You! Are! A! Toy!

by June
(Nebraska)

I really like Toy Story and especially like the rivalry and eventual friendship that develops between two toys: Woody, an old fashioned cowboy toy with a pull string and Buzz Lightyear, an astronaut toy.


Both of these toys belong to a boy named Andy. Woody has been Andy’s favorite toy since he was little and Andy plays with Woody a lot. Andy receives Buzz Lightyear for his birthday and Woody becomes jealous of Buzz and afraid that Andy will replace him as his favorite toy so he plots to make Woody disappear.


His plan is foiled and he ends up having to retrieve Buzz and get back home before Andy and his family move to a new house or risk being left behind.


Buzz thinks he’s a real space commander until he sees a commercial on television which features a toy that looks just like him. Even then he doesn’t believe he’s a toy.


Woody says to him “You! Are! A! Toyyyyy! You aren’t the real Buzz Lightyear! You’re an action figure! You are a child’s plaything.”


Buzz Lightyear responds, “You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity.”


I just love this exchange between these two.


Woody tries to fly out a window and when he can’t, eventually comes to the realization that he is indeed only a toy which makes him sad. Woody convinces Buzz that even though he’s a toy and not a real space ranger, he still has a place as one of Andy’s favorite toys.


Overall, I love Toy Story because it's a movie where I forgot that the characters were toys. I really cared about Buzz and Woody and was rooting for them to get home in time to move with Andy to his new home.