Toy Story Asks:
What Matters Most in the World to a Toy?

This is the question explored in the Toy Story movie. In this Pixar world, toys come to life when people are not in the room, and we get to see life through their eyes. We get to see what toys care about and we learn that they're the most concerned two times a year: every birthday and every Christmas.

Why?

That's when a new toy may come into the household and one of the old toys may be tossed aside as the new one becomes the favorite.

The characters in Toy Story belong to Andy, a little boy just turning five years old. Andy's favorite toy is Woody, an old-fashioned cowboy doll with a pull-string recorded voice; he is the leader of this group.

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Green plastic soldiers are sent on a reconnaissance mission to spy on the party from a nearby potted houseplant, reporting via baby monitor what the presents contain as Andy opens them.

The last birthday present, the largest one, arrived unexpectedly just as everyone thought Andy had gotten everything. It was the coolest new spaceman toy with flashing lights, a digitized push button voice "To Infinity and Beyond!", and neat pop-out wings.

Presenting Buzz Lightyear!

Woody was worried, and rightfully so. Was his worst fear going to come true? Would this new Buzz Lightyear character become Andy's favorite toy? Will Woody be tossed aside?

In Toy Story, Andy and his friends all run up to his room and he tosses Buzz Lightyear onto his bed and they all rush out for more birthday fun and games. The toys all gather round to be introduced to Buzz.

Buzz Lightyear is a space ranger action figure, sort of like a galactic police officer, and does not understand that he's a toy. Woody laughs at Buzz who thinks he is a real space ranger. Woody later tries to convince Buzz that he's not on a serious interstellar mission and his lights and lasers are all fake and no, he cannot fly!

Buzz thinks Woody's full of nonsense. He's searching for the evil Emporer Zurg and shall save the universe! And the other toys are still so in awe of Buzz's fancy gadgets that they don't think to convince him he's a toy just like they are.

A Toy's Biggest Fear is to be Rejected

So naturally, he doesn't like Buzz Lightyear very much because of of this jealousy. In Toy Story, Andy is going to Pizza Planet and is told he can only bring one toy. Woody accidentally shoves Buzz out the window and into the bushes when he tried instead to hide him behind a dresser.

Andy looks around for his new Buzz Lightyear doll and cannot find him, so he reluctantly chooses Woody to bring along. This is lucky for Woody because the other toys saw what happened to Buzz and they thought Woody pushed him out on purpose, and now they're angry with Woody.

You certainly feel badly for Woody by now - haven't we all felt misunderstood AND jealous all at once? And it seems to get worse if we explain away. Poor Woody.

Buzz is not far behind, though. He grabs onto the family car and hitches a ride. The car makes a stop and a Dinoco gas station and Buzz makes his appearance to Woody. But the two get into a fight and fall out of the car.

Buzz and Woody become stranded when the car suddenly takes off. They nearly get run over too, when a huge truck pulls up in its place. But luckily, they find an old yellow Pizza Planet pick-up and Buzz dutifully sits in the front seat, buckled in, hidden from view.

Woody stays in the back of the truck, getting beat up by the tool box as the speeding truck screeches around corners toward Pizza Planet.

As the two of them go on a search for Andy, Buzz gets sidetracked and climbs into a game where a mechanized crane that the player controls comes down and grabs a prize and dispenses it. The container-like game is full of three-eyed green aliens who all think alike and idolize Buzz, further making him think he's a real space ranger.

Rivalry Turns to Friendship

Later we learn that these poor misfits are good guys. The helped put Buzz Lightyear's broken arm back on when he tries to fly out a window and discovers that Woody is right, he is only a toy.

The mutant toys also help Woody and Buzz escape and get back home to Andy before he and his family move away to their new house.

What saved the day?

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The rocket that Sid taped to Buzz's back! Both Woody and Buzz are driving a remote control car, following the moving truck with the rest of the toys in the back. They are going as fast as they can, but they just can't go fast enough. And in no time, the little RC car runs out of battery power and they stop.

But Woody is able to light the rocket and they streak up into the sky. Buzz Lightyear pops out his wings and they glide right into the family car through the sun roof and land next to Andy.

Toy Story had such a fantastic ending! I was on the edge of my seat during those final moments of the movie. How about you?