History Main / NeverHadToys

* One episode of ''Series/EerieIndiana'' had a toy factory owner whose FantasyForbiddingFather made him run the family toy business, but never allowed his son to actually play with any of them.

* ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'': In a variation PlayedForDrama, Daniel Hartigan (the future Plutionian) never had toys because his [[MuggleFosterParents Muggle Foster Parent]] Bill Hartigan, in an act of ToughLove to mould him into a hero, made them give them away to charity as soon as he got them to show him how there were people with greater needs than his. [[GoneHorriblyRight It did make him very selfless, all right]], to the point that when he completely snapped and [[GoingPostal went postal]] on ''[[PersonOfMassDestruction the whole planet]]'' when he couldn't stand anymore the [[UngratefulBastard ungratefulness of the literal vocal minority of mankind]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Pinkie Pie, the resident [[IncrediblyLamePun party animal]], describes her upbringing on a rock farm this way. All she and her sisters ever did was work on the farm, until one day she swung hard in the other direction and devoted her life to bringing happiness to others.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'': In "Santa Mask", Kellaway tells Doyle he stopped believing in SantaClaus when he was five because he asked for a clockwork train called Captain Choo-choo and won a lousy shirt, instead. At the end of the episode, he finds a Captain Choo-choo behind his tote bag in the office and sheds a tear, although he still refuses to believe in Santa [[StillBelievesInSanta openly]].

* Their parents were strict, [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]], or even [[AbusiveParents abusive]] and couldn't be bothered to give their children toys, thought they were a waste of time, or even [[TheKilljoy didn't want their kids to have fun]] (and thus might have given away any toys the child received). These cases may be a HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood if played for laughs.

** In the episode "Destroy All Robots", Principal Culpepper is a FunHatingConfiscatingAdult who takes toys from children, seemingly with the intent of destroying them. Tommy later discovers that she actually takes them so she can play with them herself. She reveals that she does so because she was never allowed to play with dolls as a girl, and had to make her own out of chicken bones and tinfoil.

'''Ross:''' You had a barrel for a doll house?\\

->''"I'll rid them of every plaything, oh, it thrills me to my bones!''
->''No red rubber balls, no dainty dolls, no tiny telephones''
->''If I did without such rubbish, why shouldn't everyone, n'est-ce pas?''
->''We'll live in a toyless world at last, hurrah!''"

-->'''Ray:''' You mean you never even had a Slinky?
-->'''Egon:''' We had part of a Slinky. But I straightened it.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In "Booby Trap", Worf reveals that he never played with toys even as a kid. This fits with his gruff, ComicallySerious personality.

-->'''Jade:''' I'm sick of this. Ice cream reminds me of my childhood.
-->'''Cat:''' You didn't have a happy childhood?
-->'''Jade:''' My favorite toy was a hammer. You finish the puzzle.

* ''[[VideoGame/FreddiFish Freddi Fish 2: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse]]'': [[spoiler:At the end of the game, it is revealed that the ghost that seems to be haunting the schoolhouse and stealing toys from the children is just two criminal sharks in disguise stealing toys on behalf of their criminal boss, the Squidfather. He commanded them to steal toys for himself due to never having one. Though the toys are returned, Luther gives up his action figure, saying that even the Squidfather "deserves one toy".]]

* In the Brazilian series of animated shorts "Juro Que Vi" (same as "I saw it, I swear"), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIYAnVSlV-U the episode about the sacis]] tells the story of a cantankerous farmer feared even by his horses. A saci pulls pranks on him -- [[ThePrankster and everybody else in the farm]] -- until he finds an old photo album. Through the photos, the saci learns that the farmer had to work hard on the plantations since he was a kid. Subverted that he actually had one toy, a wooden horse, but never came to play with it, and now its head adorned his cane. He traps the saci in a bottle but accidentally causes a fire when he tries to escape with his prey from other angry sacis. In despair, he decides to release his small prisoner so at least one of them would survive; in gratitude, the sacis turn the farmer back into a child (physically and mentally), so he will have a happy childhood this time, raised by his former staff.

* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2022'': Kevin at one point asks the Boss to go with him to a new wing of [[SuckECheeses FB's]] so that he can buy a collection of BlandNameProduct versions of Franchise/{{Transformers}}, admitting that he could never get any of those toys as a child at the original release, due to growing up in a foster home. The Boss [[PetTheDog agrees to Kevin's request]]. Of course, this being a [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster Saints Row]] game, they then find out that rival gang the [[BombThrowingAnarchists Idols]] have stolen all the toys, so they decide to [[PayEvilUntoEvil kill them for it]].

If the reason was due to poverty or abuse, it's often a DarkAndTroubledPast, and they often will have wished for toys all their life, or possibly had [[FriendlessBackground no friends either]], and may still want toys or play with them even as an adult (in a downplayed, justified case of {{Manchild}}, or, if a villain, PsychopathicManchild.) They may have also played with random objects in lieu of proper toys (sometimes to CompanionCube levels, though not always) or [[MyNewGiftIsLame been given boring gifts]]. This trope may be a FreudianExcuse for a FunHatingVillain. If someone gives such a character a toy, it's usually ThrowTheDogABone... provided they're not one of those cases where they don't want toys to begin with. Not to be confused with ToylessToylineCharacter. Compare LostToyGrievance and NeverHadABirthdayParty. Contrast TragicAbandonedToy and VengefulAbandonedToy. If it's due to poverty, choice, or culture, and the character is elderly, they may tell it as a WhenIWasYourAge story.

* Implied in ''Film/TheChristmasThatAlmostWasnt''. Although it's never specifically stated that Mr. Prune had ''no'' toys as a kid, he did [[FaceHeelTurn turn evil]] after an incident where Santa Claus failed to bring Prune a toy sailboat one Christmas when Prune was a kid. It was the only thing that Prune asked for that year. Prune is shown to [[ChildHater despise children]] because their parents pile so much love on them. (This is made especially clear in his VillainSong, "Kids Get All the Breaks," which was only featured on the soundtrack, and not in the movie.)

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'': At one point, Winston has to write an obituary for a nonexistent person named Comrade Ogilvy as part of his job. Part of the biography for Comrade Ogilvy states that as a child, he refused to play with most toys - the few toys he'd play with were military-oriented, such as a drum, toy gun, and toy helicopter. It is also stated that throughout his life, Ogilvy had no other hobbies or forms of recreation other than serving Big Brother. [[CrapsackWorld Given the totalitarianistic form of government that the novel is set in]], this style of life is actually ''idealized'' by the citizens of Oceania.

* In the Brazilian series of animated shorts "Juro Que Vi" (same as "I saw it, I swear"), [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIYAnVSlV-U the episode about the sacis]] tells the story of a cantankerous farmer feared even by his horses. A saci pulls pranks on him - [[ThePrankster and everybody else in the farm]] - until he finds an old photo album. Through the photos, the saci learns that the farmer had to work hard on the plantations since he was a kid. Subverted that he actually had one toy, a wooden horse, but never came to play with it, and now its head adorned his cane. He traps the saci in a bottle but accidentally causes a fire when he tries to escape with his prey from other angry sacis. In despair, he decides to release his small prisoner so at least one of them would survive; in gratitude, the sacis turn the farmer back into a child (physically and mentally), so he will have a happy childhood this time, raised by his former staff.

** In "Kamispazi", while disguised as Tommy's mom, Constantine says that he didn't have any robot toys at the orphanage - which he quickly corrects to Tommy's grandmother's home. It's unknown if this is true since he most likely said this to get his hands on Robotboy. However, in "Kamikazi's Nightmare", he's excited by a robot toy that belonged to Tommy, implying that he might not have had these at the orphanage.

** In Somberland, the Burgermeister Meisterburger banishes all the toys from the town, after he trips accidentally on one. Kris Kringle becomes an outlaw because he finds it rather unfair that children have to suffer because of a man's selfishness.

If the reason was due to poverty or abuse, it's often a DarkAndTroubledPast, and they often will have wished for toys all their life, or possibly had [[FriendlessBackground no friends either]], and may still want toys or play with them even as an adult (in a downplayed, justified case of {{Manchild}}, or, if a villain, PsychopathicManchild.) They may have also played with random objects in lieu of proper toys (sometimes to CompanionCube levels, though not always) or [[MyNewGiftIsLame been given boring gifts]]. This trope may be a FreudianExcuse for a FunHatingVillain. If someone gives such a character a toy, it's usually ThrowTheDogABone... provided they're not one of those cases where they don't want toys to begin with. Not to be confused with ToylessToylineCharacter. Compare LostToyGrievance. Contrast TragicAbandonedToy and VengefulAbandonedToy. If it's due to poverty, choice, or culture, and the character is elderly, they may tell it as a WhenIWasYourAge story.

[[folder:Films - Animation]]

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

* They were raised in a culture that doesn't have toys, or were RaisedByWolves.

* ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'': In a variation PlayedForDrama, Daniel Hartigan (the future Plutionian) never had toys because his [[MuggleFosterParents Muggle Foster Parent]] Bill Hartigan, in an act of ToughLove to mould him into a hero, made them give them away to charity as soon as he got them to show him how there were people with greater needs than his. [[GoneHorriblyRight It did made him very selfless, all right]], to the point that when he completely snapped and [[GoingPostal went postal]] on ''[[PersonOfMassDestruction the whole planet]]'' when he couldn't stand anymore the [[UngratefulBastard ungratefulness of the literal vocal minority of mankind]].
* In ''ComicBook/MinorThreats'', Frankie "Playtime" Follis grew up as the daughter and reluctant sidekick to the toy-themed supervillain named Toy Queen, but the only toys she got to play with were disguised weapons. According to her, [[TheShrink the prison shrinks]] believe that the reason all her inventions look like toys is because she is subconsciously trying to make up for her lost childhood.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsAZucchini'': Icare plays with the empty beer cans his [[AlcoholicParent alcoholic mother]] drops all over the apartment. Asides that, he has only a little kite he did himself, with a drawing representing his DisappearedDad as a superhero.

** Kris Kringle makes friends with stern Miss Jessica and the "evil" Winter Warlock when he gives them, respectively, a China doll and a train. Jessica confesses she wanted a doll when she was a kid but her parents never allowed her. About Winter, nobody never gave him anything before, when he receives the train from Kris, he cries so much that his "ice heart" melts, turning him into a human.
** In Somberland, the Burgermeister Meisterburger banishes all the toys from the town, after he trips accidentally on one. Kris Kringle becomes an outlaw because he finds rather unfair that children have to suffer because of a man's selfishness.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake: The Sweet Dreams Movie'', Sour Grapes reveals that she never had a doll when she was little, and says that her life would have been totally different if she had one.

* In ''Literature/TheThiefLord'', Renzo had to work as a servant since he was little, and spends the story trying to reassemble a FountainOfYouth to make up for it. He manages to use it to become a kid again, but then just feels bored when he gets a chance to play with a roomful of toys he hoarded. Realizing he can't get his childhood back even if he looks like a child, he has a HeelFaceTurn and helps the main characters.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': Malcolm told his son Rumplestiltskin that, when he was a kid, his father sold him to a blacksmith and his only comfort was to dream about Never Never Land at night. He eventually uses the magic beans Rumple won from the spinsters to take them there, but sends his son back because the place is only for children so he'll be able to stay there and be young again. On his turn, he actually gave Rumple only one toy, a doll, when he left the kid with the spinsters. Rumple called the doll Peter Pan, but lost it when Malcolm expulsed him from Never Never Land. He keeps his son's doll and adopts its name.
* Jarod of ''Series/ThePretender'' never received toys in the Center, to the point their discovery is part of major CharacterDevelopment due to discovery of the outside world.

* The [[Creator/FamousStudios Modern Madcaps]] short ''Fit to Be Toyed'' features a company CEO who is obsessed with toys, even during board meetings. Once brought to a shrink, the cause is determined to be father not allowing him to play with toys in his childhood.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'': In "Santa Mask", Kellaway tells Doyle he stopped believing in SantaClaus when he was five because he asked for a clockwork train called Captain Choo-choo and won a lousy shirt, instead. In the end of the episode, he finds a Captain Choo-choo behind his tote bag in the office and sheds a tear, although he still refuses to believe in Santa [[StillBelievesInSanta openly]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'': Prince George spent three years shut in a dungeon by his [[EvilUncle sadistic aunt Imperia]], who lied to everyone that he was very sick, so she could rule in his place and, afterwards, take the throne. She made him wear rags, eat only gruel and didn't allow him to have any toys. After George escapes with the help of the Clockwork Smurf, Imperia has her troops searching for them, planning to "burn his toy doll".

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In one episode, Worf reveals that he never played with toys even as a kid. This fits with his gruff, ComicallySerious personality.

* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'': When the Beudelaire siblings are adopted by their evil distant cousin Count Olaf, he doesn't give them any toys to play with, only rocks, since he doesn't care about them.