History Main / TragicAbandonedToy

* '''Type 1''' -- TheHomewardJourney: The child accidentally forgets the toy somewhere and is unable to find them again. This version is usually (but not always) the catalyst for an adventure where the toy frantically tries to get back to their owner before it's too late.
* '''Type 2''' -- GrowingUpSucks: The child grows up and stops playing with the toy as they leave their childhood behind, usually accompanied by a lingering shot of the toy lying sadly underneath a bed or dresser and a TimePassesMontage.
* '''Type 3''' -- WeAreAsMayflies: The toy outlives its owner for a reason such as illness or old age, and feels lost without their friend and their life's purpose. This type is rarer due to being darker and sadder than the other two, with no way for the toy to reunite with its owner.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E79FiveCharactersInSearchOfAnExit Five Characters in Search of an Exit]]", [[spoiler:an Army major, a clown, a bagpiper, a ballet dancer, and a hobo find themselves trapped in a metal cylinder, without knowing who they are or how they went there. They try to escape, first by forming a tower of people and afterwards with a grappling hook formed by the major. He is the only one to succeed it but tumbles to the ground outside. It cuts to a little girl spotting a doll (the major) on the snow; a woman gently asks her to put it back in the barrel. It is revealed that the five characters are dolls and the cylinder is a Christmas toy collection bin for a girls' orphanage. Some people call this episode "the original Toy Story"]].

* ''{{Website/Neopets}}'': The Discarded Magical Blue Grundo Plushie of Prosperity is a very sad Grundo plushie lying all alone in the clouds of Faerieland (or hanging by his butt from a tree after The Faerie's Ruin in 2010), who can be visited once a day for the chance to win a prize. Sometimes, just looking at the poor plushie can make your active Neopet feel sad.

->''"You never forget kids like Emily or Andy...but they forget you."''

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* The antagonist of the film for ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure'', Toymajin, is a teddy bear who was abandoned by his owner. After he moved to the Land of Toys, he began having feelings of sorrow and, after making a suit of armor out of discarded toys, became a dictator.
* The antagonist of ''Anime/UnicoInTheIslandOfMagic'', Lord Kuruku, was a puppet that was given life after being mistreated and abandoned. He is eventually "healed" but since ThePowerOfHate was the only thing keeping him alive, he simply reverted to a lifeless puppet. When Unico learns about his backstory, [[SympathyForTheDevil he immediately sympathizes with him]] and tries his to avoid attacking him during the film's climax. After he's forced to stab him when Kuruku is dangerously close to killing him. [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath Unico resorts to peacefully defeating him]] by expressing how strongly he pitied Kuruku and sad that he's filled with so much hatred. Especially since [[MirrorCharacter Unico understands how Kuruku feels to be abandoned and lonely.]]
[[/folder]]

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In ''Five Characters in Search of an Exit'', [[spoiler:an Army major, a clown, a bagpiper, a ballet dancer, and a hobo find themselves trapped in a metal cylinder, without knowing who they are or how they went there. They try to escape, first by forming a tower of people and afterwards with a grappling hook formed by the major. He is the only one to succeed it but tumbles to the ground outside. It cuts to a little girl spotting a doll (the major) on the snow; a woman gently asks her to put it back in the barrel. It is revealed that the five characters are dolls and the cylinder is a Christmas toy collection bin for a girls' orphanage. Some people call this episode "the original Toy Story".]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In [[https://galleryroulette.com/culture/7-pokemon-comics-that-will-give-you-the-feels/ this]] ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'' fancomic, a Banette is sadly wandering in the forest, calling out for their owner. They come across a Phantump, who asks if it's seen a lost doll around somewhere, and comments that they feel bad for leaving it all alone for so long. The Banette realizes that the Phantump is the ghost of the girl who lost them, and embraces her while crying and saying, "Mama..."

* In [[https://galleryroulette.com/culture/7-pokemon-comics-that-will-give-you-the-feels/ this]] {{Franchise/Pokemon}} fancomic, a Banette is sadly wandering in the forest, calling out for their owner. They come across a Phantump, who asks if it's seen a lost doll around somewhere, and comments that they feel bad for leaving it all alone for so long. The Banette realizes that the Phantump is the ghost of the girl who lost them, and embraces her while crying and saying, "Mama..."

* ''{{Website/Neopets}}'': The Discarded Magical Blue Grundo Plushie of Prosperity is a very sad Grundo plushie lying all alone in the clouds of Faerieland (or in the trees after The Faerie's Ruin in 2010), who can be visited once a day for the chance to win a prize. Sometimes, just looking at the poor plushie can make your active Neopet feel sad.

Sub-trope of LivingToys. Sister trope to (and can overlap with) VengefulAbandonedToy, and related to CompanionCube, EmpathyDollShot, IJustWantToBeLoved, and LostToyGrievance. The second version is related to GrowingUpSucks, while the third may involve the DeathOfAChild and/or UnfulfilledPurposeMisery.

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2022_10_11_at_102532_pm.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[https://www.deviantart.com/sacking-jimmy/art/Hobbes-46577394 Image]] by [[https://www.deviantart.com/sacking-jimmy sacking-jimmy]].]]

* ''Lost Ollie'' is about a stuffed rabbit named Ollie who wakes up in a thrift store with no recollection of how he got there, and he spends the series trying to get back to his owner, Billy, who he truly loves. [[spoiler:He succeeds in the end, but [[InvisibleToAdults Billy is now an adult and can no longer hear him.]] However, he can talk to Billy's daughter Suzy.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2022_10_11_at_102532_pm.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[https://www.deviantart.com/sacking-jimmy/art/Hobbes-46577394 Image]] by [[https://www.deviantart.com/sacking-jimmy sacking-jimmy]].]]

Sub-trope of LivingToys. Sister trope to (and can overlap with) VengefulAbandonedToy, and related to CompanionCube, EmpathyDollShot, IJustWantToBeLoved, and LostToyGrievance. The second version is related to GrowingUpSucks, while the third may involve the DeathOfAChild.

* '''Version 1''' -- TheHomewardJourney: The child accidentally forgets the toy somewhere and is unable to find them again. This version is usually (but not always) the catalyst for an adventure where the toy frantically tries to get back to their owner before it's too late.
* '''Version 2''' -- GrowingUpSucks: The child grows up and stops playing with the toy as they leave their childhood behind, usually accompanied by a lingering shot of the toy lying sadly underneath a bed or dresser and a TimePassesMontage.
* '''Version 3''' -- WeAreAsMayflies: The toy outlives its owner for a reason such as illness or old age, and feels lost without their friend and their life's purpose. This version is rarer due to being darker and sadder than the other two, with no way for the toy to reunite with its owner.