms.

The competition

For those in the market for a small budget TV, it makes the most sense to compare the Déco TV to other TVs in its price range. Barring any extra wild discounts that could pop up during an event like Prime Day, a hard $200 cutoff will typically have you looking at 32- through 50-inch 4K LED TVs.

Best Buy often has the TCL 40-inch Q35F QLED FHD Fire TV on sale for $149.99 or the 50-inch Q5 QLED 4K Fire TV on sale for $179.99. Both are obviously larger screens for a little bit less money, but both are the exact plasticky black box design that we were trying to get away from. Hisense can't just make the prettiest small TV you've ever seen and then make it the same price as a boring small TV, you know?

SEE ALSO: If dark scenes are too dark on your TV, play around with these settings Is the Hisense Déco TV worth it?

I'd recommend the Hisense Déco TV to anyone looking for a small space TV. You really couldn't ask for a more seamless TV setup: It's bright and responsive when you are watching it, stylishly camouflaged when it's off, and either size costs several hundred dollars less than The Frame of the same size.

I've been firmly on the living room side of the "bedroom person vs. living room person" conversation forever. Now, I'm convinced that some of my living room tendencies stemmed from the fact that my old bedroom TV sucked. The switch to the Hisense Déco has genuinely been such a delight, and I find myself carving out time to hang out in there instead. It's bright and bold enough for the full range of my TV watching needs, but more importantly, the satisfaction of its cohesiveness with the rest of the room never gets old.

With the world as overwhelming as it is, the safe space that is your bedroom deserves a little extra adornment. In this case, that adornment is a TV that serves c*nt.

Hisense Déco 32-inch TV $249.99 at Amazon
  Shop Now at Amazon Hisense Déco 43-inch TV $349.99 at Amazon
  Shop Now at Amazon

As expected, Android 17 has officially gone stable, and that includes Wear OS 7. The update is rolling out today to Pixel phones and Pixel Watch devices—expect Samsung Galaxy and other Android phones to start getting the update next month. Let’s take a look at what’s included.

What makes a fantastic miniseries on Netflix or HBO Max? Does the miniseries have a compelling storyline to follow over the course of at least eight episodes? Were the right actors cast in their respective roles? It sounds simple, but you'd be surprised by how many networks mess up at least one of those components, sometimes both.

Google has started rolling out its previously teased Pixel Drop feature update for June 2026 alongside the release of Android 17, and it's big news if you've wanted to generate more than just still images using Gemini — or if you're simply a heavy multitasker.

TL;DR: Live stream Portugal vs. DR Congo in the 2026 FIFA World Cup for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage is showcasing a long list of fascinating matchups, but Portugal vs. DR Congo might be one of the best. There's a growing consensus that Portugal could go far in this competition, but DR Congo will pose a genuine threat. They've got the talent to produce a shock result at the NRG Stadium.

If you want to watch Portugal vs. DR Congo in the 2026 FIFA World Cup from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Portugal vs. DR Congo?

Portugal vs. DR Congo in the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off at 1 p.m. ET on June 17. This fixture takes place at the NRG Stadium.

How to watch Portugal vs. DR Congo for free

Portugal vs. DR Congo in the 2026 FIFA World Cup is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock BBC iPlayer to live stream the 2026 World Cup for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Portugal vs. DR Congo for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit BBC iPlayer

5. Watch Portugal vs. DR Congo for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the 2026 World Cup without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream Portugal vs. DR Congo (plus more World Cup fixtures) before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Portugal vs. DR Congo in the 2026 FIFA World Cup for free with ExpressVPN.

Recently, I finally took the plunge and signed up for a shiny gigabit plan, fully expecting my downloads to finish before I could even blink. Reader, they did not. For weeks, I sat there glaring at speed tests topping out at a sad fraction of what I was paying for, convinced my ISP was pulling a fast one on me.

A wise band once said, "The years start coming and they don't stop coming." That's how I feel watching the trailer for Shrek 5, which of course, makes good use of Smash Mouth's now-franchise staple "All Star."

SEE ALSO: The internet's crashing out over Shrek's redesign in the 'Shrek 5' teaser trailer

Shrek celebrated its 25th anniversary this past May. Now just one year from being kicked off its parents' health insurance, the Academy Award-winning movie has spawned four sequels, a musical, two Puss in Boots spin-offs, and even a fan-created festival. However, there hasn't been a new Shrek film since 2010's Shrek Forever After. So what's happened in the 15 years since we last saw Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers), Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz), and Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy)?

According to Shrek 5's teaser trailer, Shrek and Fiona's triplets grew up, and they're voiced by a new generation of stars. Zendaya voices Felicia, while Saturday Night Live's Marcello Hernández and Superman's Skyler Gisondo voice her brothers, Fergus and Farkle.

While the trailer doesn't give us a sneak peek of Zendaya, Hernández, or Gisondo's ogre voices, it does tease plenty of Shrek and Donkey shenanigans as the pair head to the big city of Further Further Away. There, they encounter a sleazy snowman, who asks, "Wanna date a snowman?" in a clear shot at Frozen. (Look, it's been 15 years since Shrek Forever After, so Shrek 5 surely has a ton of Disney jokes to get off its chest.)

For more Shrek chaos, including a twerking Gingerbread Man (voiced by Conrad Vernon, who co-directs Shrek 5 with Walt Dohrn) and a family trip to jail, check out the full teaser above.

Shrek 5 hits theaters in the summer of 2027.

BMW is nearly finished with the redesigned X5 SUV, and it's promising its widest-ever selection of powertrains—including its record-setting first electric model, the iX5.

Meta is now using public posts from across its social platforms to power AI-generated search results on Facebook.

The search option, AI Mode, appears alongside standard search filters and generates responses drawn from publicly shared content, according to The Verge.

SEE ALSO: Porn company can sue Meta for torrenting its adult films for AI training, judge rules

The move is part of a broader rollout of Meta's Muse Spark model, which launched in April — the fruit of an internal AI reorganization that the company's CTO recently called "atrocious."

Muse Spark, the first AI model to come out of Meta Superintelligence Labs, was designed with everyday personal use in mind — health, shopping, visual understanding, and social content.

Meta says the model will eventually pull its recommendations from across the company's empire of social apps: Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.

The approach mirrors what Google has done with Reddit threads in its AI Overviews. The main difference is that Meta is leaning on its own ecosystem of user-generated content.

Users can also ask Muse Spark follow-up questions based on the results it generates.

The privacy implications, however, are worth watching.

Meta says the feature relies on content people have already chosen to share publicly. Unmentioned was the fact that those users may not know a "public post" is being used to train a commercial AI product.

Muse Spark is available now at meta.ai and in the Meta AI app. The company says a more advanced reasoning mode called Contemplating is in the works, but it has no confirmed release date.

With Toy Story 5 coming to theaters this week, Disney is ready to give a look at what their animation studio has coming next. Hexed is a coming-of-age adventure about a misfit teen girl named Billie (voiced by Hailee Steinfeld), who discovers she's got magical powers. What could be a super cool moment that many a kid might dream of turns out to be a big mess as it happens chaotically in her school bathroom.

"I don't even know where we go from here," her mother Alice (Rashida Jones) laments when the bathroom snafu gets Billie expelled. The answer, it turns out, is that Billie will be whisked far away from her safe suburban home to the magical realm of Hexe. There, she'll make new acquaintances like Ms. Quill (Tracey Ullman) and Elias Quire (Stephen Fry), and take on a mysterious quest that will change not only her life but the world of witches forever.

Based on this teaser, Hexed is giving The Craft meets The Owl House, and we're here for it.

Hexed opens in theaters on November 25.

How many phones have you owned over the course of your life? I generally sell my old ones, but sometimes there’s one that’s either not worth much or isn’t in good condition. That doesn’t mean they need to sit around in a drawer. Here’s what you want to do with that old device.

TL;DR: Live stream France vs. Senegal in the 2026 FIFA World Cup for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is going to be absolutely electric. Most of the drama will be reserved for the knockout rounds, but that doesn't mean we aren't getting huge games in the group stage.

Take France vs. Senegal, for example. It's one of the favorites to win the competition against a special Senegal team that some argue won AFCON earlier this year. Could Senegal turn back the clock and beat France in the group stage like they did in the opening match of the 2002 tournament? What a story that would be.

All eyes will be on the battle between Kylian Mbappe and Sadio Mane, but there really are too many stars to name in this blockbuster matchup.

If you want to watch France vs. Senegal in the 2026 FIFA World Cup from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is France vs. Senegal?

France vs. Senegal in the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on June 16. This fixture takes place at the MetLife Stadium.

How to watch France vs. Senegal for free

France vs. Senegal in the 2026 FIFA World Cup is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock BBC iPlayer to live stream the 2026 World Cup for free from anywhere in the world.

Live stream France vs. Senegal for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit BBC iPlayer

5. Watch France vs. Senegal for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can access free live streams of the 2026 World Cup without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to stream France vs. Senegal (plus more World Cup fixtures) before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming services from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream France vs. Senegal in the 2026 FIFA World Cup for free with ExpressVPN.

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel announced the launch of the company's new Specs AR glasses on Tuesday during a keynote speech at the AWE (Augmented World Expo) virtual reality expo. Unlike most other augmented reality products, the Specs are fully wireless, marking a big step forward for the product category.

The Specs AR glasses are available for preorder now for $2,195 (with a refundable $200 deposit), and according to Snap, they'll ship this fall to customers in the United States, the UK, and France. The glasses come in two sizes, with a 47mm model weighing 132 grams and a 52mm model weighing 136 grams.

Smart glasses are an umbrella term that includes a wide range of augmented reality and AI technologies.

With the Specs, Snap seems to be taking an all-of-the-above approach, which is reflected in the price tag.

"We gave ourselves a very difficult challenge," Spiegel said during his keynote. "Specs had to be capable, they had to be wearable, and they had to be more accessible than any other spatial computer has ever been before."

Smart glasses are a fast-growing category, with Apple, Samsung, and Google all confirmed or rumored to be working on upcoming products. However, the Spec's AR glasses house never-before-seen features for the category, which are closer to headsets like the Apple Vision Pro than other smart glasses.

The new Specs feature a proprietary liquid-crystal-on-silicon display, and the glasses can create the equivalent of a 24-inch desktop display for work tasks or a 115-inch screen for entertainment. Unlike AR glasses from companies like TCL RayNeo and Xreal, the Specs do not connect to another device via a computing puck or USB-C tether. They also support hand-tracking for gesture control.

The new Specs glasses from Snap, parent company of Snapchat. Credit: Snap

Snap said that it has filed more than 7,000 patents while working on Specs glasses over the past decade. The previous version of Snap smart glasses, the Snapchat Spectacles released in 2024, were bulky and served more as a proof-of-concept than a practical consumer gadget. However, with a $2,195 preorder price, the new Specs are also significantly more expensive than other AR glasses.

Previous generations of Snapchat smart glasses were bulky and impractical for everyday use. Credit: Snap

Snap said the glasses will provide a "more seamless view of the world with minimal distortion." The glasses also feature electrochromic lenses, which can shift from clear to tinted in 10 seconds.

"Specs are not designed to replace the world," Spiegel said. "They're designed to bring computing into it."

How do the new Specs glasses work? Previous generations of Specs glasses on display at AWE 2026. Credit: Snap

Specs are a head-worn computer in the shape of glasses, and according to a press release, they feature two on-board processors.

The untethered AR glasses are powered by two Snapdragon processors. One powers computer vision, while the other is dedicated to running the display lenses, hand tracking, and interactivity. Snap said the glasses offer "7-millisecond motion-to-photon latency, helping digital content feel anchored in the real world."

In that sense, the glasses are more similar to the Samsung Galaxy XR or Apple Vision Pro headsets than other display glasses, like the Meta Ray-Ban Display or Even Realities glasses.

Other key specifications include:

• A 51-degree field of view, equivalent to looking at a 115-inch screen at 10 feet away

• Custom stereo speakers

• Six high-SNR MEMS microphones

• Swiss TR90 polymer frame

• Display supports 16 million colors

Snap said the glasses will provide up to four hours of mixed-use battery life, which reportedly includes both audio and video playback, as well as AI interaction. A charging case will provide additional charges, for a total battery life of 20 hours.

To attract third-party apps and partners to the Specs ecosystem, Snap also announced the launch of a new developer preview and native development kit. The developer tools will be available in the Snap Lens Studio, and a developer preview will also be available in Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor.

The glasses are available for preorder starting today at Specs.com.

Mashable Enterprise Editor Neal Broverman provided additional reporting for this article.

UPDATE: Jun. 16, 2026, 1:34 p.m. EDT This article has been updated with additional information about the Specs glasses.

Dark mode is supposed to make screens easier on your eyes, but it can feel a little dull over time. Dark mode lowers brightness on websites, but it doesn't strip things down. High contrast mode does something completely different. It's exactly what you need if you think dark mode isn't going far enough.

Car ownership in the U.S. is changing fast, with vehicles now averaging a record age of around 13 years in 2026. The main reason is simple: new cars are expensive, with prices hovering near $50,000 and monthly payments that can easily stretch past $1,000 for a growing number of buyers.

I switched DNS providers more times than I care to admit, and it was never fun -- setting up custom DNS can be a real chore. Still, I was convinced there had to be a reason that certain websites kept failing to load properly.

If you're over six feet tall or have a larger frame, you've probably noticed that most office chairs weren't designed with you in mind. Seats and armrests that press into your legs and sides, and headrests that sit at shoulder height, aren't minor inconveniences. Over a full working day, they add discomfort.

It feels both impossible and inevitable that we've arrived at Toy Story 5. 

When Toy Story hit theaters in 1995, it was groundbreaking. The first release from Pixar Animation Studios was also the first animated feature created entirely with computers. Critics cheered, audiences flocked, and a toy cowboy named Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and a space ranger named Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) became instantly iconic. Then, bucking tradition, the sequel that followed in 1999 was actually even better than the original.

Introducing Jessie, the heartbroken cowgirl, (Joan Cusack) and her horse buddy Bullseye, Toy Story 2 expanded the world, the lore, and the themes of the first film. In Toy Story, Woody fears being forgotten by his owner, Andy. In Toy Story 2, the agony of that experience is efficiently distilled into Jessie's flashback with her first kid, Emily, scored by a rueful Sarah McLaughlin singing "When She Loved Me." If you sniffled at even remembering this sequence, you're not alone. 

Toy Story 3 followed, introducing Bonnie, a new kid for Woody and his friends to play with at Sunnyside Daycare, and presenting the franchise's biggest bad yet in Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear (Ned Beatty). (Also this third film gave us the absolute gift of Michael Keaton as Ken, years before Barbie.) Once more, critics cheered how this franchise about toys continued to mature. Toy Story 4 came nine years later, introducing Forky (Tony Hale), a spork turned into a toy by Bonnie's creativity. Though a deeply charming movie, the fourth installment didn’t feel as profound as its predecessors. And now, Toy Story 5 asks how Woody and the gang's world will change with the rise of AI and tech toys. 

In Toy Story 5, the antagonist is a tablet named Lilypad (Greta Lee), who's so addictive that analog toys worry this could mean the end of playtime. It's sort of funny to see a computer-animated movie attempt to critique the dangers of tech to a child's imagination. But as you might predict of Disney — who acquired Pixar 20 years back — there's no meaningful critique of tech toys or AI in Toy Story 5. Instead, digital devices versus analog toys become a way to explore how to find human connection.

Jessie is the hero of Toy Story 5.  Jessie squares off against Lilypad in "Toy Story 5." Credit: Disney/Pixar

Remember, at the end of Toy Story 4, Woody retired from being Bonnie's (Scarlett Spears) toy to reconnect with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and live in a playground as a "lost toy". Without him, Jessie has taken over as the playroom's sheriff, inspiring a bunch of imaginative scenarios of play, and making sure all the toys feel safe and seen. But a new challenge arises when eight-year-old Bonnie's parents buy her Lilypad to help her fit in and make friends. Her peers are all online, constantly connected to The Pond (Lilypad's social media network), playing games and messaging each other with little to no parental involvement. 

No sooner has Lily arrived that Bonnie becomes zombie-like, ignoring her other toys, stressing over missing online chat sessions, and endlessly tapping the screen. Jessie fears no real friends can be made with this "device," a word that Cusack utters like a slur. So, she sets out to help Bonnie make friends in person. But some big choices lead to Jessie and Bullseye ending up far from home, where the cowgirl is forced to confront her past trauma over losing Emily. 

Meanwhile, Woody has returned to help Buzz, who's been deputized by Jessie, to keep Lily in check. Though the words "AI" or "artificial intelligence" are never uttered in this movie, Lilypad's sentience leads to trouble for the toys and poor Bonnie. 

Toy Story 5 is about being the weird kid.  Bonnie plays with Jessie while other girls play on their tablets in "Toy Story 5." Credit: Disney/Pixar

It's been 31 years since I first saw Toy Story. And like that aching flashback in Toy Story 2, Bonnie's experience here hit me hard in the heart. Since she was introduced in Toy Story 3, this cute kiddo with a brunette bob, a love of color, and macabre storylines has been adored by her toys for her creativity. But to other kids, Bonnie is a weirdo. 

At the start of Toy Story 5, she's having a blast imagining a wedding ceremony where someone has poisoned the water hole maid-of-honor (her dramatic flourishes emphasized in a stylized animation, with softer lines and more vivid colors). But when the neighborhood twins arrive nearby, Bonnie is instantly self-conscious and flustered about how to invite them over to play. Her parents notice, and know the girls in her dance class use Lilypad to play games together online. So they believe they're helping when they present Bonnie with her own. However, as many a parent has learned, letting a kiddo go unsupervised online can lead to bullying, stress, and heartache. 

Blaze types on her laptop in "Toy Story 5." Credit: Disney/Pixar

Because the other kids favor tablets over toys, Bonnie resists playing with her toys, as she has internalized the social pressure that such behavior isn't cool. A sting of remembrance — when Toy Story first came out, I was at the point in grade school when my peers insisted we were collectively too old for dolls and toys. So, I'd taken to hiding my favorites in a small box, tucked away from judgmental eyes. I'd still play, but alone. 

In Toy Story 5, Bonnie is not alone. Through Jessie's haphazard daring-do, the toys meet Blaze (Mykal-Michelle Harris), a nine-and-a-half-year-old who is as high-energy and gleefully goofy as Bonnie. She also seems to have a healthier relationship with technology. Now the trick is how to bring them together? 

It'll take a lot more than a virtual pond or a snarky tablet to save Bonnie from her aching isolation. Jessie will make new allies in some of Blaze's clunky tech devices, like a potty training toy called Smarty Pants (Conan O'Brien). And meanwhile, Woody, Buzz, and a fleet of recently unboxed, high-tech Buzzes will aid in an audacious rescue effort that leads to some splendidly exciting action sequences. 

Joan Cusack is marvelous in Toy Story 5.  Jessie looks out of a closet in "Toy Story 5." Credit: Disney/Pixar

While the inclusion of high-tech toys is certainly the gimmick of Toy Story 5, it is not the focus. Instead, the story evolves into being about how to find your people. Jessie, once a lost toy, knows the pain of feeling alone. And even as she faces her fears of abandonment, she fights to save her kid from that pain. 

Jessie is a reflection of Bonnie and Blaze. She is spirited and silly, with a big heart that’s easily wounded. And yet she is brave. While Woody and Buzz get up to plenty of hijinks that are great for a trailer and some belly laughs, it is Jessie and her girls who make Toy Story 5 more than just another film in this franchise. They carve out a place for the little weirdos, to be seen and celebrated. 

Directed by Andrew Stanton, who co-wrote the screenplay with Kenna Harris, Toy Story brings back characters we love while introducing new toys for the merchandising line, including Lilypad. Yet the soul of these movies is not lost to consumerism requirements. The animation here is as winsome as ever. The story is admittedly thin, offering not one but two Buzz subplots to fill its feature-length runtime. Still, it is captivating even while uneven. But above all else, Cusack, who has been the MVP of such bizarre kids movies as Toys and Addams Family Values, commands this sequel with her unflappable moxie. 

Woody and Buzz strategize how to best Lilypad in "Toy Story 5." Credit: Disney/Pixar

Whether she is cheering for her friends or condemning her foes, Jessie is exhilarating, funny, and riveting. Cusack's performance is bolstered by a top tier animation team, who’ve made a beautiful and gleefully alive cowgirl and continued that careful illustration to a broader cast of characters. Perhaps predictably Toy Story 5 is an unabashed crowd pleaser. But more than that, it is a mainstream film that thoughtfully champions the unconventional. Through Jessie, Bonnie, and Blaze this joyous sequel cheers the weirdos, acknowledging the hurt of being left out, and the heady highs of finding community through shared strangeness. 

Simply put, this sequel is wacky, warm, and unapologetically weird. Yeehaw. 

Toy Story 5 opens in theaters on June 19.

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Making your own coffee at home can end up saving you a significant amount of money in the long run. Whether you love an espresso or you like to make creamy, milk-centric shakes, it's a good idea to invest in at least some sort of coffee maker if you're spending a lot of cash at Starbucks. If you're looking to grab a machine ahead of Prime Day, we've found one that's well worth the price, especially at this discount.

As of June 16, get the Ninja Luxe Cafe Pro Series espresso machine for $599, down from its usual price of $749.99. That's $150.99 off and the best-ever price.

SEE ALSO: 6 early Prime Day deals under $50 worth shopping before the sale begins

This machine has the ability of four in one. It can brew coffee, cold brew, espresso, and more, with the touch of a button. It has its own independent hot water system with five espresso styles and two cold brew styles as well as varying sizes of drinks should you want a little more or a little less each day.

Its goal is to make getting coffee into the real world and into your digestive system as easily as possible, and it does that with weight-based dosing, customized grind-size recommendations, and active brew adjustments so you don't have to do any of the guesswork. Plus, it has hands-free frothing so all you have to worry about is drinking the finished product.

It's an investment to be sure, but well worth the cash if you want to get the most out of your mornings without spending an arm and a leg.