Toy Story (franchise)/Headscratchers

Be sure to also see Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3

The opening scenes of the first movie: Andy leaves his room. Hamm's contents are dumped out on the floor, and Mr. Potato Head is on the floor, his body parts scattered across the room. While he's downstairs for his birthday party, Hamm is shown scooping the money back into his slot and Mr. Potato Head puts himself back together. In this particular instance, Andy was too thrilled about getting Buzz to notice, but if behavior like this is common for Andy's toys, wouldn't he one day noticed that something's been changed since the last time he was in there with no explanation? I watched this movie again recently and noticed a lack of interest on the part of the toys of making sure to leave everything the way it was before.

• Well, how many times in Real Life do we go "I could have sworn I left X here" or "Who put my X in this room?" or "When did I put this in here?" Now we know why!
  • It seems to be taken to ridiculous extremes, though. First movie: Andy leaves Buzz and Woody on his desk as he gets ready to go to Pizza Planet. Buzz "disappears," so Andy just takes Woody. At the end of the movie, Andy finds them in the box he JUST put in the car, and his mom comments they were "right where (he) left them," even though Buzz had NEVER been in the car. Second movie: The antagonist breaks open the cash box at the yard sale to steal Woody, and apparently Andy's mom never noticed, or she would likely have told Andy about it on the way home. And while Andy makes the reasonable assumption that his mom got him new toys while he was away, why would his mom never question where the toys really came from?
    • True, but if you found something in a place where you didn't put it, what are you gonna think? "OMGZ! IS ALIVE!!!!" Or "Eh, I probably put it there and forgot, or someone else did." Andy thinks his mom (or sister) moved his toys, while her mom]] just thinks Andy himself misplaced them and doesn't remember. And then she believes he got Jessie and the other himself.
    • I don't know about that last point. She probably thought either Andy was mistaken, or that she'd found them while cleaning and put them there without remembering afterward. Plenty of toys I don't remember getting somehow migrated to my room when I was a kid, it's not unlikely Andy or his mom would just shrug it off.
  • Lampshaded in the beginning of |TS3: Andy notices that the toys moved around after 'Operation Playtime,' but blames it on Molly.

Early in the first movie all the toys (except Woody) are terrified of getting replaced. I always thought this meant they were afraid of Andy getting an awesome toy that would make them look less appealing by comparison, and that makes sense, but then Andy gets a toy that makes all of them look pitiful by comparison and only Woody is bothered by this. Wouldn't all of the other toys have their fears of being replaced justified by the arrival of a Buzz Lightyear Action Figure? Or does being replaced constitute something else entirely?

• Woody is Andy's favourite toy. That's why he is so upset- he's not anymore. The other toys were already used to being second best- it made little difference to them whether Woody or Buzz was the favourite.
• Perhaps they knew that Buzz would take on the "hero" role in Andy's games, which meant that he wasn't a threat to anyone but the current hero, Woody. For example, it's a lot harder to replace the scary dinosaur in your fantasy with a space-man.
• The above answer is the best explanation. Rex, for example, worried that he'll be replaced with a braver, scarier dinosaur in the first Toy Story. In other words, they don't particularly care about a new toy unless it's too similar to them.

Since Buzz didn't realize that he was a toy at first, why didn't he try interacting with any of the humans? Also, If Buzz thinks he's the real Buzz Lightyear, why does he allow Andy to write his name on his foot, freeze whenever he is around, and allow Andy to play with him?

• Could be justified. Buzz thinks this is a foreign planet, and as he sees the other toys playing dead whenever their "chief, Andy" shows up, he thinks he should too. When in Rome.
• He probably thought they were horrible aliens.
• Or maybe there's some underlying instinct in toys that tells them not to get seen by humans. I think the alien thing is a better guess, though. Everyone else dropped immediately at their approach, and if you were in a foreign place and everyone was quickly dropping at the arrival of some huge things you presumed to be aliens, you'd follow suit, at least lie low long enough to figure out what they were and such. There may, however, have been a scene in the film with Buzz refusing to lie low that I have not forgotten, so if this contradicts that, feel free to tell me.
• I got the impression from the scene where Buzz shows the other toys Andy's name that he just accepted this as part of their culture and, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."
• From the second movie, it seems all Buzz Lightyears think themselves as real, and the freezing thing is part of some protocol.
• I interpreted things as Buzz subconsciously knows that he's a toy (and thus follows all the toy-human conventions), but initially believes himself to be real.
• But why did he never even realize that his laser wasn't real? Andy's played with it before and never done any damage with it.
• * Ahem* Word of God, here.
• Wait... does this mean all the toys in Toy Story are actually Weeping Angels?
  • Gee, thanks. Now I will never be able to watch Toy Story again.
  • Unlike the Weeping Angels though, the toys are not forced to stay frozen whenever they're being watched, right? Or else surely Woody wouldn't have been able to remind Sid to "play nice."
  • So really, it's semi-involuntary instinct, like breathing, or blinking.

When Sid put the head of one toy in the body of another. Do these toys retain the memories of their heads or they become a different toy with a totally new personality?'

• I assume they become like intelligent zombies, considering they don't even talk.
• The third movie establishes that certain toys don't necessarily need to be connected to their parts to feel them. Mrs. Potato Head could still see through her missing eye, and Mr. Potato Head was able to move his limbs independently without his actual potato. I would guess the toys have a consciousness, either in one part of their body, like Woody (who could not move his arm after it was lost in 2), or spread out through some parts, such as the Potato Heads. Any Frankenstein toys such as the latter category would still retain their ability to move their body parts independently, regardless of what they were attached to. Any in the former, however, would likely only be able to control what was attached to the part of their body holding their consciousness. The most likely assumption for this part is the head, but we don't really have confirmation one way or the other, and given the nature of toys, I don't feel comfortable assuming.
• I think it depends, but that it would lean towards head. Hanna's headless toys appear to have their own personality, and the Doll heads in Sid's room don't talk. I think it also depends on the intention of the toy. Since your not supposed to remove Woody's or Buzz's arm they can't be used independently. Mr. Potatohead appeared to feel the attack to the tortia. The rule is proberly whatever the owner thinks.

Wasn't Andy suppose to be moving shortly after the birthday party? If so, why did he get a whole bunch of new Buzz Lightyear stuff like posters and bedsheets? Why didn't he just get that stuff after he moved?

• The bedsheets, at least, were a gift from one of his friends at the birthday party. His friend is just a dork.
• It wouldn't have been a stretch if Andy's mom told all the kids to buy Buzz-related merchandise as presents, as part of a themed birthday party. Andy opens his presents and gets a Buzz Lightyear lunchbox, Buzz Lightyear bedsheets, a Buzz Lightyear board game, etc., etc., etc., all culminating with the final present being an actual Buzz Lightyear toy.
• I can imagine his mom being all like, "Don't get all that new stuff out, we're moving soon!" but he was so excited he did anyway. Kids.

What constitutes as a "toy"? In |Toy Story 2, Hamm states that "the lawn gnome from next door" is alive, so what other things can come alive? What if someone makes their own toy, will that come alive too?

• You'd have to ask Sid "The Kitbasher" Philips about that, considering an erector set fused to the mutilated head of a doll is about as close as you can get to making your own toys without actually casting the plastic or tin/lead yourself.
• Why does Andy only write his name on some of his toys?
  • He only does that for his favorites. This is a plot point in the first movie.
    • So why do Bullseye and Jessie get marked immediately? Were they so great he instantly liked them more than most of his toys?
    • It was never stated that he only wrote his name on only some toys. Buzz thinks that Andy writing his name on him meant his accepting him into their culture, which implies that all the toys got Andy's name written on them. The other toys were, however, impressed that Buzz got permanent ink.
    • It's also possible that Andy tries to put his name on all his toys, but most of them are made of a material where most ink just rubs off. Buzz may have had a similar issue, but Andy was so worried about him getting lost/stolen that he convinced his mom to let him use a high-end sharpie for the job, which was why everyone was so impressed with the 'permanent ink'.
    • Or it's possible that he only puts his name on toys that he's likely to take out of the house. You wouldn't take your piggy bank to school to play with, but the new horse for your cowboy figure?

A small one from the first Toy Story: What happened to that burn mark on Woody's forehead? It was still there until the end of the movie but then disappears in the next. I assume it was painted over something.

• It was painted over during the repair scene in |Toy Story 2. Also, if you look closely in |Toy Story 3 the mark appears again during the incinerator because the paint burns off.
  • WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?
    • No it doesn't. He gets a dirty mark there breifly but it's gone by the next scene.
• I'm not sure about |TS3, but the Troper above is wrong about it being in |Toy Story 2. I just watched the movie, and the burn mark doesn't appear anywhere, before or after the repair scene.
• There's a simple answer for this. When he got it, Woody said "I sure hope this isn't permanent". It wasn't permanent.
• He got better.
• I once briefly held a burning lighter against the burners of a Thunderbird 2 toy, to give it some realistic effects. You can get that kind of low-grade burn marks off with your finger.
• It was there when they landed in the car but gone during the Christmas party in the next scene. Presumably it either disappeared or was painted over when Andy cleaned him after they moved.
• I'm guessing the plastic was just singed, and didn't actually burn a hole. You can get singe marks off rather easily.

With regards to an above Trope, if Buzz's wings can sever duct tape, why didn't he do that immediately after being rescued? Obviously, doing it with Sid around would have caused everyone's favorite toy sadist to do a double take, but Sid was having a hysterical fit in his room. Buzz could have cut the rocket from his back and not got stuck in the fence instead of waiting until the last minute when he and the poster character were about to be blown to cinders. That would have saved everyone an uncountable number of headaches.

• When did Sid have a hysterical fit in his room? Also, keep in mind that at that point, Buzz was still in Heroic Blue Screen of Death mode after discovering he wasn't really a space ranger.
  • What I meant to say was "Sid was freaking out after witnessing his toys coming to life" but wanted to make it sound more colorful. But I suppose it makes sense that Buzz wouldn't have been thinking to use his wings straight away after everything that just happened.
• Plus, he probably didn't know his wings could tear the tape. The only reason he opened them up in the air was to "fly" with them. The tape and rocket being torn off was just an added bonus.
  • Added bonus? The rocket was about to EXPLODE. When Woody mentioned it, Buzz said, "Not today!" and immediately deployed his wings. He knew what he was doing.
  • Also, without the rocket, they never would have made it back to Andy. The plot called for it not to occur to Buzz to remove the rocket. Willing Suspension of Disbelief, people.

It sort of bugs me how insensitive Woody seems about the Combat Carl getting blown up. I guess he's not being mean or anything, but it just weirds me out how they see it and all he has to think about is "Boy, I wish that would happen to Buzz."

• Seemed to me like he was kinda, "Aw, that's terrible, but we can't do anything to stop it." Honestly, Sid likely does this every day, so Woody and the other toys might've been desensitized to it by now. But yeah, he probably was thinking that about Buzz.
• Also? Woody was a total jerk in the first film. The reason it seems weird in hindsight is because after seeing the sequels, we're now used to Woody being more of a Knight in Sour Armor instead of the Jerkass he was in the first movie.
• Actually, in the first 'draft' of the movie, Woody was a sadistic, completely evil toy who had Slinky Dog as his slave. Although the article I read didn't explicitly say it, I assume the original idea for the movie was not supposed to be for kids. Compared to that, he was a saint in the real version. They seemed to just tone him down A LOT but keep a little of his jerkiness. I honestly think that his personality makes him slightly more relatable.

Why does the Woody doll have teeth if his "toy mode" doesn't have an open-mouth smile?

• Probably the same reason Bo Peep and Mr. Potato Head have teeth even though they don't: For the purposes of anthropomorphism and not looking weird when they talk. As part of the premise, they have to talk, right?

Is Play-Doh considered a toy, even though it doesn't have a "true" form?

• Furthermore, if it is, and it comes to life like any other toy, what happens if it dries out?
  • It keeps moving. Children won't be able to play with them, but they will be able to move on their own, like Hamm can move around despite being hard plastic. Point is: he has no articulations)
    • Hadn't thought of that. Of course, there's still the question of what people usually do with dried-out Play-Doh; presumably it would meet its end the same way Woody and crew almost met theirs in part 3.
• What about the kids who eat their Play-Doh?
  • You should attend Mr. Spell's seminar on what to do if you or a part of you is swallowed.

The Potato Heads' eyes

• I had Potato Heads as a kid, and from what I remember, both their eyes were attached together as one piece. So how come in the movies, their eyes can come out individually?
  • They could do more story wise with separate eyes? It probably made writing the Mrs. Potato Head storyline easier in the third movie. That said...

• This wouldn't bug me if the other sequels didn't have 'em but there isn't one Star Wars reference at all,not even to the original. after watching the second with a scene parodying the "Luke I am Your Father" scene and the third with that scene parodying The Emporer's Death,it's really hard to watch the movie again and find no reference to A New Hope.
  • The storyline that Buzz thought he was following, that of having secret plans to a superweapon the evil emperor is building with the power to destroy an entire planet, is identical to R2-D2's mission in A New Hope.
  • Don't forget the scene where Sid torments Woody with, "Where is your rebel base now?!" Very much like what Vader's officer did to Princess Leia in A New Hope.

The Potato Heads' arms

• In the movies the Potato Heads' arms are shown coming off fairly easily for a couple of gags. In all the Potato Head toys I ever had, the arms were a softer plastic and practically fused to the body. It was near impossible for the arms to come off without more effort and patience than I could ever muster at five.
  • Well, keep in mind that they modified the Real Life Slinky Dog, too.
  • The current Potato Head toys have very easily removable arms. (I know this from having a 3 year old)

If the story were real, couldn't Woody and the other toys have tried escaping Sunnyside during the day, when Lotso and his gang were (presumably) inactive?

• I understand this made the story much more exciting, but, again, if it were real, couldn't they have tried escaping during the day? That's what I might have tried... I mean, was the monkey even watching the security monitors then?
  • They needed to move a large group. Can you imagine, say Rex, having as little difficulty as Woody did during his initial escape?
  • The monkey watches at night. A security guard watches during the day. Not to mention the kids who would play with them during the morning and afternoon times. And the adults who watch the kids. And the parents dropping their kids off.

Woody's holster

• I could have figured that he used to have a little gun in there, but the collectors both seem to think he's complete without one, implying he never had one in the first place. For the era of toy he's from, it being a choking hazard or having a real-looking toy six shooter as part of a toy wouldn't have been a big deal. It's not a big thing, but it dangling there empty just kinda makes me go 'huh'. It seems weird to even put it there if he never had a gun.
  • He may have originally had one, but lost it in his "alive" form. Although that would contradict his unspoiled status in the 2nd movie: he was to be collected.
  • I always assumed the collectors had one...

Woody has trouble going through Andy leaving for college, like it was a new thing. But if Woody is an antique family toy, he must've felt this before!

• Actually, Woody is the one who's handling it the best. I got the feeling that "Operation Playtime" was more for the other toys' benefit than for his. Remember, Woody is the one saying things like, "And some day, maybe Andy will have kids of his own," implying he's gone through this sort of thing before, probably with Andy's father.
• Besides, having been hurt and abandoned before doesn't mean it won't hurt the next time around. In fact, rehashing old wounds is probably even more painful than going through it for the first time.

That cowboy hat that Andy wears throughout childhood? Red with white trim? That's Jessie's hat.

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Why are the toys against moving in front of humans (sans Sid), while moving in front an animal (e.g., Scud, Buster) is perfectly acceptable?

• You really think that a dog would really tell their owner that their toys are alive in some secret language that nobody knows?