In Toy Story 2, Woody's Fear of Rejection
Becomes a Reality

All the toys are back in Toy Story 2, and the first scene shows Buzz Lightyear on an adventure on a moon-like barren planet. The special effects are like a roller coaster ride! He's out to defeat his arch nemesis Emperor Zurg. However, it's Zurg who defeats Buzz! Fortunately, we soon discover that these scenes are just a video game that Rex is playing, with a dismayed Buzz standing next to him.

Shortly after, Andy is playing aggressively (as most boys do) with Buzz Lightyear and Woody in his room. It's about three years after the first Toy Story movie ends, and he's in his new home.

Andy accidentally tears Woody's arm during the rough house playing and absolutely does not want Woody to come along this year to the annual cowboy camp. So he tosses Woody up onto a dusty shelf and goes off to camp by himself.

This greatly upsets Woody and it gives him a nightmare about getting tossed into the garbage. He wakes up when Andy's mother is going through his room, looking for unused toys and putting them in a box destined for the upcoming yard sale.

Also on the dusty shelf is their old friend Wheezy, a squeeze toy penguin whose squeaker is broken. Andy's mom takes Wheezy away and put him into the yard sale box. In Toy Story 2, a yard sale is one of the most feared events in a toy's lifetime.

A Kidnapping with a Few Surprises

Woody enlists the help of Buster the dog, who was mentioned as the new puppy at the end of the first Toy Story. Together they sneak outside and rescue Wheezy, and while they get Wheezy out safely, Woody ends up as a yard sale item.

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Discovered by Al McWiggin, the owner of Al's Toy Barn (as seen in the first Toy Story as a commercial on TV in Sid's house) Al tries to talk Andy's mom into selling Woody to him, but she refuses, saying he's not for sale.

Al refuses to leave Woody behind, because he's an avid toy collector and really wants this Woody doll. So he causes a distraction and steals Woody by stuffing him in his bag. The toys upstairs witness the kidnapping, and Buzz Lightyear immediately starts a rescue plan with the help of Rex, Slinky Dog, Hamm and Mr. Potato Head.

The only clue the toys have to go on is a feather that came off Al's car as it sped away. With the help of quick-drawing Etch-a-Sketch, they put the pieces together that Al is the dancing chicken of Al's Toy Barn. They know where they need to go!

Before leaving, Mrs. Potato Head helps Mr. Potato Head pack everything he might possibly need into his storage space in his back, including his all-important angry eyes.

Meanwhile, Al takes Woody up to his apartment, in a high rise building across the street from his toy store. He places Woody carefully in a display case and leaves.

As soon as he's gone, out jumps Jessie, a pretty little yodeling cowgirl who gives Woody a huge hug and introduces him to Bullseye the horse, and Stinky Pete, AKA the Prospector. Pete is still in his original box, never opened or played with ever!

In Toy Story 2, Woody learns that he is part of a vintage toy collection from an old popular TV series called Woody's Roundup. There are all kinds of toys and merchandise that Al has acquired and now Woody makes Al's collection complete. Al has plans to sell this collection to a toy museum in Tokyo, Japan. Al even hires Geri the Cleaner to restore Woody to his original glory, repairing his arm, airbrushing the blush in his cheeks.... and painting over Andy's name on the bottom of his boot.

Jessie, Bullseye and The Prospector are all excited about going to the museum, but Woody is not so sure, because he knows he still belongs to Andy. He tries several times to escape the apartment to try and get back home, but fails.

Which is Better for a Toy?

Jessie doesn't understand Woody's reluctance. She becomes upset and tells Woody her story of how she once belonged to a girl named Emily. Her story is set to an emotional song of how she and Emily loved one another and spent all their time together until Emily grew up and forgot about Jessie, who was under the bed gathering dust. Keep a box of tissues handy for this scene.

Woody begins to have second thoughts about his decision after hearing Jessie's tale. He knows Andy will grow up and become disinterested in him. But if he goes to Japan to live in a museum, he will be cherished forever, but never loved and played with the way a child does. Woody reluctantly agrees to go to the museum.

Meanwhile, Buzz and the gang make their way to Al's Toy Barn in search of Woody. Buzz comes across an entire store aisle full of new edition Buzz Lightyears and even gets into trouble with one of them who had the same problem Buzz originally had: Buzz 2 didn't realize he was a toy!

Buzz 2 thinks Buzz is out of line by "coming to life" before reaching a child, and so they get into a scuffle and Buzz 2 puts Buzz into a Buzz Lightyear merchandise box and then goes off with the rest of Andy's toys.

As they are leaving, Buzz 1 manages to free himself and upon leaving Al's Toy Barn, he unknowingly frees an Emperor Zurg action figure, who follows him out and intends to destroy Buzz.

When the Toy Story 2 rescue party finally make it to Al's apartment and find Woody, he tells them he's decided to go to Japan after all. Buzz 1 catches up at last and after hearing this, tells Woody the words he heard in the first Toy Story: That you are a TOY! A child's plaything!

Woody turns his back on his friends, and they leave.

Let's All Go Together!

Eventually coming to his senses and realizing his mistake, Woody comes up with an idea: He calls Buzz and the toys back and invites Jessie, Bullseye and the Prospector to join him at Andy's.

Jessie and Bullseye love the idea, but Pete does not. He says that this is his first chance to ever be appreciated and does not want Woody to ruin it for him. He gets out of his box and blocks the escape route.

Al returns to his apartment and starts packing the Roundup Gang for the Tokyo trip. The rest of Andy's toys are in hot pursuit heading for the elevator shaft when the Emperor Zurg appears, ready to defeat Buzz Lightyear.

In Toy Story 2, Buzz 2 and Zurg battle it out on the top of the elevator with Zurg firing off ping pong-like balls out of his huge gun - with Zurg's menacing appearance, this makes it all the more funny.

Then, Buzz 2 and Zurg engage in a hilarious parody of The Empire Strikes Back with Zurg revealing himself as Buzz's father just before Rex inadvertently knocks Zurg into the depths of the elevator shaft. Rex feels like a real hero, especially since it's become his own mission to defeat Zurg in the video games. It's a fantastic scene in Toy Story 2!

Once at the bottom, the rescue party finds an empty Pizza Planet truck, but Buzz 2 and Zurg decide to stay behind to play father/son games together. The rest are able to drive to the airport in pursuit of Woody.

Buzz and the toys are able to free Woody and Bullseye from the suitcase while inside the baggage handling area amongst the winding, fast moving conveyor belts. However, Stinky Pete puts up a fight, first with Buzz, then with Woody, ripping his arm again, rendering it useless.

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The gang get Pete, though and stuff him a little girl's backpack, so that he will come to "learn the true meaning of playtime" and Pete is horrified to see a Barbie next to him with her face all painted up with rainbows and flowers.

Jessie still needs to be rescued, and Woody follows her up into the cargo area of the airplane. Jessie and Woody slink down the landing gear of the plane as it taxis down the runway, and they jump onto Bullseye, ridden by Buzz as they gallop like the wind to keep up with the plane before it takes off.

Whew! Everybody is safe at last and the airplane takes off, but one soon lands overhead, far too close for comfort.

New Additions to the Room

Back at home, Jessie, Bullseye and three Alien Squeeze Toys are adopted into the family. Andy returns home from cowboy camp, thrilled at seeing his new toys, thinking his mother gave them to him.

He repairs Woody's arm himself, over stuffing it, making it look extremely muscular. Woody couldn't be happier. Buzz seems smitten with Jessie, too.

An Al's Toy Barn TV commercial shows Al down in the dumps, trying fruitlessly to be a funny chicken because he's crying the whole time.

Woody and Buzz accept that Andy will outgrow them one day, but they will always be there for each other for "infinity and beyond". Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head adopt the three Alien Squeeze Toys and Mr. Wheezy got his squeaker fixed and can now sing!

You couldn't ask for a better ending in Toy Story 2.