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To infinity — and beyond!

"What chance does a toy like me have against a Buzz Lightyear action figure?"
Woody

Inarguably both the biggest milestone of The Renaissance Age of Animation and the most influential animated feature since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Toy Story is considered by most to be the very first fully computer-animated feature filmnote  and the first feature film by the then-budding Pixar Animation Studios. Released by Disney on November 22, 1995, it was directed by John Lasseter and featured music by Randy Newman.

In a World… where toys come to life when their owners aren't around, Sheriff Woody Pride (Tom Hanks), an old cowboy doll with a pull-string vocalizer and the favorite toy of young Andy Davis (John Morris), is the unofficial leader of the rest of Andy's toys, which include a nervous T. rex named Rex (Wallace Shawn), a sarcastic piggy bank named Hamm (John Ratzenberger), a surly Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), a porcelain doll of Little Bo Peep (Annie Potts), and a loyal Slinky dog (Jim Varney). Woody's world is turned upside down when Andy receives a trendy new "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" (Tim Allen) toy for his birthday, threatening both his status as Andy's favorite toy and his popularity among the others. Most annoying of all, Buzz genuinely believes he's a space ranger and, therefore, can't appreciate Andy's love the way Woody does.

Woody attempts to make Buzz "accidentally" fall behind Andy's desk so Andy won't be able to find him. In the process, Buzz is knocked out the window by actual accident, causing the others to assume foul play and turn their backs on Woody. Then, when Andy takes Woody with him to dinner at Pizza Planet, Buzz catches up and the two become separated from Andy during a confrontation. In their attempts to get back to Andy, the two instead wind up in the possession of his sadistic toy-mutilating next door neighbor Sid Phillips (Erik von Detten). With Andy's family moving in a couple of days, Woody and Buzz need to learn to work together to get back home as soon as possible and, in the process, discover that they've got a friend in each other.

It cannot be overstated what a cultural and artistic landmark this movie is. Not only did it begin Pixar's transition from Steve Jobs's pet project to one of the most successful entertainment companies in the world, it, along with Jurassic Park, proved the capabilities of 3D computer graphics to Hollywood once and for all. No longer limited to special effects, computer-animated characters could now tell compelling stories with just as much depth and heart as any hand-drawn character or live actor. The fact that most wide-release American animated features to this day are still animated in 3D CGI proves the lasting impact of its influence.

In addition to being an artistic milestone, the film has spawned a respectable Toy Story franchise, which includes three sequels (Toy Story 2 in 1999, Toy Story 3 in 2010, and Toy Story 4 in 2019, with a fifth film announced in 2023), a short-lived Spin-Off TV series (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command), three theatrical short films (Toy Story Toons), two made-for-television holiday specials (Toy Story of Terror and Toy Story That Time Forgot), and a defictionalized spin-off film (Lightyear).


To TV tropes and beyond!

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    Tropes A–I 
  • Achievements in Ignorance: While he's completely oblivious to the fact he's a toy who can't actually fly, Buzz manages to actually "fly" around Andy's room with his eyes closed by bouncing on a ball, riding the loop-de-loop and getting his wings hooked on a toy airplane.
  • All-CGI Cartoon: The very first feature film done entirely in 3D CGI to be released.
  • All There in the Script: The names of most of Sid's toys were only shown in the script, the novelization of the movie, and the Enemy Roll Call at the end of the video game.
  • Always Someone Better: Buzz is a modern, battery-powered, talking toy with pop-out wings, a "lightbulb that blinks", and a retractable helmet. Woody... has a drawstring-powered vocalizer. You can see why he'd feel a bit threatened by Buzz's presence at first.
  • American Kirby Is Hardcore: Some versions of the front cover have Woody looking up in the sky with a wide smile, and some have him looking at Buzz incredulously.
  • Amusing Injuries: Woody suffers from them in the trunk of the Pizza Planet truck, when a bowling ball drops on his head and when Buzz accidentally drops the toolbox on him. Averted when Buzz breaks off his arm.
  • Answer Cut: While the toys are trying to rescue Buzz after he gets knocked out the window, Rex asks, "Where could he be?" Cut to the gas station later that night, where both Buzz and Woody eventually end up.
  • Argument of Contradictions: Woody and Buzz have one early on over whether or not Buzz can fly. It ends when Woody challenges Buzz to prove that he can, resulting in the famous "falling with style" sequence.
    Buzz: Can!
  • An Arm and a Leg: Buzz's attempt to fly out Sid's window, following watching his own toy commercial, results in a long fall and the loss of his left arm. Woody ends up using the arm to try and convince Andy's toys that Buzz is OK, before Sid's toys reattach it.
  • Armor-Piercing Response: When Woody tries to rescue Buzz from Sid's toys, he's startled to find out that they simply fixed Buzz. Baffled, Woody ponders out loud why they would rescue Buzz when they saw them cannibalizing two other toys the other night—just as the mutant toys step aside to reveal that they fixed the toys in question.
  • Artistic License – Biology: If you pay attention to Scud's teeth (Sid's dog) they're all pointed like a shark or a predatory dinosaur, instead of the varying shapes of real dog teeth. This may just be a stylization to make him look fiercer, but he overall looks off from the largely realistic-aiming look of the movie, especially his eyes. This is very understandable as he's among the first computer animated animals. Compare him to Andy's dog in Toy Story 2 and 3 and especially the cat in Toy Story 4, and you'll see and be amazed just how utterly far this technology has improved in such a short time.
  • Artistic License – Physics: For being "not a flying toy," Buzz Lightyear does seem to break the laws of physics:
    • The various features of the Buzz Lightyear action figure itself can't all fit in one toy, which is one reason why it hasn't been fully Defictionalized. The Disney store version comes close, but lacks the glow-in-the-dark paint and only the front half of the helmet can retract.
    • The shape and length of Buzz's wings would not enable an object of his and Woody's combined mass to glide except under highly improbable wind conditions.
    • The claw machine at Pizza Planet has an unusually strong grip. Real claw machines tend to have weak grips of randomized strength so that players are likely to pay for multiple uses.
    • Hamm does a "pig pile" on Woody who is holding RC's remote control. This somehow causes RC and Buzz to leap upwards into the air, in a bizarre application of Newton's Third Law.
  • Banister Slide: Woody is sent on one by Andy near the beginning.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: Woody spends most of the movie trying to get Buzz to realize he's just a toy. Unfortunately, when Buzz finally realizes this fact, he's sent into a Heroic BSoD and and is left so utterly depressed that he and Woody are almost unable to escape from Sid's house.
  • Becoming the Boast: When first introduced, Buzz brags about being able to fly to a disbelieving Woody. He technically manages to "fly" through sheer dumb luck the first time, but fails to do so a second time in Sid's house and accidentally breaks his arm off. However, during the climax, thanks to Sid's rocket, Buzz actually does fly for a while.
    Woody: Hey, Buzz, you're flying!
    Buzz: This isn't flying, this is falling with style!
  • Big Brother Bully: Sid to Hannah, mainly by taking her toys away and performing "operations" on them. Hannah gets her own back on him at the end when he reacts with terror towards her new doll, thinking it will come to life after seeing the other toys do the same.
  • Big Damn Heroes:
    • Woody saves Buzz from the rocket launch by speaking through his voice box when Sid is about to light the fuse.
    • When it looks like Woody is about to be mauled by Scud, Buzz saves Woody by jumping onto Scud's head and snapping Scud's eyelids.
  • Big "NO!": Buzz does one when he saves Woody from Scud, when Woody thinks he's about to die and tells Buzz to take care of Andy for him.
  • Big "SHUT UP!": Woody to Buzz when the two are left stranded at the gas station and Buzz only continues to speak into his wrist communicator.
  • Big "WHAT?!":
    • Woody screams this when Buzz accuses him of endangering the universe.
      Buzz: Because of you the security of the entire universe is in jeopardy!
      Woody: WHAT?! What are you talking about?!
    • During the staff meeting, a textual one flashes across Mr. Spell's screen when Woody lets slip that Andy's birthday party has been moved to that day.
  • Big "YES!":
  • Black Comedy: Buzz refers to one of Hannah's headless dolls as Marie-Antoinette. Considering what happened to the real-life Marie Antoinette...
  • Blame Game: When Woody and Buzz get stranded at a gas station. Woody angrily blames Buzz for attacking him and knocking them out of the car. Buzz snaps back Woody started the fight by knocking him out of Andy's window. Woody snarls he started that by hogging Andy and the other toy's approval from him. Buzz retaliates that Woody endangered something far more important; the fate of the entire galaxy... and things sort of deteriorate from there.
  • Bond One-Liner: By Woody, as he uses Buzz's karate action to drive away Sid's toys (who they think are cannibals at the time).
    Woody: Sorry guys, but dinner's cancelled!
  • Bookends: The movie starts with Andy celebrating his birthday, and Woody reassuring the toys that they won't be replaced. It ends with Andy celebrating Christmas, and the toys looking forward to new potential playmates. Until Andy gets a puppy.
  • Borrowed Catchphrase:
    • During the "falling with style" climax, Woody cries "To infinity, and beyond!"
    • Sid shouts "To infinity and beyond!" when he runs out of his room with Buzz to blow him up.
  • Both Sides Have a Point: The Woody-Buzz conflict, and the former's jealously towards the latter, isn't entirely without merit. Because Buzz is a Daydream Believer and Cannot Tell Fiction from Reality, he's taking Andy's love for him for granted by acting like he's the real Buzz Lightyear and not a toy — future works even show that everyone agrees Buzz's Space Ranger phase was annoying. However, Buzz wasn't doing so maliciously (all space toys act delusional), and Woody was selfishly putting his own desires to be Andy's favorite toy before his owner's, and wanting Buzz out of the way when Andy clearly was enjoying his new toy. Once both accept their roles in the affair, an iconic friendship is born.
  • Break the Haughty: Whilst Woody tends to not rub it in anyone's faces, he's top of the heap and knows it until Buzz shows up and threatens his position as Andy's favourite toy. Then he becomes increasingly jealous and insecure. See Always Someone Better.
  • Brick Joke:
    • What Mr. Potato Head hopes Andy would get at his birthday.
      Mr. Potato Head: [praying] Mrs. Potato Head. Mrs. Potato Head. Mrs. Potato Head...! [gets stared at] Hey, I can dream, can't I?
    • The payoff comes at Christmas Time, where Molly gets a Mrs. Potato Head, who appears in the following movies.
    • One of the presents mentioned in Andy's Birthday was the board game Battleship. Around two-thirds into the movie, we see Hamm and Mr. Potato Head playing that game, with amusing results.
  • BSoD Song: Randy Newman's "I Will Go Sailing No More" has Buzz gripping with the realization that he's a toy.
  • Buffy Speak: Not too surprising, since Joss Whedon was one of the writers and given some of his other work...
    Woody: Your helmet does that... that whoosh-thing!
  • Call-Back: To reassure the toys that Andy is not replacing them, Woody sets up a remote communication with the soldiers to identify the birthday presents. At the end of the movie, Buzz is frantically checking the same baby monitor when Andy is opening his Christmas gifts. Woody of course teases him about it.
  • Cannot Tell Fiction from Reality: Buzz fully believes he is actually Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger of Star Command, crash-landed and needing to get home to save the galaxy from a superweapon, until his Tomato in the Mirror moment when he sees a commercial for himself.
  • Captain Ersatz:
    • Bo Peep, since Mattel didn't allow Pixar to use Barbie at the time, since they didn't think the movie would get much exposure, among other reasons. The company quickly reversed their decision after seeing the success of the first movie, which is why Barbie is featured significantly more than Bo Peep in the rest of the series.
    • Also the Combat Carl, as initially it was going to be a G.I. Joe that got blown up by Sid in his introductory scene, but when Hasbro refused to let Pixar use G.I. Joe in the film, it was changed.
  • Cassandra Truth: Buzz's Heroic BSoD in Sid's room as Woody is attempting to engineer an escape leaves Woody without hard evidence that Buzz is alive. It doesn't help when Woody accidentally produces Buzz's severed arm. What could have been a simple escape without all the drama of the final action sequence is averted because the toys blow Woody off and refuse to rescue him.
  • Central Theme: The destructiveness of jealousy and insecurity, and The Power of Friendship.
  • Characterization Marches On:
    • Most plot-relevant is Buzz, who spends much of the film deluded into thinking he is a real space ranger and not a toy. Because of this mindset, he is also far more stoic and serious, albeit in a humorous manner, while he becomes much more laid back in the second film and all subsequent follow-ups.
    • Woody is generally much more snide and self-absorbed in this movie, especially in the first half where he borders on Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist. These aspects of his character were left over from early drafts of the film, where Woody was an outright antagonist, but were completely omitted for the rest of the franchise, where Woody is presented as a selfless All-Loving Hero.
    • Many of the other toys, especially Hamm and Mr. Potato Head, are much more abrasive with each other and eager to take Woody down a notch, even planning to outright kill him after he knocks Buzz out the window (once again, part of this may be an artefact of the earlier draft where Woody was an antagonist). Subsequent instalments heavily downplay this, with Potato Head being a Jerk with a Heart of Gold at worst note  and the idea of the toys being a Family of Choice is the Central Theme for the rest of the franchise.
  • Chekhov's Boomerang: Buzz's wings. Used first by Buzz to try and prove he can fly, then when he tries and fails to fly in Sid's house (resulting in a broken arm), and finally used in the climax to separate himself and Woody from the rocket before it blows up, and seconds later when "falling with style".
  • Chekhov's Gun:
    • As soon as Sid comes home from Pizza Planet, he hounds Hannah about a package he was expecting in the mail. We learn the next day said package was for a firework, The Big One. While Sid intended to use it to launch Buzz, its actual use comes in at the climax as a last ditch attempt to catch up to the moving truck.
    • Andy writing his name on Buzz's foot. Buzz shows it to Rex and Slinky, and later, Woody attempts to snap Buzz out of his Heroic BSoD by telling him how much he means to Andy. Buzz looks at his foot and sees Andy's name, causing him to realize Woody is right.
    • Sid's toolbox. It's first seen when Sid "operates" on Hannah's Janie doll, and Sid later unknowingly traps Woody under the milk crate by placing the toolbox on top.
    • The match in Woody's pocket had been blatantly set up for this exact purpose, but as soon as he lights it, a car passes directly over Woody and Buzz and the match blows out.
      • Not only is the singular match a subversion, but so is the entire box: it first appears on the shelf by Sid's bed, when Woody attempts to exit Sid's room the first time, and Sid has it on him when prepping for launching Buzz, but as soon as Woody's voicebox starts up, Sid forgets all about it.
    • After being burned by Sid's magnifying glass, Woody is able to light the fuse on the rocket with Buzz's helmet.
    • Not flying, but "falling with style".
  • Chekhov's Gunman: RC. Woody's using him to knock Buzz behind the dresser winds up leading to Buzz falling out the window, and then later on, RC becomes a major factor in the climax (as Woody uses him to save Buzz, and then both use him to catch back up to the moving van).
  • Chekhov's Skill:
    • Woody's head spins when he is punched by Buzz. He uses this technique to scare Sid.
    • In order to distract Hannah, Woody mimics her mother's voice while hiding, showing that while toys have to be inactive in the visual presence of humans, they can be heard while active. He also uses this to freak out Sid instead of just using his voice box.
  • Chewing the Scenery: The distraught Buzz' Heroic BSoD after discovering he is indeed a toy, where he has somehow become drunk on imaginary tea and hysterically rants about his fate:
    Buzz: Don't you GET IT? You see the hat!? I am MRS. NESBITT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
  • Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Woody takes on this role a bit to Buzz when they get lost, especially in the gas station and at Pizza Planet.
  • Clumsy Copyright Censorship: Sid is stopped from torturing Woody when his mother announces his Pop-Tarts are ready. Sometimes, when the film is aired on television, her entire line is silenced.
  • Comically Missing the Point: During the scene where Sid is decapitating his sister's doll, he is playing "doctor." During the "operation" Buzz says, "I don't believe that man's ever been to medical school."
  • Company Cross References: Andy has several books in his room that have the titles of several Pixar Shorts on them, such as "Red's Dream", "Tin Toy", and "Knick Knack".
  • Conditioned to Accept Horror: Sid's toys are used to being maimed, blown up, or tortured during his "games", so much that they've learned how to repair newbies that have suffered serious damage. The Baby Face is the first to be hopeful when Woody says there's a chance to rescue Buzz and help Sid turn over a new leaf.
  • Container Cling: Woody does this to avoid being tied to a rocket by Sid.
  • Contrived Coincidence: Sid just happened to be at Pizza Planet where Woody and Buzz were trying to find Andy. It also happened that he decided to try the Claw Machine when Woody and Buzz accidentally ended up in it.
  • Covered in Kisses: Bo Peep does this to Woody at the end, courtesy of mistletoe (though it isn't made apparent that Bo Peep has on lipstick until Woody is later seen with a face full of kiss marks, looking pretty pleased with himself. Rule of Funny, of course).
  • Creator Cameo: The Pixar Regulars are the chorus of manly voices during the Buzz Lightyear commercial.
  • Creepy Doll: Babyface, a head of a baby doll that's missing its hair, an eye, and is connected to a spider-like erector set.
  • Cue the Sun: Buzz's Heroic BSoD comes to an end as the rain stops and the sun starts shining through the window after he remembers the 'Andy' signature on his foot.
  • Curb Stomp Cushion: In the gas station fight, Buzz dominates the fight against Woody, but Woody does manage to knock Buzz to the ground and punch him three times in the head before Buzz closes his helmet on Woody's hand.
  • Damn You, Muscle Memory!: When a truck pulls into the gas station, Buzz dives out of the way and Woody reflexively goes back to being an inanimate object, leading to the truck's tire stopping just before he's run over.
  • Darkest Hour: Woody's friends (including Slinky) have turned on him after they see him holding Buzz's arm, and Buzz is taped to a rocket that will be lit by Sid the same day Andy is moving.
  • Dark Is Evil: Sid, as he's the main antagonist (despite being a Villainy-Free Villain) and wears a black skull shirt.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Sid's toys. They tolerate the treatment their master gives them, and look scary enough to be mistaken as evil toys, but they're quite willing to help other toys who end up in Sid's clutches.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Hamm and Mr. Potato Head, with nearly every line. Woody to Buzz in the first movie.
  • Death Glare:
    • Woody has one on his face during "You!" Exclamation moment towards Buzz in the gas station.
    • Mr. Potato Head directs one at Woody after he sends Buzz out the window, while Etch draws a noose.
  • Death Seeker: Implied after Buzz realizes he's a toy: he makes no move to escape Sid's toys when they begin swarming around him (at that point, both he and Woody still believe them to be cannibals), nor does he make any effort to escape after Sid straps a rocket to him despite knowing he'll be blown up come morning. It takes a You Are Better Than You Think You Are speech from Woody before Buzz regains his drive to return to Andy again.
  • Description Cut: After sending the army men out, Woody says, "Come on! They're not lying down on the job." Cut to the army men (one having been stepped on), kicked off to the side by Andy's mom, and not able to get up until she's walked away.
  • Destination Defenestration: Buzz falls out the window after Woody's scheme to go with Andy to Pizza Planet goes awry.
  • Dialogue Reversal: Buzz thinks he can fly, but Woody calls it "falling with style." Then at the end, Buzz glides with spectacular style to save himself and Woody after getting them loose from Sid's rocket, and they switch up their roles.
    Woody: Hey, Buzz! You're flying!
    Buzz: This isn't flying! This is falling with style!
    Woody: To infinity, and beyond!
  • Didn't Think This Through: Twice, both from Woody's plans.
    • Woody's plan to get Buzz stuck behind the table in Andy's room consists of knocking him down there with RC to make it look like an accident. What he didn't do is consider if RC would miss and hit the bulletin board behind him. When exactly that happens, his plan spirals wildly out of control and results in Buzz out the window instead. And also, RC tattles on him.
    • Woody lights the rocket strapped to Buzz as a last resort to get back to Andy and the realization that rockets explode hits him seconds before it goes off.
  • Digital Destruction: Multiple:
    • One shot of Sid's toys scavenging his mutation of the Janie doll to try and put her and the dinosaur back together properly has her colored incorrectly on all digital releases save for the 3D version and the original 35mm prints that were used for VHS and Laserdisc.
    • When Buzz introduces himself to Woody for the first time, there's a noticeable shadow on Woody's hat brim, while on the digital releases from 2000 onward, the shadow is more subtle.
    • A rather egregious case of this is in the shot where Sid's torturing Woody with the magnifying glass, runs off, and Woody yelling in pain, where on the original prints it had motion blur, but on all digital releases after, the motion blur was missing.
    • The upscaling on the digital masters accidentaly revealed some parts of the environment on the outside scenes getting cut off into the sky.
  • Ding-Dong-Ditch Distraction: Sid's toys do this in order for Woody to get out of Sid's house.
  • Disappeared Dad: Andy and Molly live with their mother, but his father is neither present nor mentioned. Word of God confirms that the in-story reason is that Mrs. Davis is a widow (and that Woody belonged to Andy's father), but the real-life reason is because they didn't have the budget to create another human character.
  • Disaster Dominoes: Woody's plan to knock Buzz behind the desk backfires, when RC hits the bulletin board instead, which in turn falls and knocks the globe rolling loose towards Buzz who runs out of the way, allowing it to strike the Luxo-style lamp, making it spin clockwise and finally smack Buzz off the window ledge.
  • Disney Death: Downplayed with Buzz not once, but twice. The toys accuse Woody of being a murderer when Buzz is knocked out the window, although he can't actually die because, well, He's a toy. Later, after Buzz loses his arm trying to fly, Woody ends up exposing it to Andy's toys, and their reaction is the same.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?:
    • Buzz's jumping from the banister to see if he can fly looks an awful lot like a suicide attempt. He even says afterwards that he has been feeling "depressed."
    • And afterwards when Buzz loses consciousness, as the overhead camera rises away from him we can see his face revert back to its default expression, making it seem like he actually died in that moment and his soul was ascending.
    • Woody finds Buzz at the tea party in Hannah's room, after the latter has just discovered he really is a toy. Though the cups are empty, Buzz's delirious rambling, coupled with the fact that he can barely stand up, is clearly meant to resemble someone who's been drinking away their problems.
    Woody: I think you've had enough tea for today. Let's get you home, Buzz.
  • The Dog Bites Back:
    • Sid's toys scare the tar out of him at the end of the film, though this was done to teach him not to mistreat his toys.
    • Following from above, once Hannah sees that Sid is now afraid of toys, she holds one of her dolls up to his face and proceeds to chase him with it.
  • Don't Tell Mama: Hannah runs off to tell her mother that Sid destroyed another of her toys. Sid tries to deny it, and leaves the toy in his room to hide the evidence.
  • Double Entendre: Bo Peep's line to Woody about "find[ing] someone else to watch the sheep tonight" can be taken another way, given Woody's giggly, awkward response.
  • Dramatically Missing the Point: Nearly all the things Woody and Buzz accuse the other of doing to each other (and setting off the plot in the process) were purely by accident. Buzz didn't mean to steal Woody's thunder, Woody didn't mean to knock Buzz out of the window outright, while Buzz didn't mean to get them stranded in his revenge attack. And Woody probably didn't mean to assist in Emperor Zurg's conquest by delaying Buzz's rendezvous with Star Command...
  • Dramatic Irony: Happens during the claw machine scene when one of the alien toys gets "chosen". Considering that the one playing the machine was Sid, the toy had no idea how much trouble he was in for.
    Alien Toy: I have been chosen! Farewell, my friends! I go onto a better place!
  • Dramatic Thunder: Played with. Lightning strikes when Sid attaches Buzz to the rocket... only for the rain to delay the take-off.
  • Drives Like Crazy: The Pizza Planet delivery man. Good GOD.
  • Drunk on Milk: The tea party scene where Buzz is losing it. At first, he seems almost drunk on (imaginary) tea, and Woody even says, "I think you've had enough tea for today." note 
  • Early-Installment Weirdness:
    • This is the only movie in the tetralogy that features a human as a main antagonist who has malevolent intentions to bring direct harm to the other toys rather than indirectly or without knowing (Al can fit the latter). It's also the only one to not have a Bittersweet Ending. Narrative wise, it's also noticeably more sarcastic, with the main cast being more belligerent and snide to each other. This was a leftover from early mandates to make the script edgier to appeal to older audiences.
    • The conditions for toys coming to life and staying put in the presence of humans seems somewhat more lax and not really as enforced in this one compared to later films. Notably, the second film has Woody allowing himself to be stolen in order to prevent the discovery of toys being alive (and later, Jessie reverting to being motionless even as she's being loaded into a plane bound for Japan), while the third have the toys subjecting themselves to being abused by toddlers and remaining as toys no matter what happens. As such, the iconic moment with Woody and the mutant toys coming to life and scaring Sid seems to contradict rules in the sequels. Though Woody does acknowledge that they'd have to break the rules in order to deal with Sid, it does make the strict adherence to them in later films somewhat odd.
  • Easily Condemned: Most of the toys are quick to believe Woody would try to kill Buzz. Only Slinky and Bo Peep stay loyal, only being convinced after the more plausible display of Woody handling Buzz's discarded arm.
  • Easily Forgiven: Subverted after Woody sends Buzz out the window. For a moment, it seems like Buzz will forgive him... but then he starts to try to beat the crud out of him, thanks to Exact Words.
    Buzz: I just want you to know that even though you tried to terminate me, revenge is not an idea we promote on my planet.
    Woody: Oh. Well, that's good.
    Buzz: [quietly] But we're not on my planet, [pulls Woody in by the badge] are we?
    Woody: Uh... No?
    [Buzz tackles Woody out of the van]
  • Establishing Character Moment: One for both Sid and Scud. Just the sound of Scud barking and Sid laughing loudly outside are enough to make all the toys worried, setting up how much of a menace towards toys the two are. It's pretty effective, considering the two haven't even appeared on-screen yet and you already know they're very bad news.
    • One for Rex too. The first thing we see Rex do when he’s not being played with is leaping in front of Woody and roaring at him. Woody’s reaction is one of boredom (implying it has happened many times before), causing Rex to anxiously ask Woody if he was scared or not, worrying aloud that he isn’t coming across as fearsome and just being annoying.
  • Establishing Series Moment: The movie starts in the middle of Andy playing a game with his toys, before he wanders downstairs with Woody. Here, we see that Andy's mom has set things up for his birthday party, and sends Andy back to his room to grab Molly. Andy does so, leaving Woody on his bed. And as soon as they are both gone...
    Woody: [blinks; glances at door; pops up, shocked] Pull my string, the birthday party's today?! [taps chin in contemplation; turns towards the room] Okay, everybody! Coast is clear!
    [all of Andy's toys come to life]
  • "Eureka!" Moment:
    • "Out the window! Buzz, you're a genius!" Also, when Woody realizes that the sunlight shining through Buzz's helmet is burning his hand, and he can use that to light the rocket.
    • After Woody gets "Don't count on it" on the Magic 8-Ball, he throws it to his side... whereupon he hears it roll off and fall behind the dresser. Then Woody notices RC near Buzz...
  • Even the Dog Is Ashamed: Literally. After Woody exposes Buzz's broken arm, the toys are convinced he murdered Buzz and leave the window. Slinky is the most heartbroken and closes the blinds, leaving Woody to his doom.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Sid doesn't react well when he realizes he's been operating on sapient toys. That, and Woody says toys don't die necessarily.
  • Every Pizza Is Pepperoni: At Pizza Planet, a voice says over a loudspeaker, "Before your space journey, reenergize yourself with a slice of pepperoni. Now boarding at Counter 3!"
  • Evil Counterpart: As mentioned before, Sid is the total opposite of Andy. Andy is a nice kid who plays with his toys "properly", while Sid destroys his.
  • Evil Laugh: Sid is introduced with one of these and a Big "YES!", and when Woody points out Sid to Buzz through Lenny, he is laughing again.
  • Exactly What I Aimed At: Buzz glides himself straight over the moving van—to the car in front of it, where the open sunroof provides access to Andy.
    Woody: Uh, Buzz? We missed the truck!
    Buzz: We're not aiming for the truck!
  • Exact Words:
    • Woody asks Buzz to give him a hand to convince the other toys Buzz is alive and well. Buzz responds by literally throwing his dismembered arm at him.
    • It seems at first like Buzz will forgive Woody for causing him to be knocked out the window because "revenge is not an idea we promote on [Buzz's] planet", only for Buzz to remind him that they're not on his planet. Are they? Cue an Oh, Crap! from Woody.
  • Existential Horror: Through most of the movie, Buzz genuinely believes he's a real space ranger. However, when shown that he's indeed a real toy, he goes through an existential crisis since his beliefs have been shattered and he doesn't know what to do. It eventually takes some heart to heart from Woody that making his owner, Andy, happy is more of a noble goal to snap him out of it.
  • Exorcist Head: Buzz punches Woody during their fight and sets his head to spinning — as a toy, his neck is a simple swivel mount. Later Woody rotates his head 360 degrees to scare away Sid.
    Woody: We toys can see everything...
  • Expospeak Gag: Usually courtesy of Buzz, such as while "repairing" his spaceship box.
    Buzz: Unidirectional bonding strip...
    Robot: Mr. Lightyear wants more tape!
  • Extremely Short Timespan: Excluding the epilogue, the events are set over a period of four days.
  • Eye Awaken: Done by Scud when he is disturbed awake by Woody's voice box.
  • Eye Scream: Buzz snaps Scud's eyelids to make him let go of Woody in a Big Damn Heroes moment towards the end.
  • Facepalm: Woody, after the other toys panic about the presents' sizes, and after meeting the Little Green Men.
    Woody: This is ludicrous...
  • Failed Attempt at Scaring: Rex's Establishing Character Moment is him jumping in front of Woody and roaring at him. Woody barely reacts, leaving Rex to wonder what he's doing wrong.
    Rex: ROOOOAAAR!
    Woody: [barely even looks at him] Hey, how ya doin', Rex?
    Rex: Were you scared? Tell me honestly.
    Woody: I was close to being scared that time.
    Rex: I'm going for fearsome here, but I just don't feel it. I think I'm just coming off as annoying.
  • False Reassurance: Buzz gives one to Woody in the van.
    Buzz: I just wanted to let you know that even though you tried to terminate me, revenge is not an idea we promote on our planet.
    Woody: Oh, well, that's good.
    Buzz: But we're not on my planet, are we?
    Woody: ...No.
  • Family-Unfriendly Death: The action figure Sid blows up during his introductory scene.
  • Fatal Fireworks: Sid ties Buzz to a rocket with the intent of firing it and watching it and Buzz blow up. Woody later uses the rocket to catch up to the moving van, jumping off just before the explosion.
  • Feedback Rule: Woody gets feedback when he starts the meeting, so he tells the speaker for the toy microphone to step back.
  • Feet-First Introduction: Buzz Lightyear is introduced with the camera zooming back from a shocked Woody and panning up his feet as he stands heroically on Andy's bed.
  • Film Comic: Marvel Comics published a two-issue photo comic by Bob Foster.
  • Fingore: Woody deactivates Buzz's helmet during the fight scene, punching him three times. Buzz then slams his helmet shut on Woody's fingers before he can get any more in.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: Woody starts out hating Buzz, who gets angry at him in turn after his Destination Defenestration. Their efforts to get back to Andy's room seal their friendship.
  • Five-Second Foreshadowing: When Buzz and RC crash into Woody, if you pay attention to RC, his eyes shrink a moment before Buzz warns Woody about the incoming car tire.
  • Five Stages of Grief: Buzz goes through all five stages when he realizes he's a non-flying toy. Upon viewing the Buzz Lightyear commercial, he initially tries to deny it (denial). Then, he angrily climbs the banister in Sid's house (anger). There, he prepares to fly out the window to prove he can fly after all (bargaining). When this fails and he loses an arm, he becomes depressed and crowns himself Mrs. Nesbitt (depression). However, Woody eventually manages to get through to Buzz by reminding him of his purpose as a toy, allowing him to finally come to terms with himself (acceptance).
  • Flapping Cheeks: At the end, when Woody and Buzz Lightyear fly on a rocket to catch up to Andy's car, Woody's cheeks flap around from the wind in his face. Buzz isn't affected, because he's wearing a helmet.
  • Forced Friendly Fire: Woody uses Buzz Lightyear as a Human Shield to escape from Sid's room. To repel Sid's hideous toys, Woody presses a button on Buzz's back that activates Buzz's Karate-Chop Action. This works because Sid's toys are actually not hostile to Woody and Buzz.
    Buzz: Hey, hey, hey! How're you doing that?
  • Foreshadowing:
    • Woody's early line to Rex of "Save your batteries!" sounds like a throwaway joke, but in the climax, Woody and Buzz end up stranded again after RC's batteries run out while trying to catch up to the moving truck.
    • Something similar happens with Woody's line of "Buzz, look! An alien!" The two later have to hide from Sid in a crowd of aliens in the crane game at Pizza Planet.
    • The one moment during the army toy's recon mission at Andy's birthday, when a stepped-on soldier tries telling Sarge to leave without him (who refuses), sets up a key moment in the climax, when Woody decides against climbing into the van in order to help free Buzz from Sid's fence.
    • Andy's party guests get him some fairly unexciting gifts like a lunchbox and a bedsheet. The toys are disappointed in Andy's choice of friends, but we never get to see what these presents look like. Then after Buzz is introduced, Andy's bedroom seemingly transforms overnight into a shrine of Buzz Lightyear merchandise (including a Buzz Lightyear blanket) and it becomes clear these were all the gifts he got for his birthday.
    • When we first see Sid in the film, the idea of stopping Sid from torturing toys is brought up. This of course sets up Woody and the mutant toys coming alive in front of Sid later.
    • The same scene as above sees Sid blowing up Combat Carl with a firecracker. Towards the end, Sid tries to blow up Buzz in a similar manner (this time with the rocket) and both Woody and Buzz come very close to being blown up by the same rocket when they use it to get back to Andy.
    • When we first see Hannah in the film in the first scene in Sid's house, Sid asks her if his package has arrived yet. This package later turns out to be the rocket that plays a big role in the film's climax.
    • The Buzz Lightyear toy commercial mentions Al's Toy Barn.
    • Sid sticks a match in Woody's holster with the line, "You and I can have a 'cookout' later, hehehe!" The match, however, is a Red Herring; it's immediately blown out when Woody tries to use it.
    • In the Pizza Planet truck, Woody gets hit with a toolbox when the truck drives up a hill, and later gets trapped under the milk crate in Sid's room when Sid puts his toolbox on top of it, leaving him unable to escape until Buzz is inspired to help him.
    • When Buzz and Woody meet, Buzz points at Woody's forehead with his laser. Sid later uses a magnifying glass to torment Woody in the exact same spot. That in turn foreshadows how Woody lights the rocket toward the end to get back to Andy.
    • There are a few hints before the reveal that the Mutant Toys aren't evil; first, they don't even attempt to attack Woody when they first appear. Second, when they try to block Woody and Buzz from leaving Sid's room, they once again don't try to attack them, and it turns out they were trying to stop them from running headfirst into Scud the Bull Terrier, who was resting on the stairs just outside the doorway.
    • A retroactive example 24 years in the making: Woody is distraught over Andy leaving him behind in the gas station, crying about being a "lost toy". This foreshadows the eventual ending of Toy Story 4, where Woody moves on from Bonnie to become a lost toy with Bo, helping other lost toys find owners.
  • Forgot I Couldn't Swim: A non-comedic version happens when Slinky Dog attempts to rescue Woody and Buzz by stretching himself onto the moving van ramp. Even if the batteries hadn't run out, it's unlikely he would have had much success.
  • Freeze-Frame Bonus:
    • Look carefully at the box Andy's Mom removes from the closet during the party sequence and you see images of Buzz all over it. Guess what was inside the box.
    • The Drives Like Crazy Pizza Planet truck driver has a "How's My Driving?" sticker on the truck's rear bumper, and instead of a phone number, it just says "HA HA HA HA HA HA!".
    • If you notice on the packaging box, the company that Sid bought "The Big One" rocket from is called Ill Eagle Fireworks.
  • Friendship Song: "You've Got a Friend in Me" is this for the film and its sequels.
  • Funny Background Event:
    • When Woody announces that Andy's birthday party was taking place on that day and the other toys panic, "WHAT??!?" scrolls across Mr. Spell's screen.
    • Mr. Spell is good at this; his screen reads "HUBBA HUBBA" when the arrival of a Mrs. Potato Head is announced.
    • When Mr. Potato Head and Hamm are drawn away from their Battleship game, we see that Potato Head's board is nearly completely covered in white pegs—excepting only the areas where Hamm's ships are. Clearly someone isn't very good at Battleship...
    • Many of the arcade games at Pizza Planet count. Combat Wombat, anyone?
  • Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Woody to Buzz — with Buzz's own dismembered arm. It's hilarious.
  • Going Native: Buzz is an odd example, since he was technically a "native" all along, but he thinks of himself as an outsider who gets accepted into a new culture when Andy writes his name on Buzz's foot. And although in his words, revenge isn't an idea that he (or any other space rangers) promote on his planet, we're actually not on his planet either.
  • Go Mad from the Revelation: Buzz doesn't take the revelation that he's a toy particularly well. During his Heroic BSoD, he gets drunk on imaginary darjeeling at Hannah's tea party, breaks into maniacal laughter and crowns himself Mrs. Nesbitt, and eventually peels off and throws away his wrist communicator sticker. Having his arm reattached calms him down somewhat, but takes a You Are Better Than You Think You Are speech from Woody before Buzz eventually regains his senses.
  • Gone Horribly Right: Woody wanted to knock Buzz off the desk so Andy would have to take him to Pizza Planet... and boy did he ever knock Buzz off the desk.
  • Good All Along: The mutant toys. Woody and Buzz initially believe they are cannibals, but this stops after they reattach Buzz's severed arm to his body and that they repaired Janie and the pterodactyl by switching their heads back. Then they assist Woody in saving Buzz from the rocket and terrify Sid by revealing they are alive in front of him.
  • Good Versus Good: Woody vs Buzz for most of it, with Woody being the lesser of the two goods until he suffers the consequences of his actions.
  • Gory Discretion Shot: The destruction of Sid's Combat Carl isn't shown on-screen, being replaced by a shot of the toys looking at the commotion through Andy's window, but we do see pieces of it flying around after the explosion.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Woody's Fatal Flaw. He's not a villain, but his competition with Buzz to be Andy's top toy gets him in big trouble.
  • Grievous Harm with a Body: Again, the dismembered arm Get A Hold Of Yourself Man slap.
  • Grilling the Newbie: When the other toys meet Buzz, they ask him where he's from, what it's like being a space ranger, and what his buttons do.
  • HA HA HA—No:
    • Woody to a toy shark when he does a lame impression of him after finding his hat.
      Woody: [gasping for breath] ...finally... hey, who's got my hat?
      Shark: [with Woody's hat] Look! I'm Woody. Howdy howdy howdy!
      Woody: [sarcastically] Aah-hah! Aah-haaa... GIMME THAT! [snatches hat back]
    • Again with Woody after he tells Buzz to "give him a hand", Buzz throws his dismembered arm at him.
      Woody: Hahaha, that's very funny Buzz but [in an angry tone] THIS IS SERIOUS!!
  • Hard-to-Light Fire: Subverted. Woody realizes that they need to light the rocket taped to Buzz Lightyear's back. A passing car blows out that one and only match, leading to (temporary) despair. Woody is able to light the rocket after remembering how Sid used the sun to set him on fire using a magnifying glass.
  • Head in a Vise: When Woody and Buzz first arrive at Sid's house, they witness Sid taking Hannah's Janie doll and putting her head through a vise, so that he can replace it with the head of a plastic pterodactyl. Considering that toys are living beings in this universe, it still counts.
  • "Hell, Yes!" Moment: Woody has one at the gas station when Buzz drops into the van through the sun roof. It diminishes when he sees how angry Buzz is.
  • Help Mistaken for Attack: In the initial encounters with the mutant toys, Woody assumes that they're about to cannibalize them due to a mistaken assumption that they did just that to two other toys. It turns out that despite their freakish appearances, they actually want to help them out.
  • Heroic BSoD:
    • Buzz becomes despondent and uncaring of his fate after he learns that he actually is a toy.
    • Woody himself goes through two:
      • When trying to snap Buzz out of his funk, admitting how jealous he is of Buzz and even saying he, not Buzz, should be strapped to the rocket.
      • He goes through another, smaller one when a car blows out his match before he can light Buzz's rocket, preventing them from catching up to Andy. This goes away when he realizes he can use Buzz's helmet to light it instead.
  • He's a Friend: Woody to Buzz when several other toys appear.
  • Holding Both Sides of the Conversation: After Buzz's Heroic BSoD, Woody attempts to convince the other toys that Buzz is fine by holding Buzz's severed arm from behind a wall and imitating his voice.
  • Hold Your Hippogriffs: Overlap with Unusual Euphemism, as Woody when frustrated "swears" "Son of a building block!"
  • Hollywood Board Games: As a way to convey the sheer amount of free time Andy's toys have when their owner is not around, there's a short scene of Hamm and Mr. Potato Head playing Battleship. To spice it up, each sunken ship means the loser has to hand out one of his toy/body parts. Brainy Pig Hamm is so obviously winning that it's hilariously painful to watch. Meanwhile, Butt-Monkey Potato Head is short his hat and has his entire board covered in pegs, somehow having missed all of Hamm's ships. Near the end of the scene, he loses his nose too, causing him to talk in a funny, nasal voice.
  • Hollywood Giftwrap: Buzz Lightyear arrives in this.
  • Hope Spot:
    • When Buzz learns he really is a toy, he attempts to fly out through Sid's window. He jumps, and for one brief moment, against all odds, he might actually make it... only to then fall, breaking his arm off.
    • The entire climax of the film, where Woody and Buzz chase after the moving van, is peppered with such moments. To summarize: the sequence starts with Buzz and Woody managing to catch up to the moving van on foot. By the end, after a long series of circumstances (involving Scud, traffic, Andy's toys attacking Woody, and difficulty with the moving van's ramp), Woody and Buzz are riding RC and are about to get back on with Slinky's help... when RC's batteries run out, leaving them in the middle of the road (as Slinky, the only thing keeping them attached the moving van, was unable to hold on any longer due to being pulled too taut). Then they realize they can light the rocket strapped to Buzz with the match Sid left in Woody's holster, but no sooner has Woody lit the match than a car passes by and blows it out.
  • Hypocritical Humor: When Woody yells at Buzz and tries to convince him that he's a toy in the gas station, Buzz simply calls him a "sad, strange little man" in response, even though Buzz himself is delusional to the point where he thinks he's a space ranger.
  • "I Am Becoming" Song: "Strange Things (Are Happening to Me)," when it becomes obvious to Woody that he's being replaced by Buzz.
  • Immune to Jump Scares: Early in the film, Rex tries to scare Woody by suddenly roaring into his face. It doesn't bother him one bit.
    Rex: Were you scared? Tell me honestly.
    Woody: I was close to being scared that time.
    Rex: Oh, I'm trying to go for fearsome here, but I just don't feel it! I think I'm just coming off as annoying.
  • Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Sort of. When Hamm and Potato Head are playing Battleship, Potato Head covers nearly the whole board in white pegs—missing Hamm's ships completely.
  • Indy Escape: When Woody tries to knock Buzz behind a cupboard with RC, Buzz ends up running from a rolling globe before being knocked out the window instead. To add effect, Pixar and Disney used to the same soundtrack from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
  • Ironic Echo:
    • "This isn't flying! This is falling, with style!"
    • Woody's usage of RC in the climax is the inverse of how he used him earlier in the film. Specifically, we go from Woody using RC to (unintentionally) knock Buzz out the window to Woody tossing RC out the moving van so he can save Buzz from Scud.
  • It Won't Turn Off: Sid is disturbed when Woody begins talking even though his drawstring is not pulled out, although let's be honest, if a talking toy managed to start talking without it being activated, you'd probably assume it was busted too. Now if that toy starts talking directly to you and addresses you with your full name, wouldn't you freak out just a little?
  • I Will Only Slow You Down:
    • The wounded soldier to his Sergeant, leading to the inevitable response.
    • Buzz says something similar to Woody when his rocket gets stuck in the fence. Woody doesn't leave him behind either.
  • I Wished You Were Dead: While still jealous of Buzz and annoyed by his delusional state, Woody tells him he'd love to see Buzz get craterized like the Combat Carl Sid just blew up. Much later in the film, Sid does plan to blow Buzz up with the huge firework he bought through the mail. By this time, Woody has actually grown fond of his former rival and feels horrified by the situation.

    Tropes J–Z 
  • Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Parodied as Sid attempts to make Woody reveal the location of the rebel base. Buzz congratulates him for not talking.
  • Jerkass: Sid Phillips. Mr. Potato Head and Woody also have shades of this.
  • Jerkass Has a Point:
    • Mr. Potato Head, who's never really respected Woody for whatever reason, brings up several good points throughout the movie:
      • His first line, no less. He's just been ripped apart (in a family-friendly way) after being tossed into Molly's crib by Andy during playtime. Once he's out of it, he complains that his box clearly states that he's not age-appropriate for a baby. With his small parts, he could easily be a choking hazard for her. Toy Story 3 will also bring this up as a major plot point.
      • The first point he makes is how if Woody starts getting rid of fellow toys he fears will dethrone him as Andy's favorite toy, he might as well get rid of every other toy in the room as well.
      • Mr. Potato Head is quick to point out Woody can't relate to the other toy's fears of being replaced due to having been Andy's favorite for what's treated as years. As smug as he is about it, he was proved correct when Woody himself got usurped and he became incredibly insecure.
      • When Woody is attempting to get Andy's toys to help him escape from Sid's house, Mr. Potato Head is the only one to deny him on the basis the cowboy murdered Buzz. He's wrong, but since at that point Buzz is incapacitated and unable to confirm his survival Woody might as well be a murderer who presents a danger to all of Andy's other toys.
    • Woody is constantly doing this to Buzz when he tries to point out that he's a toy. Later installments show that Woody was right, and Buzz's delusions aren't well thought of when they're encountered again.
  • Jump Scare:
    • Surprisingly Played for Laughs. During Rex's Establishing Character Moment, he tries to jump-scare Woody... only for the latter to act unfazed by his roar, causing him immediately break character and ask Woody if he was scared.
      Woody: Hey, who left my doodle pad way over here?
      [he tries to pick it up, only for Rex to jump out of nowhere and roar at him]
      Woody: Yeah, how you doing, Rex?
      Rex: Were you scared? Tell me honestly.
      Woody: I was close to being scared that time.
      Rex: Oh, I'm going for fearsome here, but I just don't feel it! I think I'm just coming off as annoying.
    • When Woody and Buzz are first taken to Sid's house, we get a first person view of Scud suddenly barking into the bag they're in.
  • Kids Are Cruel: While Sid may be ignorant of how sentient his toys are, and thus have no idea how much it hurts them to be mutilated, he has no compunctions about stealing and torturing his sister's toys either, nor does he give a thought to how much that hurts her.
  • Kill It with Fire: Discussed: after Sid finds Woody in the backyard right as he's about to blow up Buzz, he shrugs it off and tosses Woody onto the grill, planning on having "a cook-out" with him later.
  • Lantern Jaw of Justice: Buzz Lightyear sports one quite intentionally.
  • Laser-Guided Karma:
    • Woody's acts of jealousy towards Buzz land him square in the crosshairs of the other toys when he knocks Buzz out the window and is Mistaken for Murderer. All the other misfortunes he suffers are his ego getting knocked down a peg, and only when he admits he was wrong for acting the way he did does said misfortunes lessen.
    • Mr. Potato Head, being debatably, the film's other antagonist, gets his pieces sent flying towards the end.
    • Sid bullies his little sister by stealing her toys from her and mutilating them—so after his confrontation with the living toys, when he comes across his sister with a doll and reacts with terror towards it, she gleefully takes the opportunity to settle scores.
  • Last-Second Joke Problem: The film ends at Christmas, with all the problems resolved and even the other toys more confident after Woody and Buzz became Fire-Forged Friends that they won't be "replaced" by newly acquired ones. Everything is wonderful... until Andy suddenly announces that he got a puppy for Christmas. Woody and Buzz look at each other with nervous smiles. Roll credits.
  • Laughing Mad: Buzz has an episode of this as "Mrs. Nesbitt" before getting a Bright Slap from Woody.
  • Leap of Faith: When Buzz jumps off the banister in Sid's house, believing that he can fly.
  • Letting the Air out of the Band: When Buzz sees the commercial that confirms he's a toy, he becomes determined to prove it wrong by flying out the window to Sid's house. The music swells triumphantly as Buzz climbs the banister and prepares to fly... only to taper off as he falls to Earth.
  • Light Is Good:
    • Buzz is mostly white and is the film's deuteragonist.
    • Andy's house is white and he treats his toys well.
  • Like a Surgeon: Sid gets his mitts on his little sister's humanoid doll, and takes it to his room. There, Sid dons a surgical mask and latex gloves, and puts the doll in a bench vice. Sid claims (to no one in particular) that he's about to attempt a double brain transplant. The result is Hannah getting back a mishmash with a pretty dress and a pteranodon head, which makes her shriek and flee.
    Buzz Lightyear: I don't believe that man's ever been to medical school.
  • Literal Metaphor: Woody asks Buzz to give him a hand, and Buzz throws his detached arm at him. Woody isn't amused.
  • Living Toy: The movie is centered around these.
  • The Load: Despite being Properly Paranoid and trying to protect Woody a few times, Buzz is this to Woody when they get lost. He gets them stranded at the gas station when he knocks them out of the van, he indirectly gets them captured by Sid when he jumps into the crane game, he accidentally breaks his own arm off in denial that he is a toy, and is too depressed afterwards to reveal to the other toys that he is still alive. He's also a literal one to Woody when Sid is on his way upstairs with the rocket, which gets strapped to Buzz instead of Woody when Sid steps on his laser button. This is only averted after Woody tells Buzz that being a toy isn't as bad as Buzz is making it out to be because of the happiness he can bring Andy. Only then does Buzz do anything that really benefits himself and Woody, such as by getting him out of the milk crate (which Woody was unable to move due to the heavy toolbox on top of it), saving him from Scud, and coming up with the idea to light the rocket to get them back to Andy.
  • Long Last Look: As the Davis family is leaving their old house for the last time.
    Mrs. Davis: Everybody say "Bye, house!"
    Buzz: Woody, the van!
    Andy: Bye, house.
  • Look Behind You: Woody's "Buzz, look! An alien!" joke right before Sid's introduction.
  • Loophole Abuse: Buzz gives himself one during his confrontation with Woody.
    Buzz Lightyear: [calmly and professionally at first] I just want you to know that even though you tried to terminate me, revenge is not an idea we promote on my planet. [switches to Tranquil Fury] But we're not on my planet, are we?
  • Lord Error-Prone: Buzz Lightyear probably counts.
  • Lost in Transmission: The baby monitor the toys are using to keep tabs on the birthday party cuts out just before Andy opens Buzz Lightyear's box. Rex shakes the nightstand in frustration, knocking the monitor over before they can get the signal back.
  • Mad Artist: Sid has, shall we say an "interesting" way of playing with his toys.
  • Magic A Is Magic A: Averted. "Buzz, you're flying!" "NOT A FLYING TOY". The closest we get to even a handwave as to how Buzz can suddenly glide with flawless dexterity and accuracy at the end is "falling with style". It's still an awesome ending, but they probably wouldn't have contradicted themselves so boldly if they'd known there'd be a trilogy.
  • Make It Look Like an Accident: A non-lethal example, combined with Mistaken for Murderer. Woody tries to knock Buzz behind the desk, making him "accidentally" misplaced just long enough for Andy to take Woody to Pizza Planet instead. But by real accident, he knocks Buzz out the window, and the other toys assume is was a straightforward example of this trope.
  • Making Room for Baby: Implied to be one of the reasons for the Davis family's move. In their old house, Andy and Molly are sharing a room.
  • Malicious Misnaming: Woody calls Buzz "Mr. Lightbeer" and "Lightsnack".
  • Masquerade: One of the more famous ones in fiction. Toys are sentient and only pretend to be lifeless when somebody can view them. Becomes a Broken Masquerade when Woody teaches Sid a lesson:
    "We toys can see EVERYTHING. [suddenly jumps into life] So play nice."
  • Matryoshka Object: One of the toys is a nesting egg, called a Troika doll. Its layers are (from biggest to smallest) bulldog, cat, duck, goldfish, and ladybug.
  • Meaningful Echo: The reconnaissance mission that Woody sends the toy soldiers on during Andy's party at the beginning, with the toys nervous about what Andy could receive, is repeated at the end on Christmas (Woody mentions this during the earlier scene — "Every Christmas and birthday we go through this"), only this time, the toys are excited instead of nervous.
  • Mistaken for Murderer: Andy's toys believe that Woody murdered Buzz after he falls out the open window. It's not helped when they see him at Sid's house with only Buzz's arm.
  • Mix-and-Match Critters: The results of Sid's "experimentations" with his toys.
  • Monster Brother, Cutie Sister: Sid and Hannah Phillips. The latter is a young Girly Girl that likes to have tea parties with her dollies, while the former is an unstable child that likes to bully his little sister and is a toy's worst nightmare.
  • Mood Whiplash:
    • In the span of a few seconds, Woody goes from laughing at a joke he made at Buzz's expense to worried when he hears Scud barking and Sid laughing outside.
    • Buzz Lightyear's crushing Heroic BSoD upon finding out he really is just a toy and not a glamourous space ranger is immediately followed up by being found by Sid's younger sister, dragged to a girly tea party with headless dolls, and subsequently having an oblivious Woody trying to find a way out while not-drunk Buzz is too busy hammingly despairing all over Woody.
      Buzz: OH, I'M A SHAM!!!
  • Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Played for Laughs; Sid puts on airs of being a doctor attempting a "double bypass brain transplant" when creating another Franken-toy from his sister's doll (by replacing the doll's head with a pterodactyl's).
    Buzz: I don't believe that man's ever been to medical school...
  • Moving-Away Ending: The movie ends with Andy and his family at their new home, having completed the move that they were planning all movie long.
  • My God, What Have I Done?:
    • The other toys soon realize their mistake after they finally see Buzz is okay (after throwing Woody out of the moving truck, no less).
      Rex: Great. Now I have guilt.
    • Woody also goes through this a bit, when his plan to knock Buzz between the desk and the wall results in him knocking Buzz out of the window.
  • My God, You Are Serious!: Woody assumed Buzz acting like he's a real space ranger was just that — annoying method acting or his idea of a joke ("All this time, I thought it was an act!"). When he realizes Buzz genuinely thinks he's a human on a mission from a real Star Command, he can't stop laughing about it.
  • My Little Panzer: As cool of a toy Buzz Lightyear is, he has a few features that would probably be considered unsafe for young children. His spring-loaded wings are strong enough to cut through electrical tape, his retractable helmet also opens and closes very quickly, and his "laser" (almost certainly a small LED) has a mode where it functions as a real laser pointer: something that is not recommended for children to play with since they can severely damage someone's eyes if they look directly into it or shine it at someone.
  • Necktie Leash: A variant with Bo Peep using her shepherd's crook to draw Woody closer to her.
  • Never My Fault: Woody and Buzz go through a lengthy "You started it" argument after Buzz attacking him leaves them stranded at a gas station. This escalates to Buzz accusing Woody of endangering the entire universe.
    Woody: I'm lost! Andy is gone! They're gonna move from the house in two days and it's all your fault!!!
    Buzz: [indignant] My fa— My fault?!? If you hadn't knocked me out of the window in the first place—
    Woody: [fumes] Oh yeeeaaah? Well if you hadn't shown up in your stupid little cardboard spaceship and taken away everything that was important to me—
    Buzz: Don't talk to me about importance! Because of you the security of the entire universe is in jeopardy!
  • Never Trust a Trailer:
    • The first theatrical trailer has a clip of Buzz asking Woody "You're mocking me, aren't you?" while he's pushing a tool box off a shelf and onto Woody. In the trailer's context, given the use of prior clips, it seems as if Buzz is getting revenge. In the final movie, however, Buzz is just trying to help Woody escape, and doesn't know Woody managed to get himself out and continues pushing the tool box, and Buzz actually says "Almost...there." The line that is used in the trailer is actually from much earlier on in the film, right around the introduction of Sid.
    • The second trailer has Sarge calling out Woody for ditching Buzz and pointing out "A good soldier never leaves a man behind!" This makes it seem Woody voluntarily went after Buzz under pressure from the fellow toys. In the actual film, Sarge is really insulting Woody for ditching Buzz before Woody shuts him up, and Andy just takes Woody with him to Pizza Planet while Buzz follows him. Sarge's line in the trailer is actually spoken earlier on, when he is helping a fallen comrade while preparing to get information on Andy's birthday presents.
    • Likewise, the second trailer implies a romantic rivalry between Buzz and Woody over Bo Peep by combining a scene when Bo flirts with Woody to a scene where Buzz angrily approaches Woody while saying, "Don't even think about it, cowboy." The real movie has no such rivalry, and the two scenes are from totally different parts of the movie.
    • A TV spot has Buzz saying "I changed my laser from stun to kill" and Woody replying "Oh great, now we can blink them to death" edited into the scene where they are riding on RC and being chased by Scud. In the film, these lines are actually said after Buzz and Woody encounter Sid's toys.
    • Another TV spot goes out of its way to proclaim the movie was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, even though Disney's only involvement was co-financing and releasing the film. This one is probably justified in that they were going for brand name recognition. Pixar hadn't quite made a name for themselves yet (this of course, being the film that ultimately put them on the map).
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
    • When trying to escape from Sid's house back to Andy's house, Woody tries to prove to the other toys that Buzz is okay by using Buzz's dismembered arm. But when he accidentally reveals to them that the arm is dismembered, it makes the others think Woody killed Buzz, and they refuse to help him.
    • Woody and the mutant toys arranged to get Scud locked out of the house so they could get him out of the way while they went to rescue Buzz. While it did provide a solution to keep him out of the way temporarily, the fact that he is still outside later complicates Woody and Buzz's attempt to get back to Andy as he notices them chasing after the moving van and begins running after them.
  • Nice Mean And In Between: Woody, Buzz and Andy together: Andy is the "nice" of the trio being a kind-hearted, playful and charismatic child who treats his toys dearly. Woody himself is the "mean" due to, despite being a good leader for the toys, being snarky, cynical and often rude. But nonetheless, he has a golden heart inside of him and gets better as the movie progresses. Buzz is "in-between" due to never having a malicious bone, being more polite than Woody, being oblivious to the fact he is a toy and becomes a friend to Woody, setting their differences aside.
  • Nightmare Face: Sid holding the magnifying glass in front of his mouth after using it to burn a dot on Woody's forehead. The braces on his teeth don't exactly help.
  • No Antagonist: While there are characters who cause a lot of conflict and harm, there is no villain per say. Sid could be seen as a villain but he's just a kid having fun, not knowing toys are sentient and are impacted by the harm he inflicts on them. Buzz isn't a villain as he didn't intend to usurp Woody's place as Andy's favorite toy. He was just given as a present to Andy, like any other toy. Woody isn't a villain either as his feelings are understandable, having been top dog for so long and then losing your place can't be easy and he does feel bad about actually harming Buzz when he knocks him out of the window. Overall, the conflicts mostly stem from misunderstanding and normal emotions, not an outright villain.
  • No Flow in CGI: It's telling how early in the history of CGI this film was made that there aren't any loose fabrics at all. Scud looks as plasticine as the toys (even two movies, one sequel, and four years later, Pixar was able to make Andy's dog look more realistic), and the only character wearing a dress is the toy porcelain doll Bo Peep, and even then it has a rather rigid bell-shaped skirt on it. Also, Hannah's outfit, which looked more blatantly feminine in the storyboards, had to be redesigned for the modeling stage because of this.
  • Noodle Incident:
    • The way Andy's mother reacts upon stepping on one of the Army men implies that this is not the first time she had walked in on one of their birthday/Christmas recon missions.
    • Implied by Hamm when the toys hear Sid in his yard.
      Rex: I thought he was at summer camp!
      Hamm: They must've kicked him out early this year.
  • No One Gets Left Behind: Done by the plastic toy soldiers near the start of the film, and later by Woody and Buzz to each other when they're attempting to catch up to Andy.
  • Not in Front of the Kid:
    Woody: The word I'm searching for, I can't say, because there's preschool toys present.
  • Not Quite Flight: Buzz's gliding.
    Woody: That wasn't flying! That was—falling with style!
  • Number Two: Slinky is implied to be this to Woody before Buzz Lightyear becomes leader of the toys.
  • Obliviously Evil: Sid to the toys.
  • Offscreen Villain Dark Matter: Sid is able to get his hands on materials that should be illegal for him to be in possession of, such as buying a powerful mini-rocket.
  • Oh, Crap!: Quite a few of them. Woody in particular is prone to them.
    • Buzz when he sees his "ship" has crashed as a result of Andy's playtime.
    • Buzz when he sees RC being sent towards him by Woody, shortly before being knocked out the window.
    • Woody when the bulletin board teeters and he realizes his plan to knock Buzz under the desk is about to spiral entirely out of control.
    • Woody has one when he realises he is about to get his comeuppance from Buzz for trying to knock him off.
    • Woody in the back of the Pizza Planet truck when the toolbox slides towards him.
    • Woody when he hears Sid's voice behind him at Pizza Planet. Then again when the claw grabs Buzz in the crane game.
    • Hannah when she realises Sid is going to destroy her Janie doll.
    • Woody when the mutant toys first appear. He has wide eyes, shakes in fear, and has inability to form coherent speech.
    • Buzz when he jumps off the banister in Sid's house and realizes that no, he can't fly.
    • Woody when he accidentally reveals Buzz's broken arm in front of Andy's toys.
    • Buzz when the mutant toys begin to swarm him while he's in the middle of a Heroic BSoD.
    • Woody once again when Buzz inadvertently pushes Sid's toolbox on top of him.
    • Sid when he hears his own name spoken by Woody. And then when the mutant toys come to life in front of him.
    • Buzz and then Woody when they see Scud coming up behind them while on the moving truck.
    • The main group of Andy's toys when they see Woody kicking RC off the truck.
    • Woody when he sees the toys advancing on him, mistaking him for attempting to murder RC.
    • Scud gets a brief one during the chase scene when a car looks like it's about to hit him.
    • Woody after lighting the rocket, and realizing that the rocket will explode.
    • Potato Head near the end in the moving truck right before RC crashes into him.
  • "Oh, Crap!" Smile: Woody and Buzz at the end when they hear Andy's next present is a puppy.
  • Only Sane Man: Bo is the only one of the toys who does not turn against Woody for knocking Buzz out of the window and doesn't join with them in throwing him off the moving van. She instead screams at the toys to stop torturing him after he was called out, and when the toys praise each other after throwing him off, she can be seen looking on in sadness and concern. Then she confirms that he and Buzz are driving with RC and it was a big misunderstanding.
  • Palette Swap: Andy's birthday is attended by palette swaps of him. To make it less obvious, some of them wear caps, and some have pants instead of shorts. And in the "Ultimate Toy Box" bonus feature and Laserdisc side, the head models have different names.
  • "Pan from the Sky" Beginning: Subverted. The first scene is a field of azure blue with crisply defined white clouds. The pan down reveals that this "sky with clouds" is actually a pattern of wallpaper in Andy's bedroom, where he's playing with his toys.
  • Parental Bonus:
    • Mr. Potato Head accuses The Hero Woody of having "laser envy."
    • At the beginning of the film when Slinky is talking about how Woody never steered them wrong before, Mr. Potato Head takes off his mouth and pats it against his rear in a sarcastic manner.
    • When we see the entire ensemble of Sid's mutant toys, one of them is a tiny fishing rod with two doll legs attached to the spool. For those at home still guessing, the word we're looking for is "hooker".
  • Pedal-to-the-Metal Shot: When the Pizza Planet truck moves.
  • Pets as a Present: This film ends with Andy getting a puppy for Christmas. The puppy appears more prominently in Toy Story 2, where he is given the name "Buster" and assists Woody in rescuing Wheezy.
  • Pink Elephants: A variant. One of Woody's pull-string catchphrases is "There's a snake in my boot!" A "snake in the boot" was the common reference to alcoholic hallucinations before pink elephants became the cultural standard — and more than an old-timey reference, it's a good way to slip in a joke about being completely smashed in a movie for general audiences.
  • Platonic Declaration of Love: Two examples occur in Woody's songs, first he declares in "You've Got a Friend in Me" that no one will ever love Andy like he does, and then in "Strange Things" he laments that he still loves Andy but the boy has replaced him with Buzz.
  • Plot-Driven Breakdown: The RC car has enough pep to keep up with full-size cars on the street while carrying both Woody and Buzz, until they try to make a final push to catch up with the moving van. That's when his batteries finally die. However, considering that Woody was running him at full "Turbo" speed for a long time to keep up with the truck, it's at least somewhat justified that he would quickly run out of power.
  • Poe's Law: The filmmakers intended the scene with the toy soldiers making their way to the lookout point to be funny, since it was a typical war scene played straight with toys instead of humans. When it was shown to test audiences they took it just as seriously as the real thing.
  • Pop-Star Composer: Randy Newman wrote and performed all of the songs in the film, in addition to composing and conducting the score.
  • Possession Presumes Guilt: Woody needs help from his fellow toys to make a bridge between Sid's room and Andy's house. Andy's toys are already distrustful of Woody, and Buzz Lightyear is too deep in self-pity to be useful. When Woody asks Buzz for a hand, Buzz merely lobs his detached right arm at Woody. Although Woody tries to play the scene as camaraderie, he inadvertently lets the other toys see that Buzz's arm is detached. They take this as proof that Woody is responsible for Buzz's demise, and abandon the bridge project, leaving Woody to Sid's tender mercies.
  • Precision F-Strike: A tiger-like toy ring calls Shakes the Rattle "the best damn rattle I ever worked with" in a deleted scene.
  • Profile View Gag: The toys are watching the kids attending Andy's birthday party, and see one kid with what appears to be a small, cube-shaped present. But then the kid turns to the side, revealing that the present is really long.
  • Properly Paranoid: Buzz, curiously enough.
    • When they head to Pizza Planet in a pizza truck, Buzz explains to Woody that they should use seat belts for their own safety. Woody suffers the consequences when he doesn't.
    • After Woody tries to escape Sid's room through the open door, Buzz warns him that they don't know what's waiting for them outside. Woody ends up nearly being mauled by Scud.
  • Protagonist-Centered Morality: Sid is seen by many viewers, including Will Wright, Mike Mozart, and the creators, as a kid with a great imagination. (In fact, many of the things Sid does to his toys were inspired by things the creators used to do to theirs.) Some would argue that the only reason he is given the antagonist treatment is because the movie is from a toy's point of view. However, he apparently wrecks all his sister's toys (the fact that the only dolls Hannah has left to play with are dismembered and/or decapitated, and that several of the mutant toys have doll legs and heads, shows that the pterodactyl thing was not an isolated incidentnote ). And a little boy playing with explosives unsupervised is pretty questionable, considering the rockets he was using are not even legal in some states.
  • Pun: Virtual Realty, the real estate company that sold Andy's house.
  • Punctuated! For! Emphasis!:
    • Mr. Potato Head complaining about Molly: "Ages three. And. Up!" Coupled with Punctuated Pounding when he slams his hat on his head on the word "up".
    • Woody reminding Buzz: "YOU! ARE! A! TOYYYYYY!!!"
    • Hannah's response to Sid's "What do you mean you don't know?" (referring to if his package had arrived in the mail yet) "I. Don't. Know."
    • Buzz when Woody gets him out of Hannah's tea party: "I! AM MRS.! NESBITT!"
  • Race Against the Clock: Twofold.
    • Sid straps Buzz to a big fireworks rocket and Woody and the mutant toys devise a plan to save him before Sid blows him up.
    • Woody and Buzz find themselves in one when Buzz sees the moving van coming at the Davis family's home.
  • Raiders of the Lost Parody: The film does a Shout-Out to the boulder scene with Buzz being chased by a rolling globe that gets knocked loose, not long before he falls out the window. They used the sound effect of the boulder rolling from the original film.
  • Rapid-Fire "No!": Woody, when a passing car blows out the match he was about to use to light Buzz's rocket.
  • Red Alert: Called by the Sergeant during the birthday party in response to the surprise present in the closet.
  • Red Shirt: Sid's Combat Carl, which gets blown up in Sid's introductory scene.
  • Refuge in Audacity: How does Woody save Buzz from Sid? Simple: completely bust the masquerade in front of him and outright threaten him to scare him straight!
  • Remembered Too Late: After Woody gets the rocket lit, he and Buzz are ecstatic that they can now catch up with the moving truck... only for Woody to remember seconds before takeoff that rockets explode.
  • Revenge Before Reason: Double Subverted when Buzz catches up to Woody after falling out of Andy's window. He tells Woody that revenge is frowned upon back on his planet. Then, he rhetorically asks Woody if they are on his planet before tackling him out of the van.
  • Rod-and-Reel Repurposed: One of the toys in Sid's house is composed of a toy rod and reel with a pair of fashion doll's legs attached. Woody calls her Legs, and she acts as a winch to lower Ducky to a point where he can ring the doorbell.
  • Rule of Three: Woody punches Buzz in the face three times during their fight before Buzz closes his helmet on Woody’s hand.
  • Sacrificial Lamb: The poor alien Sid gives to Scud is viciously mauled and chewed up in seconds, showing Woody and Buzz (and thus the viewer) how dangerous Scud is. Later subverted when the alien turns out to be alive, but very disfigured to the point where he can't even talk anymore.
  • Say My Name:
    • Potato Head and Hamm, then Woody, yell Buzz's name when Buzz is knocked out the window.
    • Woody's anguished yell of "SLINKY!" after Slinky closes the blinds on him.
    • Buzz yells Woody's name while riding RC and about to crash into Woody from behind.
  • Scare 'Em Straight: Woody and Sid's toys come alive to provide In-Universe Nightmare Fuel for Sid before the climax, leading straight to his breakdown. This gives Sid the distinction of being the only human in the entire series to have witnessed the toys' being alive, although the outcome implies that he'll just write it all off as temporary insanity.
  • Screams Like a Little Girl: Woody, when Buzz startles him after saying hello, and before Scud bites his leg.
    • Also Bo Peep when Woody accidentally reveals Buzz's broken arm.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: It seems to be an unwritten rule that the toys will not walk and talk (other than what their normal toy operation allows) when there are any humans present. Even Buzz Lightyear adheres to the rule, even throughout the time that he believes that he's the real Buzz Lightyear (although this can probably be Justified if you consider that he probably went with good old fashioned herd mentality by imitating the "natives" in order to continue surviving in a hostile environment; notably, after being lost at the Dinoco gas station with Woody where there are no humans nearby, when the tractor trailer pulls in, Buzz actually dives out of the way rather than freeze where he is like Woody does). To save Buzz from Sid, however, Woody decides that it's time to break a few rules, noting that if his plan works, it will help the other toys too.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Subverted when Woody jumps out of Sid's backpack and tries to escape his terrifying room only to find the door locked.
  • Secret Message Wink: After a nightmarish few days at Sid's house, Woody and Buzz escape and drop into Andy's car from a rocket, where he finds them and concludes that they must have been in the car the whole time. The two toys share a wink signifying their shared knowledge that Andy's conclusion couldn't have been further from the truth.
  • Security Cling: Upon first seeing the mutated toys in Sid's room, Woody climbs on top of Buzz and clings to his helmet in a panic.
  • Shout-Out: The shark doll puts on Sheriff Woody's hat and says "Look, I'm Woody! Howdy, howdy, howdy!" This is a reference to an old The Far Side strip (1980-1984) which has a vulture that puts on a cowboy's clothing and says "I'm a cowboy! Howdy, howdy, howdy!"
  • "Shut Up" Kiss: At the end of the film, Woody is dragged over by Bo Peep. He glances upwards and begins commenting about the mistletoe above them when Bo Peep jumps on him for a kiss. Several, in fact.
  • Skeleton Motif: Sid, the closest thing to a "villain" in the movie, wears a skull T-shirt.
  • Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Very idealistic with sympathetic characters that are relatable and complex, tons of heart, a great story, and many timeless characters learning how to choose comradery over pride. However, the original Black Friday Reel of this film that was made before the film we know and love is EXTREMELY cynical and mean-spirited.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: The Magic 8-Ball appears in only one scene, yet its snarky comment and Woody knocking it behind the dresser is what drives most of the plot.
  • Snarky Inanimate Object: The Magic 8-Ball Woody uses to ask if Andy will bring him to Pizza Planet. The response that comes up is "Don't count on it."
  • Solar-Powered Magnifying Glass: Sid uses a magnifying glass to burn Woody's forehead while "interrogating" him. This is actually a Chekhov's Gun, as Woody, inspired by his ordeal, comes up with the notion to use Buzz's helmet to light the fuse of the rocket Buzz is strapped to.
  • Spelling for Emphasis: When Woody refers to Buzz as "Andy's new toy", Buzz says, "Toy?", and Woody says, "T-O-Y, toy!". Downplayed in the Spanish dubs where Woody's line is translated as "Ju, gue, te, ¡juguete!", using syllables instead of letters.
  • Spot the Thread: Before it's properly revealed that the toys are alive, if you pay attention during the "You've Got a Friend in Me" number, Woody's face changes briefly at points (like, for example, when Andy spins the recliner). The uninformed may assume this is just an animation goof, but then Woody is left alone...
  • Stealth Pun:
    • One of Sid's abominations is a fishing rod with Barbie doll legs, a.k.a. a hooker.
    • During his "Mrs. Nesbitt" rant, Buzz calls the two headless dolls seated with him "Marie Antoinette and her little sister". The "little sister" bit is referring to Élisabeth of France, Marie Antoinette's little sister by marriage. This leaves Buzz standing in the place of Élisabeth's brother and Marie's husband, King Louis XVI, who was beheaded along with both women. Buzz has Gone Mad from the Revelation that he is a toy, and not a Space Ranger. So, like King Louis, Buzz Lightyear has also lost his head.
  • Stock Scream: When Buzz is knocked out of the window it's definitely the Wilhelm Scream that he makes.
  • Strapped to a Bomb:
    • Sid tapes Buzz Lightyear to a large firework rocket and plans to launch him (the rocket will explode when it reaches its maximum height). Luckily, Woody saves him from this horrible fate, but later uses the rocket (with Buzz still attached to it) as part of a cunning plan.
    • Sid's introduction has him blowing up a Combat Carl (a Captain Ersatz G.I. Joe) with a firecracker.
  • Strip Poker: Hamm and Mr. Potato Head are apparently playing strip Battleship (Battlestrip?).
  • Suck E. Cheese's: Averted. Pizza Planet is a really cool place, to the point that a lot of fans wish it were realnote .
  • Summon Bigger Fish: This film begins with Andy playing with his toys, having Woody foil a Bank Robbery from One-eyed Bart, played by Mr. Potato Head. Bart tries to stop Woody from foiling his plan by summoning his attack dog with a built-in force field, played by Slinky Dog. Woody counterattacks by summoning his force field dog-eating dinosaur, played by Rex.
  • Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
    • As mentioned in the beginning, all the toys have a fear of new presents replacing them. Woody reassures everyone that even if there are new toys, they will welcome the recruits and Andy will cherish everyone. He's proven wrong; Andy becomes smitten with Buzz Lightyear and shoves Woody aside.
    • Played for Laughs: After Buzz makes his presence known to Woody at the gas station, he informs him that even though Woody knocked him out of the window, his planet doesn't believe in revenge. ...except they aren't on his planet...
    • Painfully enforced during "I Will Go Sailing No More": Buzz jumping from the railing and crashing down onto the floor. After all, as said in the commercial moments earlier:
      NOT A FLYING TOY
    • Getting Scud locked out of the house was really only a temporary solution; while he was not in the house, he was still outside.
    • Remote-controlled cars still need batteries, and batteries can go dead, especially when running on Turbo mode for an elongated amount of time.
  • Survival Mantra: Woody has a bit of a freakout in Sid's room.
    Woody: There's no place like home! Theresnoplacelikehome!
  • Take Care of the Kids: When Woody is grabbed by Sid's dog Scud, he tells Buzz to "take care of Andy for me." Buzz rescues him instead.
  • Take My Hand!: Slinky Dog to Woody as he's trying to pull him into the truck.
  • Technobabble: When Sid talks about a "double-bypass brain transplant."
    Buzz: I don't believe that man's ever been to medical school.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: After their Escalating War leaves them stranded, and with Andy moving away shortly, Buzz and Woody resentfully have to work together to get back in time.
  • Tempting Fate:
    • Woody assures the rest of Andy's toys that no one is getting replaced and he is still Andy's favorite toy. When Buzz enters the picture, however, he replaces Woody as Andy's favorite toy, even going so far as to sleep with him and write his name on Buzz's foot.
    • Woody, mocking Buzz, "'It's safer in the cockpit than the cargo bay'... what an idiot." And no points for guessing who was right.
    • In the end, Woody and Buzz are teasing each other about Andy getting Christmas presents. They ask each other if they're worried about getting replaced. "Oh, now, Buzz. What can Andy possibly get that is worse than you?" Cue the sound of a puppy barking, and Woody and Buzz's "Oh Crap" Smiles, both clearly remembering the last time they had dealt with a dog.
  • That Makes Me Feel Angry: Rex's reaction when the toys realize Woody is innocent.
  • They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Mr. Potato Head, after Woody accidentally knocks Buzz out a window.
    Woody: Wait a minute, You don't think I even meant to knock Buzz out the window, do you? Potato Head?
    Mr. Potato Head: That's Mr. Potato Head to you, you backstabbing murderer!
  • Third-Act Misunderstanding: Woody tries to get through to his friends across the window from Sid's house, but his broken ruse with Buzz's detached arm causes them to think he murdered him.
  • This Is No Time to Panic: Buzz says this to Woody word-for-word, causing Woody to remark: "This is the perfect time to panic!"
  • Those Two Guys: Snake and Robot. Also Potato Head and Hamm.
  • Tomato in the Mirror: Buzz Lightyear genuinely believes himself to be the real space hero, and that he only crash landed in Andy's room. He realizes that he's just a toy when he sees a Buzz Lightyear commercial on the TV, which sends him into a Heroic BSoD for a while. This proves that Woody was right about him all along.
  • Toy-Based Characterization: Andy is a good-hearted, imaginative boy who loves his toys dearly and always takes good care of them, as the complete lack of wear and tear demonstrates. He is compared to Sid, a mean boy who loves to chop toys into bits and create terrifying franken-toys out of the resulting parts and even Woody and Buzz look a bit scuffed after only one night in his place—naturally, all of Andy's toys are terrified of him. Meanwhile, Sid's sister Hannah is a nice girl who takes care of her dollies, even going the extra mile to include Buzz in her tea party when she finds him.
  • A Tragedy of Impulsiveness: Buzz and Woody's feud reaching boiling point starts the plot. Woody, in desperation to get some time with Andy, tries to knock Buzz out of the way with RC, though accidentally knocks him out the window instead. Buzz, thinking he done it on purpose, lunges at Woody in a rage upon meeting him inside Andy's car, with the two too busy taking out their frustrations on each other to notice the car leave without them. Both call each other out on this in the ensuing argument.
  • Tranquil Fury: Buzz is exhibiting this when he catches up to Woody at the gas station after being knocked out the window. When he lands in front of Woody, he just stands there with an angry stare on his face and doesn't raise his voice, making Woody uneasy at first and then giving him an Oh, Crap! before knocking himself and Woody out of the van.
  • Troubled Toybreaker: Sid is a mean boy who likes to destroy toys and glue their parts together to make scary hybrid toys, but it's subtly implied that he doesn't have the greatest home life. His dad is seen passed out in front of the TV surrounded by empty beer cans, and Sid's Angry Guard Dog, Scud, is terrified of him, not to mention that Sid has a ton of locks on his door.
  • Uncle Sam Wants You: The Buzz Lightyear poster reading "I want you to join Space Rangers".
  • Under the Mistletoe: Woody and Bo at the end. The mistletoe is held by her sheep.
  • Undying Loyalty: Even when the rest of Andy's toys turn against Woody after believing him to have murdered Buzz, Slinky and Bo Peep firmly believe in his innocence. It takes very incriminating evidence — namely, Woody accidentally displaying Buzz's detached arm — to convince them otherwise.
  • The Unmasqued World: Subverted. The only human to ever see the toys alive is Sid, and it is highly likely he eventually dismissed the episode as his imagination.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: While in the claw machine, Woody nearly saved Buzz from Sid and escaped, but the aliens in the machine, believing the claw was sentient, stop Woody because they believe Buzz had been chosen, resulting in both of them ending up in Sid's clutches.
  • Vader Breath: Buzz's breathing when he first appears on the bed, when the camera adopts his point-of-view from inside his helmet. As he doesn't have a respiratoy system, it's a Five-Second Foreshadowing that his grasp on reality is very shaky.
  • Villains Out Shopping: Sid, while in the middle of torturing Woody.
    Sid: Where are your rebel friends now? Ha ha ha!
    Sid's Mom: [from off-screen] Sid! Your Pop-Tarts are ready!
    Sid: [spikes magnifying glass; gleefully runs out of room] All right!
  • Villainy-Free Villain: Sid mangles his sister's dolls but otherwise doesn't really do anything bad. How was he to know that his toys are alive and can feel pain? Though taking his sister's toys and mutilating them without her permission isn't particularly nice. Hannah doesn't want a tea party with headless ladies...
  • Visual Innuendo: When Mr. Potato Head makes a pessimistic statement about Woody not being worried about the move due to being Andy's Favorite Toy since Kindergarten, Slinky defends Woody, to which Mr. Potato Head quietly replies by removing his mouth and tapping his backside with it.note 
  • Visual Pun:
    • As follows:
      Woody: Buzz, will you get up here and give me a hand?
      [Buzz, without a word, tosses his severed arm up to Woody and goes back to angsting]
      Woody: Hahaha, that's very funny Buzz but [gets angry] THIS IS SERIOUS!!
    • The fishing pole toy that sports a hook and a pair of sexy lady legs is a hooker.
    • One of Bo Peep's line at the beginning was "I'm just a couple of blocks away". As she says this, she walks past a stack of toy blocks.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Woody and Buzz are minor examples by the end, being toys from rival genres who had just become Fire-Forged Friends. This is shown most clearly at the very end when Buzz isn't worried about being replaced because science fiction action figures are still in, and Woody isn't worried because he doesn't believe Andy could get a bigger threat to his authority over the toys than his new space-age friend.
  • Voice Changeling: Woody does a rather impressive impersonation of Mrs. Phillips' voice to lure Hannah away.
  • Vomit Discretion Shot: Rex gets this after he sees Woody waving Buzz's dismembered arm—a rare example in which it makes sense, seeing as Rex didn't have anything to vomit up. Strangely, Pixar did confirm Rex threw up SOMETHING.
  • Wainscot Society: The toys appear to have a fairly well-developed society of sorts, which only operates when humans aren't looking—but they necessarily also take a keen interest in human activities, although they can't easily interact actively with humans.
  • We Have Ways of Making You Talk: Sid quotes the line verbatim when he tortures Woody with a magnifying glass (thankfully, without attempting a German accent).
  • Wham Line:
    • Both in-universe and out, Scud barking, followed by Sid screaming "YES!" and evily laughing is what firmly introduces the main antagonists into the film.
      Slinky: Whoa! [gasp of fear; hides under bed]
      Woody: Uh-oh...
      Slinky: [from under bed] It's Sid!
    • In-Universe:
      • Buzz finding out he's a toy via seeing his own commercial on the TV happens like this threefold. First, he sees the TV issue out a message to Buzz Lightyear from Star Command. Right before he can respond:
        Kid on TV: Buzz Lightyear responding, read you loud and clear!
      • Then comes the disclaimer from the same commercial:
        "NOT A FLYING TOY."
      • And finally, the clincher: after the commercial is over, Buzz takes a closer look under his gauntlet flap and sees the following words:
    • In-Universe, right as Sid is about to chuck Woody away, having written him off (due to him repeatedly spewing off lines from his voice-box) as being busted:
      Woody: [via the voicebox] Who you callin' "busted", buster?
      Sid: [quiet whimper; looks at Woody]
      Woody: [via the voicebox] That's right. [Sid spins Woody around; his pull-string isn't moving] I'm talking to you, Sid Phillips.
  • Wham Shot: Happens when Woody sees the mutant toys converging on Buzz, and when he fights his way through them, he sees Buzz's broken arm has been reattached to him.
  • What Does This Button Do?: Rex asks this about one of the buttons on Buzz Lightyear's suit.
  • What the Hell, Hero?:
    • All of the toys call out Woody for trying to get rid of Buzz just because the former is worried he won't be Andy's favorite toy anymore (barring Slinky and Bo Peep, who believe Woody's objections, and Rex, who technically believes Woody too but sides against him under pressure from the other toys). Mr. Potato Head especially gets pissed at Woody for throwing Buzz out of the window, accident or not, and even accuses Woody of doing the same to any other toy that might become Andy's new favorite.
    • Buzz himself vents this violently when he finds Woody, though when the fight gets them stranded at the gas station, Woody is left equally pissed and switches it back on him. Buzz fires back he started it with the above attack, and lectures him over the potential danger he'd caused the universe by rendering him without communication to Star Command. This in his universe would likely be a legit admonishing, here however:
      Woody: [exasperated] YOU! ARE! A! TOOOOYYYYYYY!!!
  • What You Are in the Dark:
    • During his attempt at getting Buzz out of his Tomato Surprise funk by trying to get him to realize he's a cool toy, Woody winds up baring his soul to Buzz, revealing his deep seated insecurities due to comparing himself to Buzz, even going so far as to admit he should be strapped to the rocket. Woody then turns his back to Buzz, and glumly states he should leave Sid's room while he can. He turns around, and Buzz is gone... because he's currently in the process of freeing Woody from the milkcrate.
    • Andy's mom is moments away from pulling out of the driveway, and Woody and Buzz are booking it to the van. While Woody manages to reach the bumper, Buzz gets stuck on the fence due to the rocket strapped to him. He tries telling Woody to go without him... and it takes Woody a few seconds to rush back to Buzz to pop him free.
  • Whoosh in Front of the Camera: While looking around Sid's room, one of his mutant toys runs in front of the camera, with Woody reacting to the sound behind him.
  • Work Info Title: Toy Story. Also present in the sequels and spin-offs.
  • You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Woody to Buzz after the latter's Heroic BSoD: "Why would Andy want you? Look at you! You're a Buzz Lightyear! Any other toy would give up its moving parts just to be you!"
  • "You!" Exclamation: Woody has a furious one while making a bee line towards Buzz, after their fight resulted in them getting stranded at the gas station with seemingly no way of getting back to Andy before they move house.

"You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity."

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"You. Are. A. TOY!"

Buzz uses the same line Woody said to him when he thought he was a space ranger.

How well does it match the trope?

4.95 (21 votes)

Example of:

Main / MeaningfulEcho

Media sources:

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