Toy Story 5 at The Village

Last night I went to the semi-recently reopened Village Theater in Coronado. I had discovered it just before its temporary shutdown and transition to new owners. It was good to be back! This little gem is a treasure that far outshines the other theaters that are located at the overpopulated malls.



The Village first opened in 1947 and was a lively entertainment center for Coronado until the birth of the multiplex dampened its popularity. In 2011, the theater was revamped by designer Joseph Musil (the genius behind the restoration of Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre).



From the Coronado History Page:

In 2011, the revamped Coronado Village Theater opened with the premiere of the film “Cars 2”. It retains its original Art Deco theme on the interior. While the original theater featured one room and sat 600 people, the renovated theater has three showing rooms, with its main room seating 215. The main room features artistic renditions of both the Coronado and San Diego Skyline, as well as other landmarks such as the Bay Bridge and the Hotel del Coronado. The other two rooms have 38 seats, respectively, and showcase murals of the famed San Diego Exposition of 1915 as well as San Diego’s Balboa Park. The murals were hand painted by Bill Anderson, a Disney muralist. Both new residents and locals who remember the original, quaint theater greatly appreciate the Coronado Village Theater as a lively source of activity and entertainment on the island.



I love the art deco styling inside, which still has a modern feeling to it.



I skipped over “The Odyssey” and “Moana” (!) and went right for “Toy Story 5,” which was playing in the Balboa Room theater.



The saturated colors in the smaller theater were right up my alley.



On either side of the screen were murals that represented San Diego’s Balboa Park; on the left were buildings from the 1935 Exposition in Balboa Park:



…and the Casa del Prado:



And the movie? I LOVED the first “Toy Story,” but each time a sequel was announced, I thought, “Why do they need to go back?” Each time, I have been pleasantly surprised. Somehow, Pixar has managed to keep this franchise fresh and innovative. This time, Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack) is the lead, ably supported by her faithful horse, Bullseye.



Navigating the hot topic of what “devices” have done to kids (and our society), the film tugs at heartstrings, challenges the way we live, and also makes you laugh. What more can you ask for in a film? In a time when people have shut off their brains for AI, it is refreshing to see this movie tackle the controversy and attempt to remind the audience that all of these “devices” are tools, not substitutes for intelligence and creative thinking…and most importantly, play!



On the way out, I noticed the Night & Day Cafe, which stays open until midnight. It looked like a scene straight out of Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks. I need to go back here!



See more Coronado Island photos at my main website.