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WARNING - SPOILERS BELOW: A mum has hit out at Toy Story 5 after claiming the Pixar film sent her children the wrong message, leaving her with an even bigger battle at home over kids and technology

Toy Story has been capturing young audiences for decades - and since then, it has been teaching children various lessons through its stories. But one frustrated mum claims Toy Story 5 taught her children the "wrong lesson" altogether - leaving her facing an even tougher battle over screen time at home.

Continuing from the previous four films, the latest Pixar movie sees Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the rest of the gang confronting a fresh challenge in the world of play - technology. The toys quickly discover that children would prefer spending hours on their tablets, referred to as LilyPad devices in the film, rather than playing with traditional toys, forcing them to watch from the sidelines.

As the story progresses, the toys discover that technology and traditional play can coexist, with each providing children with different advantages and life skills.

Nevertheless, one mum believes her children interpreted a completely different message.

Rather than being motivated to put down their tablets and engage with their toys, she claims they left thinking technology was the hero of the story.

Writing on Reddit's Mommit forum, the exasperated parent stated: "I was so p***ed off at the ending of this movie. Why couldn't the iPad be a villain they defeated at the end? They had full-on villains they defeated in the other Toy Story movies.

"No, instead it gets accepted by the other toys. I was just really disappointed and thought this one would have a lesson."

She revealed she had paid for cinema tickets hoping the film would inspire her children to reduce their screen time and engage more with physical toys - but feels it achieved the opposite result.

She continued: "My kids' favourite character from this movie? The LilyPad (iPad device). 'She's a good guy! See, the other toys accepted her!'

"The most worrying part? Bonnie's parents didn't even try to restrict it. It came away with the lesson that because it could potentially connect kids with strangers... that's somehow a good thing. So the moral of the story was that iPads are a good way to connect to strangers."

While some parents shared her worries, others maintained the film's message was about striking a healthy balance between technology and traditional play.

One parent responded: "Maybe the lesson is for parents to be more proactive about monitoring what their children are doing on their tablets."

Another commented: "I loved the movie. Devices aren't going anywhere for the majority of kids. But we don't own any devices for our kids. If you want them off them, take them away. They will need a detox."

A third posted: "Taking children to watch a movie on a screen to inspire them to use fewer screens? Use the parental controls to limit their tablet time and access.

"LilyPad isn't portrayed as evil because she's not evil. The parents in the movie shouldn't have given their elementary-aged child unmonitored chat access."