Franchise / Toy Story

You've got a friend in me...

Toy Story is a CGI animated film series and Disney media franchise that began with the original 1995 film of the same name, produced by Pixar and distributed by Disney.

The franchise focuses on a group of toys that secretly come to life and end up unexpectedly embarking on life-changing adventures. The first two films of the franchise were directed by John Lasseter, and the third by Lee Unkrich, who acted as the co-director of the second film (together with Lasseter and Ash Brannon). The fourth was handled by Inside Out's co-screenwriter, Josh Cooley.

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Animated Films:

Toy Story Saga:

• Toy Story (1995): Cowboy doll Woody (Tom Hanks) finds his place as his owner Andy's favorite toy threatened by the arrival of action figure Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), who believes he's a real space ranger and doesn't know he's a toy. The two end up having to find their way home together, and Buzz contends with what it means to be a toy.
• Toy Story 2 (1999): Woody is stolen by a greedy toy collector. While Buzz leads a rescue mission to find him, Woody is confronted with the ominous question that is his future with Andy.
• Toy Story 3 (2010): Ten years after the previous film, Andy has grown up, leaving his remaining toys to ponder their future. After accidentally arriving at a daycare, Woody and his friends find themselves trying to escape not just obstacles that risk stymieing their return to Andy, but their very lives.
• Toy Story 4 (2019): Woody is struggling to find his place in the newest chapter of his life. A new toy leads him to a reunion with a long-lost loved one and a crisis in which Woody must decide whether or not to make the biggest decision of how he will spend the rest of his life.
• Toy Story 5 (TBA)

Spin-Offs:

• Lightyear (2022) - An animated defictionalization of the Show Within a Show that spawned the In-Universe Buzz Lightyear toyline. It serves as the Origins Episode for the titular space ranger, starring Chris Evans as Buzz.

Animated Shorts:

• Toy Story Treats (1996): Interstitials produced to air during ABC's Saturday morning line-up. They're comedic skits Played for Laughs, so don't sweat the continuity issues.
• Buzz Lightyear: Mission Logs (2010): A series of shorts detailing the story of how a real-life Buzz Lightyear toy went into space.
• Toy Story Toons (2011-2012): Shorts produced to run as precursors to Disney's theatrical releases at the time.

• Hawaiian Vacation (2011): Premiered before Cars 2. Barbie and Ken are given a Hawaiian vacation in Bonnie's home by her toys.
• Small Fry (2011): Premiered before The Muppets. Buzz finds himself an unwilling participant in a toy support group when he's left behind at a fast food restaurant, while a fast food toy of Buzz goes home to Bonnie's in his place.
• Partysaurus Rex (2012): Premiered before the 3D release of Finding Nemo. Rex helps Bonnie's bath toys throw a wild party in the bathtub.

• Toy Story of Terror (2013): A Halloween special in which Jessie contends with her lingering claustrophobia as the toys find themselves at a spooky motel during a family trip.
• Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014): A holiday special in which Trixie, wanting to be appreciated as a dinosaur toy, befriends Reptilius Maximus, the leader of a large assortment of dinosaur toys who have just been given to Bonnie's friend Mason.
• Lamp Life (2020): Premiered on Disney+. A short that depicts Bo Peep's years-long journey between the prologue of Toy Story 4 and the film proper.

Comic Books:

• Disney's Toy Story (1996) - Marvel series using screenshots from the first film.
• Toy Story: Mysterious Stranger (2009)
• Toy Story (2009-2010) - Boom! Studios
• Toy Story: Tales From the Toy Chest (2010)
• Toy Story (2012) - Marvel
• Toy Story (2012)
  • Toy Story 2 (2012)
  • Toy Story 3 (2013)
• Toy Story (2013) - Digital one shot.
• Toy Story Adventures (2019)
• Toy Story 4 (2019)
• Toy Story Special Collector's Manga (2019)

Literature:

• Toy Story (Classic Storybook) (1996)
• Wonderful World of Reading
  • Toy Story (1996)
  • Toy Story 2 (1999)
  • Toy Story 3 (2012)
• Little Golden Books
  • Toy Story 2 (2006)
  • Toy Story (2009)
  • Toy Story 3 (2010)
  • Toy Story: The Pet Problem (2011)
  • Toy Story: A Toy Christmas September (2011)
  • Toy Story: A Roaring Adventure (2012)
  • Toy Story 4 (2019)
• Toy Story: Woody's White Christmas (2010)
• Toy Story: Christmas Toys (2012)
• Toy Story: Merry Christmas, Woody (2013)
• Toy Story 4: Forky in Craft Buddy Day (2019)
• Toy Story 4: Made To Play! (2019)
• Toy Story 4: Old Friends, New Friends (2019)
• Toy Story 4: Bonnie's First Day of School (2019)

Other:

• Toy Story Funday Football: A special broadcast on Disney+ and ESPN in which the Toy Story characters will watch the Atlanta Falcons play against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Andy's Room via the use of A.I. technology. There will be a halftime show performed by Duke Caboom.

Pinball:

• Toy Story 4 (2022): A Physical Pinball Table released by Jersey Jack Pinball.

Scripts:

• Toy Story 3 (Circle 7): A script for an cancelled Direct to Video sequel by Disney rather than Pixar, preceding Pixar's own Toy Story 3.

Series:

• Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000-2001): Spinoff TV series not made by Pixar, though they did animate the CGI intro sequences for the Pilot Movie and the series proper.
  • Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins (2000): Direct to Video Pilot Movie for the TV series.
  • Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000): Video game adaptation of the TV series.
• Forky Asks a Question (2019): Premiered on Disney+. The ever-innocent Forky asks the toys around Bonnie's room questions about life.

Video Games:

• Toy Story (1995): Video game adaptation of the first film.
• The D Show (1998): Some questions are about the original movie and Buzz Lightyear appears in the intro.
• Toy Story 2 (1999): Video game adaptation of the second film.
• Toy Story Racer (2001): Racing game featuring characters from the first film.
• Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure (2003): Woody, Buzz, Jessie and Zurg appear as playable skaters, with Andy's Room, Pizza Planet and Zurg's World being available as skatable levels.
• Disney Friends (2007): An alien appears in the tutorial as an interactive friend.
• Toy Story 3 (2010): Video game adaptation of the third film. Also introduced a play feature called "Toy Box" which went on to be the inspiration for...
• Disney Infinity (2013): Featured Woody, Buzz and Jessie as playable characters both for the "Toy Box" mode, and for the Toy Story in Space play set in the 1.0 edition.
• Disney Magic Kingdoms (2016): Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Zurg, Bo Peep, Hamm, Sarge, Rex, Bullseye, an LGM, Ducky, Bunny and Forky are all unlockable characters. Several of the unlockable attractions are also based on real Disney Theme Parks rides based on the franchise.
• Disney Emoji Blitz (2016): Emojis of Woody, Buzz, an LGM, Bullseye, Jessie, Bo Peep, Forky, Rex, Duke Kaboom, Hamm, Bunny, Zurg, Lotso, Stinky Pete, and Sox are unlockable.
• Disney Heroes: Battle Mode (2018): Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Rex, Slinky, Hamm, Zurg, Bo Peep, Duke Kaboom and Ducky & Bunny appear as playable characters.
• LEGO The Incredibles (2018): Woody is an unlockable character in the game.
• Kingdom Hearts III (2019): At the 2017 D23 Expo, Toy Story became the first-announced Pixar world in Kingdom Hearts. The game's events are set between Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3. Allegedly, Pixar told the game's director, Tetsuya Nomura, that the events of Kingdom Hearts III canonically happened within the timeline of the films.
• Disney Sorcerer's Arena (2019): Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bo Peep, Zurg, Lotso, Big Baby, Chunk, Gabby Gabby, and Sox appear as playable characters.
• Disney Mirrorverse (2022): Buzz, Woody, Rex, and the Lightyear version of Zurg appear as playable characters.
• Disney Dreamlight Valley (2022): Woody and Buzz can be found within the "Toy Story realm", which consists of Bonnie's room with a buildable farm.
• Disney Speedstorm (2023): Woody, Buzz, Jessie and Bo Peep appear as playable drivers, with several tracks based on Andy's Room.

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This franchise provides examples of:

• Actor Allusion:
  • In the first film, Woody is crushed by a Binford toolbox (Buzz's voice actor Tim Allen starred in Home Improvement, where Binford was the sponsor of a Show Within a Show) and Mr. Potato Head's hockey puck one liner (Mr. Potato Head is voiced by insult comic Don Rickles, known for calling anyone he insults "hockey puck").
  • In 2, Buzz's reaction to seeing the Buzz Lightyear utility belt sounded very much like a Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor reaction.
  • In a commercial featuring the characters for the USPS, Hamm is dressed as a mailman. Hamm is voiced by John Ratzenburger, who played another mailman, Cliff Clavin from Cheers.
• Air-Vent Passageway: Justified, since the toys are actually small enough to fit. Happens once a film: Legs and Ducky walk through the vents of Sid's house in the first, Buzz #2 and the rescue team travel through the vents (and elevator shaft) of Al's apartment building in the second, and in the third, Woody and Slinky use the ventilation system to get into the Sunnyside security room and incapacitate the cymbal monkey.
• All-CGI Cartoon: The original Toy Story was the first feature-length example of this trope.
• Animal Lover: Jessie is described as loving all animals by Andy and her favourite creature is Bullseye the horse.
• Ascended Extra: Mrs. Potato Head in the third, whereas she was only a minor character in the second.
• Ascended Fridge Horror: The series starts out taking the concept of sentient toys pretty lightly, but as it goes on, it explores the Fridge Horror of the concept more and more thoroughly, eventually to a further extent than most people would probably expect from a children's film series.
• Badass Crew: The main group of toys eventually becomes this.
• Batman Can Breathe in Space: Parodied and averted in the first movie. Parodied, because Buzz (as a toy) think he's on an alien planet (possibly with no atmosphere). Averted, because he's a toy, and he's breathing Earth atmosphere. 2 contains a Call-Back to this with the Utility Belt Buzz.
• Book Ends: The first shot of 1 and both the first shot and the last shot of 3 are of a blue sky with uniquely-shaped white clouds, that of Andy's old wallpaper.
  • The first film ends with Andy moving into a new house. The third ends with him leaving.
• Bottomless Pit: One is seen in the video game opening sequence inside Zurg's fortress, and the elevator shaft in Al's apartment building.
  • One is also seen in Andy's imagination of the Western robbery of One-Eyed Bart and Betty from the first film recreated in the third film.
• Brand X: A few of the minor characters are based off popular retro toys — without technically being said toys (probably due to Executive Meddling). Lotso is essentially a Care Bear with the tags cut off and Stretch resembles a Wacky Wallwalker.
  • Averted with the Potato Heads, Slinky Dog, Barbie, Etch-A-Sketch, Trolls, and a whole bunch of other toys. The copyrights all get mentioned in the end titles.
  • In fact, Pixar wanted Barbie for the first film to be Woody's girlfriend, but Mattel would not grant them permission to use the trademark. They changed their mind when they saw how the film improved sales of Mr. Potato Head.
• Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: In each film, Woody has an argument. In 1, with Buzz when they are lost, near the end when the other toys think he killed Buzz. In 2, with Jessie and later when he refuses to follow his friends back home. In 3, when he doesn't want to stay with them at Sunny Side. In 4, with Bo Peep about trying to get Forky again after a failed attempt when Bo Peep chastises him about putting the others in danger.
• Butt-Monkey: Mr. Potato Head.
• Canon Welding: Apparently, Pixar considers the Toy Box world of Kingdom Hearts III to be canon to the films, and canonically set between Toy Story 2 & 3.
• Captain Space, Defender of Earth!: Buzz Lightyear, of course.
• Cassandra Truth: Woody the first three films. 1: "Buzz is alive!" 2: "Andy didn't break me intentionally!" 3: "Andy didn't throw you away!"
  • The third installment also has Woody's warning about Sunnyside not being as pleasant as they expect it to be, but even Woody didn't anticipate just how bad it would turn out to be.
• Casting Gag:
  • This is Laurie Metcalf's second role as a woman with a son named Andy.
  • Also, Wayne Knight once again plays a fat, greedy slob who steals something valuable to make a quick buck.
  • In 3, Lotso is generally a corrupt enforcer. His voice actor, Ned Beatty, played a corrupt sheriff, who's much of a Jerkass like Lotso, in the 1973 film White Lightning, which happened to be Beatty's second film role following his film debut a year earlier in Deliverance. It can also be considered ironic as throughout the film, Lotso addressed Woody as "Sheriff." Also, interestingly, both said films that featured Ned Beatty as the Big Bad are favorites of director Quentin Tarantino (Tarantino selected White Lightning for the First Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas, 1996 and incorporated the film's music by Charles "A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)" Bernstein's in his films Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds, while Toy Story 3 was placed at the top position in Tarantino's list of favorite films of 2010).
  • The Sergeant of the Bucket of Soldiers is played by R. Lee Ermey.
  • In "Toy Story of Terror", Carl Weathers plays a soldier toy whose friends have been snatched by a seemingly invisible monster.
• Ceiling Cling: Woody in the first film and Buzz in the second.
• Central Theme: The series as a whole: A toy's true purpose in life.
  • Additionally: Learning to accept that nothing lasts forever. Woody, Stinky Pete, Lotso, and Gabby Gabby are all motivated by a desire to prevent or undo change, and react in different ways when they fail to do so.
• Cerebus Retcon: What Molly does to Mr. Potato Head at the very beginning of 1 is less funny if you've seen how the toys were abused in 3.
• Cerebus Syndrome: While each movie has a fair bit of comedy, each also tops the previous installment in intensity of dramatic moments.
• Character Catchphrase:
  • "To infinity... AND BEYOND!"
  • Woody gets one in the second film: "Hey howdy hey!"
    • "There's a snake in my boot!"
    • "Reach for the sky!"
    • "Run like the wind, Bullseye!"
  • "Yee-haw!" for Jessie.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • In the first film; Al's Toy Barn is advertised at the end of the commercial for Buzz Lightyear figures that makes Buzz realize the truth about himself. Al's Toy Barn goes on to be a major part of the plot in 2.
  • In the truck chase near the end of 1, when Woody is clinging to the moving truck and Scud grabs his leg, we can audibly hear the stitching of his right arm pop. Cut to the beginning of 2, where the plot is set in motion when Woody's right arm rips, as the stitching was already weakened tremendously from the tug-o-war with Scud in 1.
  • The Potato Heads' ability to see through a disconnected eye is something introduced in the second scene of the first film and becomes a major plot point a decade later in 3, when Mrs. Potato Head uses her missing eye to discover that Andy is looking for them after his mother donates them to the Daycare Center.
  • In 2, Stinky Pete asks Woody if he really thinks Andy will take him to college, which is the plot of 3.
  • Another dinosaur that might replace Rex as Andy's dinosaur toy, which worries Rex. Rex doesn't get replaced per se, but another dinosaur DOES appear in 3... in someone else's house. Not only is she also a dinosaur, but she's also a geek like Rex, and the credits epilogue reveals that they get along well.
  • Rex also mentioned wanting to play with a herbivore. In the end credits, he ends up doing just that in a Does This Remind You of Anything? scene.
  • In 3, the garbage man wears a familiar-looking skull shirt. It's not just who the garbage man was that makes him significant, it's also what he does later in the film.
  • In 3, the aliens' obsession with The Claw from the first film becomes a hilarious Brick Joke/Chekhov's Gun/Big Damn Heroes/Deus ex Machina all in one.
    "The Claw chooses who will go and who will stay!"
• Comically Missing the Point: Makes up most of the plot. No, not the film itself. Every situation that's ever happened in Toy Story, many of the toy characters always assumed the worst, before finding out the real truth. Three hilarious examples include:
  1. Potato Head accusing Woody of murdering Buzz when he sees the broken arm. Buzz was too depressed to get out of his Heroic BSoD to prove he was still alive.
  2. Rex thinking Woody was trying to sell himself at the yard sale. He was trying to rescue Wheezy.
  3. Potato Head thinking that Bullseye and Jessie were torturing Woody. They were really tickling him.
• Contrasting Replacement Character: Andy and Bonnie are both the caring and imaginative owners of Woody and the gang. However, Andy himself was an energetic individual all around while Bonnie was very shy while in public.
• Copycat Mockery: While Woody is looking for his hat, a toy shark wears it and says, "Look, I'm Woody! Howdy, howdy, howdy!".
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Woody is The Hero, but not the best fighter, so ends up comically getting his ass kicked most times he pisses off another character. Amusingly his beatings in 2 even mirror the same manner he is attacked by Buzz in the first film.
• Damsel in Distress: Bo Peep in Andy's games.
• Darker and Edgier: The third is considered a Prison Episode for the series, with sadistic teddy bears, demonic children, Cymbal Banging Monkeys and all ending with a trip to the fiery gates of Hell. Most notably though is how the film puts even more emphasis on the toys' fears of becoming disowned by their owners.
• Deadpan Snarker: Hamm.
• Deus ex Machina: Played for laughs every time the Pizza Planet truck appears in the films. In the first, it appears out of nowhere to take Buzz and Woody to Pizza Planet and is done even more so in 2.
  • Lampshaded in the commentary to 2.
  • Averted in 3. The Pizza Planet truck is involved in the Back Story of the film's antagonist, but only (indirectly) leads him to disappointment. It could also be interpreted as a Diabolus ex Machina, in that sense as it's the reason Lotso ended up at Sunnyside.
  • In the third, the LGM's returning to save the gang with the claw as they're about to be melted down, but the entire scene was done so well, who could gripe? Also, the writers did keep reminding us of their religious fascination with claws throughout the film. As well as have them taken off-screen early on during the dump sequence. Foreshadowing, done right! Straight forward to the fact that it's a machine that is given godlike reverence.
• Disappeared Dad: There's no Andy's father in sight. It's never explicitly brought up, but fans like to argue the three possibilities: Andy's mom is a widow, a divorcee, or just happens to be a single mother. In the first two scenarios, many fans in turn assume that Woody is one of the only gifts from his father. The third could be yet another Shout-Out to The Brave Little Toaster, since Rob's mom is single too. Food for thought: so is John Lasseter's mom.
• A Dog Named "Dog": Most striking in the case of Dolly the doll, but applies to the other characters too. Justified in that most of the toys were named by young children.
• Drives Like Crazy: Invoked in 1 and 2, both with the Pizza Planet truck. The first one has the actual driver doing this. The second has the toys doing this after hijacking the Pizza Planet Truck to pursue Al and rescue Woody. Similarly, they also invoke the trope on other drivers in the first and second installments. The first was when Scud was chasing Buzz and RC (although it probably wasn't intentional on Buzz, RC and Woody's part), and the second had Buzz and the toys disguising themselves as traffic cones in order to safely cross the road to Al's Toy Barn, with the results being obvious for the drivers.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: A staple of the series. Toy Story nearly ends with Buzz and Woody left alone on the street with Andy's moving van driving away, 2 nearly ships Woody and Jessie (not that kind, though) to Japan, and 3 has them facing the blazing eternity of Hellfire and burning alive. Randy Newman was right, the road is rough ahead.
• Expy: Sarge, voiced by R. Lee Ermey, is Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in toy form, albiet quite a bit nicer and more kid-friendly.
• Fake Action Prologue: Both the second and the third films.
• Fate Worse than Death:
  • For toys, to be loved by children, then forgotten and abandoned is worse than they could bear.
  • As it turns out, having the kids outgrow you and being tossed in the trash is even worse than that.
• Genki Girl: Jessie, full-throttle. Trixie and Barbie in the third.
• Genre-Busting: It's comedy/drama/thriller/horror/action/prison escape/philosophical.
• Growing Up Sucks: Although it appears to be played straight for the toys, in the end it's averted. The message seems to be "Growing up can be sad, but in the end it's not that bad."
• Happily Married: Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head in 2 and 3.
• Hand Signals: Used in all three films.
• Helium Speech: The voice actors (not just Jeff Pidgeon, although it was mostly him) actually inhaled helium to make the voices of the Aliens.
• Helping Hands: Mr. Potato Head's body parts are capable of being pulled off him and rearranged. This is sort of a hassle for him to put himself right after the kids are gone. His parts can work on their own even when they're separated from him. The same for Mrs. Potato Head.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Woody and Buzz.
  • The way Andy announces their names makes it sound like both their last names are 'Lightyear'.
  • Not at all helped by their voice actors (0:39).
• Idiot Ball: Somehow, a Buzz Lightyear toy holds this in every film, for that Buzz Lightyear who holds it believes he's the real Buzz Lightyear, and not a toy. There are a few Toys who also hold part of it.
  • Toy Story: Buzz; this is a major part of the film. He loses it when he sees a commercial, and then goes crazy and is reduced to drinking tea and... wearing a pink apron. For a while, anyway. This causes Woody much frustration.
  • Toy Story 2: The Buzz Lightyear toy with a belt (whom the Buzz from Toy Story encounters) believes he is the real Buzz Lightyear. Buzz's archenemy — Zurg — as a toy, holds this, too, and engages combat with the Buzz with the belt. A Shout-Out to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is involved.
  • Toy Story 3: The first Buzz toy seen in the three films holds this again. This time, he gets reset into demo mode and then into Spanish! ¡Buzz Lightyear al rescate!
  • Toy Story 4: Buzz holds it once more, this time by believing his "inner voice" refers to his voice box and deferring to his randomly-generated catchphrases for advice. Somehow, they always direct him exactly where he needs to be.
• Immortality: Toys can be broken and possibly die when something major is broken beyond repair (we hope), but when taken care of they can live forever, it seems.
• Ink-Suit Actor: Tom Hanks as Woody and Wayne Knight as Al.
• Interim Villain: Subverted with Sid Phillips, even though he is the villain of the first film and is completely absent in the second, in the third he only appears as a cameo where he is now a garbage man.
• Interspecies Friendship: While Andy doesn't know his toys are alive, they do care a lot about him. Woody in particular goes to great lengths to return to him when separated. Said toys are also True Companions with each other.
• Ironic Echo: One within the first film, another from the first to the second, another from the second to the third.
  • Early in the first film, when Buzz tries to prove he can fly, Woody says "that wasn't flying, it was falling with style." When Buzz uses his plastic wings to glide in the climax, Woody says "you're flying" and Buzz says "this isn't flying, it's falling with style."
  • The first film has Woody saying to Buzz "you're a child's plaything; you are a toy" when trying to explain to Buzz that he's not a space ranger. The second has Buzz saying this back to Woody when reminding him that he's supposed to be Andy's toy, not a collector's item for a museum.
  • The second film has Mr. Potato Head saving the squeeze toy aliens from falling out of the Pizza Planet truck, and they repeatedly say "you have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful" to him afterwards. The third has the squeeze toy aliens operate the claw at the incinerator in a way that rescues all the toys from being burned; afterwards, Mrs. Potato Head says "you have saved our lives" followed by Mr. Potato Head saying "and we are eternally grateful."
• Jerkass: Sid Phillips, Mr. Potato Head and initially Woody with Buzz in the first film, Al and Stinky Pete in the second, and Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear in the third.
• Kids Are Cruel: Let's face it, Andy was a freak the way he nicely treated his toys. Just look at Sid and those daycare monsters and you'll see that the toys never had it better than with him.
  • The creators completely acknowledged this. The only one who treated his toys nicely was John Lasseter.
  • To be fair, only the toddlers in the Caterpillar Room were monsters because they were, well, babies; the toys they should be playing with are designed to take that abuse. The older kids in the Butterfly Room knew how to play nice.
• Kids Love Dinosaurs: No boy's toy collection would be complete without a Tyrannosaurus rex, though Rex is actually a bit of a coward, a goofball and a gamer geek. He's not too bright either. The third film introduces Trixie, whose design seems to imply that they're from the same toyline. It appears that all the dinosaur toys in the series are from the same line, and are in turn based on... Dino-Riders!?!
• Killed Off for Real: Combat Carl, the action figure Sid blew up during his introductory scene in the first film, is the only character in the entire series to ever be killed off permanently.
• The Lancer: Buzz to Woody's Hero in the second and third films.
• Large Ham:
  • Jessie. Joan Cusack chewed miles of scenery in that role.
  • Buzz is most hammy when fresh out of the box; and even after realizing he's a toy he remains rather hammy, though to a slightly lesser extent. Spanish Buzz es un Gran Jamón.
  • Zurg. As an Evil Overlord, he has to be.
  • And a quite obvious one in Hamm. "PIG PILE!"
  • If a small, stuffed hedgehog in lederhosen can be technically called a Large Ham, then Mr. Pricklepants from Toy Story 3 is that small stuffed hedgehog in lederhosen.
  Mr. Pricklepants: Sunnyside is a place of ruin and despair, ruled by an evil bear who smells of strawberries.
• Like Brother and Sister: Woody and Jessie.
• Living Toys: The premise.
• Love Imbues Life: Implied. In the accepted-as-canon-by-Pixar Kingdom Hearts III level for Toy Story, Woody mentions that toys that haven't attained sentience yet "haven't learned how to yet". Young Xehanort shortly after adds that the hearts of toys' owners (especially that of children) are connected to their toys and is what makes the world of Toy Story special.
• Made of Iron: Sort of. The toys are capable of withstanding immense amounts of pain and abuse when in their inanimate state without so much as flinching, only feeling the effects after becoming animate. In fact, to an extent they seem to not mind the abuse at all (Woody is tossed around like a... well... toy doll in the opening scene by Andy, and Andy is naturally occasionally rough with his toys, but the toys seem to adore him all the same), much like how dogs will not mind some roughhousing as long as they're getting attention. Only the Mad Scientist machinations of Sid seem to cause the toys any suffering.
• The Masquerade: It's a lot more subtle than most, but seeing as how the toys are so adamant about hiding the fact they are alive from humans, this definitely seems to be the case. Woody, in the first film, even says when they're about to rescue Buzz from Sid, "we're going to have to break a few rules, but if it works, it'll help everybody."
• Massive Multiplayer Crossover: Andy and Bonnie generate this while playing, since the toys are so varied.
• Mean Character, Nice Actor:
  • In-universe. In the playtimes, Mr. Potato Head, Hamm, and Dolly tend to play villainous characters. Hamm and Potato Head are both Deadpan Snarkers, but still good guys, and Dolly is considered by fans to be the Team Mom of Bonnie's toys.
  • Stinky Pete is the villain of the second film, though shown to be a pleasant (if slightly lustful) guy in the outtakes.
• Meaningful Name: Woody is an old cowboy doll (just how old, we see in the second film) whose rigid parts are made of wood. Buzz is a modern action figure crammed full of electronics.
  • Also, Buzz Aldrin was the second man to walk on the moon.
  • In the third, Bonnie definitely is a good girl.
• Men Can't Keep House: As shown with Sid's room in 1 and Al's apartment in 2.
  • Andy's room, however, is usually quite remarkably tidy considering he's a small boy in the first two films and a teenager in the third.
• Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: Mutant Toys
• Multiple Demographic Appeal
• Named After First Installment: Series and first movie are named for revolving around Living Toys.
• No Flow in CGI: Played straight in the first film, semi-averted in the second and averted in the third.
• No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup is thankfully averted. Pixar had the source files all this time so they could re-render the first two movies for the 2009 3D re-release.
  • Also, a special feature in the 2010 DVD and Blu-ray release of 2 tells of how the film was almost wholly deleted, only to be saved by a staff member's backup.
  • But when they began work on 3, they couldn't edit the original 3D models and had to rebuild everything from scratch.
• "Not How I'm Dying" Declaration: Several times (in the first movie, in Lightyear, etc) Buzz will respond to someone saying they're about to die with "Not today!" He notably says this right before his famous scene in the first movie where he and Woody "fall with style".
• Not What It Looks Like:
  • From Toy Story 1:
    • Played With: Mr. Potato Head accuses Woody of deliberately knocking Buzz out of the window so that he can be Andy's favorite toy again. In reality, while Woody did knock Buzz out the window, and it was due to jealousy, it was an accident: Woody wanted to knock Buzz behind the dresser, so he can go to Pizza Planet with Andy.
    • A pivotal moment sees Woody try and convince the other toys to help him escape from Sid's room, insisting that Buzz is with him and is still alive. However, because this moment is occurring A) during Buzz' Heroic BSoD and B) after the "I Will Go Sailing No More" scene, all Woody has to work with (because of Buzz' refusal to help Woody) is Buzz's disconnected arm.
    • Part of the climax sees Andy's toys outright attack Woody after he shows up in the moving truck and throws RC out the back... except he did so to save Buzz from Scud, which they later realize.
  • From Toy Story 2:
    • The toys initially think Woody's rescue mission of Wheezy from the yard sale was him going to get himself sold due to his torn arm. It's only when Woody pulls Wheezy out of one of the boxes that the penny drops.
    • The Roundup Gang assumes Andy was actually abusive of Woody because of his torn arm, and his failed attempt at explaining how he wound up at the yard sale.
    • While in Al's Toy Barn, it's assumed that Buzz became delusional again after getting ahold of a Buzz Lightyear utility belt... except it's really a different Buzz Lightyear that inadvertently took Buzz' place.
    • Downplayed: While using Mr. Potato Head's eye to spy on Woody and the Roundup Gang, it's assumed that he was being tortured when in reality Jesse was tickling him (granted, a form of torture, but it wasn't in ill-intent).
    • Jesse wasn't the one who turned on the TV and prevent Woody from escaping the apartment earlier. It was Stinky Pete.
  • From Toy Story 3:
    • Even Woody himself thought Andy was throwing out the other toys, but in reality he was going to put them up in the attic (he used a trash-bag instead of a box for ease of convince). Molly just wound up choosing the worst possible moment to distract him.
    • Downplayed: Lotso is of the opinion that Daisy replaced him after getting left behind at the park, when it was most like Daisy's parents that replaced him to appease their upset child.
    • A smaller moment compared to the others, but we don't learn that Woody willingly decided to go with the other toys to Bonnie's instead of going with Andy to college until Bonnie and Andy discovered him in the box.
• Obliviously Evil: Any human who mistreats toys, since it's not as if they can know they're alive. Although Sid takes a certain sadistic pleasure in abusing his toys (and his little sister's) anyway.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Woody when he's about to get crushed by the toolbox in the Pizza Planet truck.
  • Woody again upon seeing Sid at Pizza Planet.
  • "Wait a minute... I just lit a rocket... ROCKETS EXPLODE!"
  • When the toys enter the luggage conveyors in Toy Story 2.
    • On the plane:
  Woody: Okay, on three. One, two...
  (plane door slams shut)
  Woody: This is bad...
  • "I don't think that's daylight..."
• Older Than They Look: Woody and his roundup gang are merchandice for a television show that aired before Sputnik was launched. After that, the show was cancelled and they probably stopped making the merchandise, which might explain why Al had a hard time gathering Woody for a toy collection in Japan. That means that Woody, Jessie, Bullseye and Stinky Pete could be at least forty-nine years old as of the third film, which is set in 2006.
• Once per Episode: Several for the first three films:
  • Every film at one point has toys hiding under something and then walking with it. The first had Woody and Buzz underneath the Pizza Planet cup and burger box walking through Pizza Planet, the second had all the toys who went to rescue Woody underneath traffic cones crossing a street, and later walking a dog's travel container through the airport terminal; the third had the toys about to be thrown away hiding under a plastic recycle bin and walking back to the garage and the fourth has Woody hide under a frisbee to get through a crowded park.
  • Every film ends off with a Dance Party Ending. 2 and 3 had the most obvious examples while the original had a brief karaoke dance moment during the Christmas Party.
  • Every film, including the first, features a cover version of the iconic Toy Story theme "You've Got a Friend in Me" in the credits. The first was a duet by Randy Newman and Lyle Lovett, the second had a show-stopping New Orleans Jazz version sung by Wheezy, and the third film had a very flamenco-influenced version done by the Gipsy Kings. The only exception is the fourth film, which features a repeat of the original version from the first movie but no cover version.
  • Every film also contains an extended period with a Buzz who believes himself to be the Buzz Lightyear. The first film, obviously, has Andy's Buzz, the second film features the Utility Belt Buzz from Al's Toy Barn, and the third film features Andy's Buzz being forcibly reverted to his old personality and used as a minion of Lotso. In addition, Spanish Buzz also believes himself to be a Space Ranger, though his personality is much friendlier.
  • Rex causes Mr. Potato Head to lose his parts at least once per movie: he knocks them off by roaring at him in the first film, accidentally falls on him in the elevator shaft in the second, causes his hat to come off by causing the box the toys were in to fall over in the third and knocks him over in a panic in the fourth.
• Parental Bonus: Oodles of it.
  "Why don't I let someone else watch the sheep tonight?"
  "What's with him?" "Laser envy."
  • Without giving away the joke, there's a moment in 3 involving Bookworm, Barbie, and Ken, except that Ken isn't present.
    • Practically everything involving Ken. With expected results.
  • It's no accident that Mrs. Potato Head is unusually enthusiastic toward her husband when he becomes Mr. Cucumber Head.
  • Hamm had a few, non-dirty bonuses.
  (reading the Pizza Planet truck's owner's manual) "Oh, I seriously doubt he's getting this kind of mileage" (Who, Buzz or the truck's owner?)
  • "...I don't think those were Lincoln Logs."
  • At the tea party:
  Trixie: And I'm pretty sure I just came back from the doctor with life-changing news!
  • From the first film:
  Woody: Tuesday night's plastic corrosion awareness meeting was, I think, a big success. We'd like to thank Mr. Spell for putting that on for us, thank you Mr. Spell.
• Le Parkour: Toys in general have to be pretty fast and nimble to avoid detection by humans, but Woody and Buzz in particular could give Altair and the Prince a run for their money.
• Product Placement: Inverted. Product placement would be if they got paid to include the toys in their film. No, they had to pay for the rights to show any real-world brand of toys. So really, it's the opposite of Product Placement.
  • Though after the success of the first film, most companies approached by Pixar would doubtlessly have very low fees for placement rights.
  • Most of the toys in the first film saw huge jumps in sales. Mr. Potato Head for example was revived nearly from the scrap heap, and the Slinky Dog had been out of production at the time of the film and entered a new giant sales phase when they started making them again. So it can kind of count either way.
• Pun-Based Title: On the term 'toy store'.
• Riddle for the Ages: Who came up with the rules Woody mentions in the first film and why do toys have to obey them?
• Rousseau Was Right: The villains are either not that antagonistic or have a reason for being who they are. Sid is just a kid who is sadistic towards toys and doesn't know they are alive, Stinky Pete is a toy who just has to go to great measures at a certain point, and Lotso had to deal with abandonment and betrayal. Gabby Gabby's backstory is perhaps the saddest of all: she was the defective toy nobody wanted.
• Running Gag:
  • Mr. Potato Head falling apart/losing his parts, etc.
  • The aliens saying "You have saved our lives. We are eternally grateful."
  • Someone abusing Buzz's voice box, causing it to say "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!" Happens in the first, second, and fourth movie as well as the Christmas special.
• Scenery Porn: Any visually complex scene could be cited here, but teenage Andy's room comes to mind (all those posters in the third film!).
  • Pizza Planet in the first film is an especially good example, given both the level of tech and the atmospheric qualities.
• Series Mascot: Buzz Lightyear, and to a lesser extent, the LGMs function as this not only for the series, but for Pixar as a whole.
• Serious Business: A truly interesting case; it's serious business to be and care for children's playthings. Having said that, almost non stop.
• Shades of Conflict: The most prevalent is White-and-Grey Morality - Sid and Al are only "villains" from the toys' point of view, and the first film is driven by Woody's jealousy. The third however has straight-on Black-and-White Morality given Lotso is evil despite the Freudian Excuse.
• Shout-Out: Has grown enough to warrant its own page.
• Show Within a Show: The main characters each have their own fictional franchise: Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (an animated television show and video game series) and Woody's Roundup (an old-timey puppet/marionette serial). And then Buzz Lightyear of Star Command received Defictionalization.
• Sliding Scale of Living Toys: Level 2 (except for that one scene in Sid's yard, which takes it up to Level 3).
• The Smurfette Principle: The series' main cast includes a young boy's toy collection, with predictably male-oriented rather than girls' toys. Bo Peep is the only prominent female character in the first, a domestic woman and Satellite Love Interest with no part in the main action (and she seems to belong to Andy's sister's part of their shared room). Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 even out the gender inequality slightly with the exuberant Affirmative Action Girl Jessie in the second and third film, as well as Mrs. Potato Head and Barbie, while Bo reappears in the fourth film in a much more significant role, along with many other female characters.
• Space Sector: Buzz Lightyear initially insists that he was stationed in the Gamma quadrant of Sector 4, and was en route to Sector 12.
• Stealth Pun: In 2, Woody has a nightmare about Andy throwing him away. In 3, Woody tells the other toys he needs to get to Andy's house, which is on Elm Street. Woody had a nightmare on Elm street.
  • There's another one from Toy Story that elicits a "For Pete's sake, how did I miss that?" Woody is the leader of Andy's room — in the first film, we see that Slinky is (or used to be) the second-in-command. A cowboy... and a "long little doggy"...
• Stock Audio Clip:
  • Jesse's signature "Yee-haw!" is the same audio clip every time she exclaims it in 2, 3, and 4.
  • One of Woody's screams from the first film is recycled twice in 3.
  • At the request of the late Don Rickles' family, all of Mr. Potato Head's lines in 4 are compiled from archive recordings from the prior three films and other Toy Story media, rather than recasting the role.
• That Poor Cat: When Rex points a flashlight in the bushes, he inquires if it's Buzz. Then the response was that cat screeching.
• Time Skip: The first one skips five months after Woody and Buzz get back to Andy to the last scene on Christmas Day.
  • The second takes place about one year after the first.
    • And most noticeable is the skip between 2 and 3, which is about ten years.
• Timmy in a Well: RC in the first film, Jessie's critters in the second (although that one was more of a parody)
• Took a Level in Badass:
  • Woody goes from a somewhat whiny, selfish wimp in the first film to a breakout mastermind by the third.
  • Buzz starts out delusional, has a breakdown when he finds out he's a toy, then comes right back to save himself and Woody via "Falling! With style!", before going on to rescue Woody in the second movie, and trying to save his friends from the Caterpillar Room, and rescuing Jessie while in the garbage truck.
  • The aliens go from gag characters in the first and second installments to Big Damn Heroes by rescuing the gang from the incinerator.
  • Mr. Potato Head transforms from a selfish, distrustful coward in the first film to a married man and a daring, surprisingly resourceful action hero in the sequels.
• True Companions: Oh hell yes. Especially pronounced in the second and third films.
  • The fourth film turns Bo Peep from a Smurfette Satellite Character to a proactive, take-charge Action Girl.
• Unexpected Kindness: Woody and Buzz mistake Sid's disfigured toys for cannibals. They grab Buzz and Woody fears the worst, but then it's revealed that they were just reattaching Buzz's arm.
• Unusual Euphemism: A handful.
  Woody: Save your batteries! (Chill out!)
  Mr. Potato Head: Son of a building block, it's Woody! (Presumably... you know.)
  Lotso: F.A.O my Schwartz! (Reference to a toy company)
  Woody: Pull my string, the party's today?
  Jessie: Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln! (Also a reference to the fact that Tom Hanks is a distant relative of Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks.)
• Villainous Breakdown:
  • Stinky Pete, which caught plenty of kids off-guard.
  • Sid after Woody Scares Him Straight.
  • Happens to Lotso in the third movie.
  • This is actually much more predictable after it happened in the second; look what happened to Pete when Woody's friends tried to get him to come back with them!
• Water Source Tampering: One of Woody's pull string quotes.
• Where the Hell Is Springfield?: It is never made clear where in the U.S. the films are set.
• Willing Suspension of Disbelief: Buzz Lightyear flying at the end of the first film, despite being shown numerous times that he can't.
  • That wasn't flying: that was falling, with style!
  • He can't fly; he can only glide on currents of wind.
  • Averted with the baggage handling system. They aren't exaggerating. This is a video of how real airport conveyors work.

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