Who plays Big Al in Toy Story?

Toy Story 2 is the 1999 sequel to the first film, which takes place a year or two later. Woody is accidentally damaged during one of Andy's play times, which causes him no end of concern about becoming an unwanted "broken toy." Later, Woody gets stolen at a yard sale by greedy toy collector Al, so Buzz leads a group of Andy's toys to go rescue him. Meanwhile Woody finds out he's a piece of merchandise from an old kids' show called Woody's Roundup after meeting three other tie-in dolls based on his sidekicks on the show, and that he himself is a valuable collector's item. Woody discovers that they're all going to be sold to a toy museum in Japan, and he has to decide whether to go back to Andy — who will eventually outgrow him — or go to the museum and last forever, but never be loved.

Notable for being Pixar's first sequel, and for spawning a spinoff television series, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. In 2009, it was re-released alongside Toy Story as a double feature in stereoscopic Disney Digital 3-D, with the two films completely re-rendered to match the level of detail of Toy Story 3 (the UK had to wait until January 2010 for Toy Story 2 to come out in 3D).

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Toy Story 2 contains examples of:

• Absurdly Sharp Blade: Stinky Pete's pickaxe, which is clearly made of plastic, can still tear through stitching. (And act as a screwdriver.)
• Abuse Mistake: Mr. Potato Head mistakenly believes Jessie and the new gang are torturing Woody; really, they're just tickling him.
• Accidental Hero: Rex accidentally knocks Zurg off the elevator shaft with his tail.
• Acting Unnatural: Woody tells Buster the dog to "Act casual" while Woody hangs on his collar to rescue Wheezy unseen by humans. Buster begins to strut leisurely, and Woody hisses, "Not that casual!"
• Added Alliterative Appeal: Slinky in the baggage conveyor area when the suitcase he's on ends up going onto another conveyor belt: "Buzz, my back end's goin' to Baton Rouge!"
• Advancing Wall of Doom: The Buzz Lightyear video game seen at the start of the movie features a moving wall of spikes Buzz has to outrun.
• An Aesop:

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  • Some relationships just aren't meant to last forever (or at least not in the same way), but that's no reason to walk away from them. You should enjoy them while you can and know that when they do end, they were well worth it.
  • The toys watch Al half-crying during an Al's Toy Barn commercial on TV after losing his Woody's Roundup dolls.

    Hamm: I guess crime doesn't pay.

• Affirmative Action Girl: Jessie is introduced in this movie, adding another woman to the main cast besides the very feminine Bo Peep.
• All Animals Are Dogs: Bullseye is basically a giant puppy dog. He's very excitable and jumps/licks on everyone he likes.
• All for Nothing:
  • Subverted. It seems that Andy's toys' quest to rescue Woody is in vain when Woody chooses to go to the museum instead of going back to Andy, because he fears being outgrown and thrown out, causing Andy's toys to leave without him. However, Woody has a change of heart and decides to go back after all, but now deciding to take the Roundup Gang with him because he knows that without him, they'll go back to storage, possibly indefinitely.
  • Al steals Woody for the final piece in the Woody's Roundup collection so he can take them all to the Konishi Toy Museum in Tokyo, but it turns out to be this trope in the end as Woody decides to go back to Andy and takes Jessie and Bullseye with him. He ends up going to Japan with a load of empty cases and he's clearly a destroyed man when we see him at the end.
  • Stinky Pete's attempts to force Woody and the others to go to Japan when they don't want to utterly fails, as they not only get back to Andy's, but they stuff him in a girl's backpack and force him to learn the true meaning of the word "playtime".
• Always a Live Transmission: At the end of the movie, the toys are watching a commercial with Al where he breaks into tears in the middle of it.
• Always Someone Better: Inverted from the first film. Woody is a drawstring-powered cowboy doll while Buzz is a modern, battery-powered action figure loaded with cool features, which made Woody jealous. However, the last film established that Buzz is a mass-produced toy, while this film reveals Woody is a very rare and quite valuable collector's item.note Buzz may still be comparatively rare; Barbie mentions that the first wave was produced in small quantities, and the much larger second wave comes with a built-in Utility Belt. Since Andy's Buzz doesn't have a belt, he belongs to the rarer first wave.
• And Then What?: Once by the villain and once by the heroes. Stinky Pete asks Woody if he really thinks Andy will take Woody to college or on his honeymoon, saying that Andy won't be young forever, and then what's Woody going to do? Pete manages to convince Woody to go to a toy museum in Japan, but Buzz turns this right back around on Woody by asking him what he'll do once he's actually there, since Woody will have to "watch kids from behind glass and never be loved again".
• Animated Outtakes: The Hilarious Outtakes shown in the credits are presented as if all the characters in the film are just shooting a movie.
• An Arm and a Leg: The event that kicks off the film is Woody's arm getting ripped, causing him to lose the use of it. It later completely comes off when the stitch gets caught.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • Stinky Pete questions why Woody is going back to Andy, knowing it can't last.

    Pete: How long will it last, Woody? Do you really think Andy is going to take you to college? Or on his honeymoon?

  • When Woody tells Buzz that he's staying with the Roundup Gang and going to Japan is his only chance, Buzz replies with this:

    Buzz: To do what, Woody? Watch kids from behind glass and never be loved again? Some life.

• Art Evolution: Computer animation had evolved in the four years between the releases of the first and second films, especially with hair. Andy's mom's hair was previously in a ponytail, and she now has long blonde hair. Andy's hair does not appear until the final scene, since it is covered by his cowboy hat, but he now has more hair on his head than the embarrassing buzzcut in the first film. This is at least two years before they created the very hairy Sully for Monsters, Inc..
• Artistic License: Rex is clearly playing on an SNES in the beginning, but it can somehow play games with graphical capabilities beyond any 3D console available at the time.
• Author Avatar: The toy repairman can be seen as this, since he tells Al that he can't rush art... much like the Pixar films themselvesnote Though, as pointed out on the Awesome page, this movie was rushed... and is still considered great art.
• Award-Bait Song: "When She Loved Me", by Sarah McLachlan, which plays during Jessie's flashback with her previous owner.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Variation: the morning after returning home from camp, we see that Andy decided to take it upon himself to fix Woody's arm, stitching it up himself (albeit overstuffing the shoulder a tad). What's more, Andy admits that he's glad he left Woody home, as Woody could've lost his entire arm, which he did at Al's apartment.

  Woody: [fondly] Well, what do you know...

• The Bad Guy Wins: Zurg wins the fight against Buzz in the Fake-Out Opening, vaporizing Buzz in half. Fortunately for Buzz, it's just a video game being played by Rex.
• Bag of Holding: Mr. Potato Head's backside was turned into one in Toy Story 2's Hilarious Outtakes.
• Bait-and-Switch: Buster is initially setup as being a threat to the toys like Scud was in the previous movie. When the toys hear him coming they try to block the door and everyone runs to hide. Buster runs around the room and pulls Woody out of his hiding spot growling at him... before licking his face happily and it being revealed this was just a game of hide-and-seek. Unlike Scud from the first film, Buster is incredibly friendly with the toys, especially Woody.
• Behind the Black:
  • In the opening scene, when Buzz Lightyear says that "there seems to be no sign of intelligent life anywhere", the scene pans out to show that he somehow failed to notice being surrounded by massive hordes of aliens who were just barely far enough for the audience not to see them until that point.
  • In the actual movie, Woody doesn't notice any of the cheese puffs covering the floor near where Al is sleeping until the audience hears him stepping on one.
  • After Woody decides he's going to return to Andy with them, he tells Buzz & co. to wait in the air vent they're in. Just moments later, Pete sneaks out of his box and screws the vent cover back on without anyone in the vent protesting.
• Between My Legs: Used with Andy when he comes into his room to talk to Buster just before he gets ready to go to Cowboy Camp.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Al, the Jerkass toy collector who wants to sell Woody to a museum in Japan to make money, Stinky Pete, who tries to manipulate Woody into going to the museum and Emperor Zurg, a toy who believes he's the real Zurg and stalks Buzz.
• Big Damn Heroes: Multiple times.
  • When Stinky Pete has Woody on the ground in the airport, threatening to dismember him, he's suddenly blinded by the flash as Andy's toys arrive with the camera equipment from the identical case.
  • A short while later, the shot of him losing his hat while dangling from the airplane ends with Buzz's hand reaching in from the edge of the frame to catch it.
  • Subverted when Andy's toys first arrive at Al's apartment, bursting in to rescue Woody from cruel, torturing toys—except they're just tickling him.
• Big "NEVER!": Woody shouts this at Stinky Pete when ordered by the latter to get back into the case bound for Japan when it's in the baggage conveyor area at the airport (their tussle threw them out of the box and onto the conveyor belt).
• Big "NO!":
  • New Buzz after Zurg tells him he's Buzz's father, and Zurg as he falls down the elevator shaft.
  • Andy's Buzz has one as well when he witnesses the other toys riding off with the wrong Buzz while he's stuck inside a box.
  • Stinky Pete does this when Woody decides to teach him "the true meaning of playtime" by stuffing him in a girl's backpack.
• Big "YES!": While Al is on the phone to Konishi in his office, and Konishi is heard offering to pay whatever price Al wants, Al lets out two of these in a row.
• Bittersweet Ending: Andy may inevitably grow out of his toys in the future, but when it happens, at least Woody will still have Buzz Lightyear with him, for Infinity and Beyond.
• Blatant Lies: A Rewatch Bonus, but: "I don't know how the television turned on."
• Blinding Camera Flash: The toys use camera flashes to stop Stinky Pete from hurting Woody.
• Bond One-Liner: Woody lets off a one-liner after he and Buzz defeat Stinky Pete and trap him in a little girl's backpack.

  Woody: Happy trails, prospector!

• Boring, but Practical: In contrast to Woody's arm being repaired professionally with thread, Andy just uses some red string.
• Boring Return Journey: After the climax, the next scene shows the toys back in Andy's room. Earlier, just crossing the street caused mayhem. Justified in that this time, they had a ride: a luggage train from the airport can be seen through the window, haphazardly parked in front of the neighbours' house.
• Bowdlerize: On the 2019 4K, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital releases, the blooper reel skips over Stinky Pete flirting with the Barbies in his box and promising them a part on the next movie.
• Bottomless Magazines: Zurg fires a LOT of little Nerf balls at Buzz 2.0 in the elevator shaft.
• Bowel-Breaking Bricks: Mr. Potato Head, upon seeing the full scope of the baggage conveyor area. Played with in that what actually happens is that his back flap pops open and his spare parts tumble out.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Mr. Potato Head does this in the Dutch dub.

  [translated from Dutch]
  Buzz: Come on, men! Did Woody give up when Sid had me strapped to the back of a rocket?
  The Other Toys: [glumly] No.
  Buzz: And did Woody give up when you threw him out of the back of that moving van?
  Mr. Potato Head: Well, that was the other movie.

• Brick Joke:
  • When Al delivers his luggage to the airport, he requests to possibly have a fragile sticker on it. This is, of course, a Crazy-Prepared joke to begin with, but later on when the airport staff are loading up the checked baggage on another flight, the worker gets a box with a big "fragile" label on it...only to proceed to throw it carelessly anyway, as we hear it shatter on impact.
  • When escaping Al's Toy Barn, Buzz tips over a huge tower of boxes to open the automatic doors, creating a mess that blocks the doors.. When Al shoots a new commercial by the end of the movie, a look in the background confirms the mess of boxes is still there.
• Call-Back: Several:
  • Buzz bringing up how Woody rescued him when Sid had him strapped to a rocket and how the other toys tossed Woody out of the moving van.
  • The hold Jessie puts Woody in during their fight is the same one Buzz used when he and Woody fought under Andy's Mom's car.
  • Practically everything to do with Utility Belt Buzz, including:
    • Buzz climbing up to see Utility Belt Buzz is the same way Woody came across Buzz in the first film.
    • "You mean the laser that's a lightbulb?!"
    • Utility Belt Buzz thinking he's suffocating when the real Buzz opens his helmet, while his onlookers observe in apathy.
    • The "Buzz-Buzz-Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!" phrase is uttered again at one point during the battle between Utility Belt Buzz and Zurg.
  • Woody's arc is basically the complete inverse of Buzz's in the first movie; while Buzz thought he was the star of a renowned franchise and had to deal with finding out he's just a toy, Woody thinks he's just a toy and has to deal with finding out he's the star of a renowned franchise (though unlike Buzz, Woody never thinks he is THE Woody Pride).
  • Buzz saying You. Are. A Toy! to Woody.
  • When Buzz heads off to find Woody and later when he bids farewell to his utility belt counterpart, he gives the Vulcan salute, just as he did in the first movie.
• Casting Gag:
  • This isn't the first time Wayne Knight has played an unscrupulous character who is an overweight slob who steals something of importance to the characters for a boatload of cash.
  • Nor the first time that Tom Hanks has played a character separated from his loved ones in the suburbs and is stuck with a difficult choice of either returning home to them or staying with newly acquainted from the big city and receive glory and recognition for the rest of his life in a business involving toys.
  • This isn't the only time Kelsey Grammer played a Classically-Trained Extra who turned out to be Evil All Along and eventually betrays his co-workers for his own benefit.
  • Nor is it the first time Grammer's played a character who's quite acquainted with someone named Woody.
  • Bullseye's voice actor, Frank Welker, previously did voice work in Dollman vs. Demonic Toys as the voice of Baby Oopsie-Daisy, which also features living toys.
• Catapult Nightmare: Woody, after he wakes up from a nightmare where Andy throws him away.
• Ceiling Cling: Buzz hangs onto the underside of an elevator to reach Al's apartment.
• Central Theme: Confronting your mortality and deciding how you will live your life because of it; is it better to take risks if it means you'll get damaged or even killed, or to live the safe life — and is the safe life really living at all? The film also has themes of choosing between long-lasting, superficial admiration or a genuine, fleeting relationship.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • Buzz and company thought that the green baggage they were after in the baggage conveyor area carried Woody, but all they find is a camera set. A couple of scenes later, they catch up with Woody at the mercy of Stinky Pete with that camera set. Cue a temporarily blinded Stinky Pete.
  • The first commercial for Al's Toy Barn, and Al's licence plate. Put together, Buzz is able to work out that it was Al that stole Woody, and as a result of that, where he has been taken.
  • A cross-movie one: during the Take Care of the Kids moment from Toy Story (where Woody, clinging to a strap from the moving truck, is being yanked away by Scud), you can clearly hear what sounds like Woody's arm beginning to tear. Now, what happens at the start of this movie?
• Chewing the Scenery: Understandably, Woody does this a bit after his arm comes off, especially with this line directed at the Prospector in a funny moment: "LUCKY?! Are you shrink-wrapped?! I AM MISSING MY ARM!"
• Classically-Trained Extra: Stinky Pete. On the TV show, he's a goofy, backwards hick. The toy, however, is an intelligent, well-spoken gentleman.
• Cliffhanger: In-Universe, the last episode of Woody's Roundup ended just as Woody jumped over a cliff on Bullseye's back while coming to the rescue of Jessie and Stinky Pete, who are about to be blown up inside a mine. There was supposed to be a concluding episode, but according to Stinky Pete the series was cancelled before it could be made.
• Closer than They Appear: A direct shout-out to the famous Jurassic Park example when Rex falls out of Tour Guide Barbie's Corvette. "Dinosaur overboard!"
• The Collector: Al is a collector of Woody's Roundup paraphernalia. He toynaps Woody to complete his toy collection that he's planning to sell to a Japanese museum.
• Comically Missing the Point: Tour Guide Barbie volunteers to show Al's office to the toys, but gives them a tour of the whole store instead - and behaves like a tour guide throughout.
• Company Cross References: There are several A Bug's Life toys in Al's Toy Barn.
• Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: When Buzz, the other Buzz and the rest of Andy's toys find Woody and come to free him from Al's apartment, Woody claims that he has no intention of returning to Andy after he heeded Pete's advice to simply be preserved in a museum in Tokyo (Pete manipulated Woody into thinking he's getting too worn out to be played with). Buzz retorts that Woody won't ever be truly loved by a child as an exhibit so much as a toy.
• Continuity Cameo: Look twice and you'll recognize the toy restorer as the old man from Geri's Game. He even has chess pieces in his toolkit.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Stinky Pete mentions how Woody's show was cancelled once the space race happened — kids dropped cowboy stuff and went crazy for space things instead. Woody says he knows how that feels, since he himself was sidelined when Andy got a Buzz Lightyear.
  • When Buzz is attacked by the Utility Belt Buzz (who believes he is actually Buzz) in Al's Toy Barn, he wonders if he was really that deluded.
  • While playing the Buzz Lightyear video game, Rex is wearing a "Space Ranger helmet" that's a fishbowl with two plungers stuck to it. Buzz first bestowed this "helmet" to him in one of the Toy Story Treats shorts.
• Conveyor Belt o' Doom: The airport conveyor belts. It's all way more dramatic when the protagonists are toy-sized and at the mercy of massive suitcases.
• Corpsing: In-Universe. Woody and Jessie decide to goof around and pretend to do their show, with Woody hamming it up by swaggering about and looking cocky, which sends Jessie into a suppressed laughing fit.
• Creative Closing Credits: The Animated Outtakes, presented as if all the toys are just acting in the film.
• Cue the Falling Object: Most of the main characters cross the road to try and rescue Woody. Mr. Potato Head says "Well, that went well" and the camera cuts to show the massive traffic accident they caused before a lamppost falls over.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Buzz and Utility Belt Buzz's fight only lasts a few seconds before the latter overpowers the former and traps him in a box.
  • Woody and Stinky Pete's scuffle barely lasts a few seconds before Stinky Pete knocks Woody down and tears his arm.
• Cutting the Knot:
  • When Andy's mom refuses to sell him Woody, going so far as to lock him in her cash box, Al opts to kick a skateboard into something fragile, and take advantage of the distraction by breaking open the cash box and stealing Woody outright.
  • Discussed: when the gang reach the elevator shaft, Utility Belt Buzz opts to scale the walls while carrying everyone behind him via a rope. When Hamm asks why they don't just ride the elevator, Utility Belt Buzz simply counters "They'll be expecting that!". Tellingly, we later see that our Buzz chose to ride the elevator, albiet from beneath.
• Dance Party Ending: With Wheezy singing "You Got A Friend In Me".
• Deadly Disc: Buzz Lightyear throws discs at Emperor Zurg during the video game opening sequence and the fight on top of the elevator.
• Demand Overload: In-Universe. When the Buzz Lightyear action figures originally came out, "short-sighted retailers" underestimated just how big the demand would be, and the initial run completely sold out in a few days. (This really happened.) By the present, stores like Al's Toy Barn have caught up with demand by devoting an entire aisle to Buzz Lightyear.
• Dinky Drivers: Buzz's team of toys commandeer a Pizza Planet truck to pursue Al to the airport. Buzz steers, Rex navigates, Slinky pushes the pedals, and Hamm and Potato Head operate the levers and knobs.
• Dirty Old Man: Stinky Pete in the credits with the Barbies.
• Disney Villain Death: Subverted with Emperor Zurg. He falls down an elevator shaft, apparently to his doom, yet somehow survives to play catch with his son. It's a long story...
• Disproportionate Reward: "You have saved our lives. We are eternally grateful," said by the alien-toy trio repeatedly to Mr. Potato Head. He is very much unamused.
• The Ditz: Bullseye, though he is still very loyal to Woody. He's basically a dog in a toy horse's body.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • Watching the film today, some of Stinky Pete's dialogue to Woody before his reveal as a bad guy, and Woody's dialogue back, was very reminiscent of a counselor talking to a victim of domestic abuse. Doesn't help that Pete's being voiced by Frasier.

    Pete: Was it because you're damaged? Hmm? Did this Andy break you?
    Woody: Yeah, but — no, no, no, no, no! It was — it was an accident — I mean—
    Jessie: Sounds like he really loves you.
    Woody: It's not like that, okay?!

  • After Stinky Pete is revealed to be Evil All Along, a lot of his seemingly encouraging advice towards Woody and particularly Jessie can be reread as examples of mental and emotional abuse, pretending to be their supporting friend but also subtly underminding them and telling them that they'll never be truly loved by a child.
  • The way in which Geri (the cleaner) cleans up Woody is almost like Woody was at a high-class stylist.
• Do I Really Sound Like That?:
  • Buzz encounters another Buzz:

    Buzz: ...am I really that fat?

  • Shortly afterwards, when Buzz realizes the other Buzz still believes himself to be a real Space Ranger:

    Buzz: [disappointed in himself] Tell me I wasn't this deluded.

• Door Judo: Played with (and not just in it being essentially Vent Judo) during the "Use Your Head" bit. The toys run at the vent with Rex as a Battering Ram, unaware that Woody had already unscrewed it and left it loose. They pass right through and wind up in a dogpile inside Al's room. Inverted during the Animated Outtakes, where the vent had not been unscrewed prior to "filming".
• Double Vision: Invoked in many of the shots containing two Buzz Lightyears, which are staged as if a Split Screen was necessary. Especially notable when they're both shouting "I'm Buzz Lightyear!" at each other; in that shot, the background is made to look as if there's a seam between them.
• Downer Beginning: Not the film itself, but Rex's attempt at playing the Buzz Lightyear video game sees him get disintegrated by Zurg right as the battle starts. It's implied at the end that Hamm had the same thing happen to him.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • After the toys cross the street to Al's Toy Barn and Buzz says "We're that much closer to Woody," the camera pans to Al's apartment behind them, where Woody actually is, which is on the other side of the street they crossed.
  • By the end of the film, Al believes that the Round-Up Gang were lost in transit to Japan, obviously not knowing they came to life and left of their own accord. This unfortunately means that the toy museum believes Al was trying to cheat them, since he was only going to be able to sell the collection if he had every piece of it, and thus Al goes without the money he was going to get.
• The Elevator from Ipanema: When Al is riding the elevator down to the lobby, the music playing is a "Ipanema"-style version of the main theme from A Bug's Life.
• Empathic Environment:
  • A subtle one. When Andy is playing with Woody early on before going to Cowboy Camp, it's bright and sunny outside. When Andy accidentally rips Woody's arm, the lighting grows more subdued, like clouds just moved in front of the sun. The DVD commentary even points this out.
  • During the "When She Loved Me" sequence, the first time we see the trees from the car window and then the tree with the tyre swing, it's bright and sunny and the trees are in full leaf, symbolising Jessie's happiness with Emily in Emily's childhood. When we see the same trees again at the end of the song, they're sporting autumnal colours, symbolising how Emily has grown up and moved on from Jessie, and also symbolising Jessie's heartbreak at being donated as the song ends.
• Energy Weapon: Zurg's Ion Blaster, particularly in the video game, shoots yellow-green "plasma". Zurg also fires green, ping-pong-like balls in his fight against Impostor Buzz at the elevator shaft in Al's apartment (probably supposed to represent plasma bullets). Buzz can usually dodge these by jumping across the air, tumbling acrobatically, etc. Averted by Buzz's laser, which instantly hits the target.
• "Eureka!" Moment: How Buzz figures out who took Woody.

  Mr. Potato Head: Let's leave Buzz to play with his toys.
  Buzz: Toy... toy... toy... Hold on! [types "Al's Toy Barn" into Mr. Spell]

• Everyone Knows Morse: Hamm uses the blinds in Andy's room to signal a neighboring lawn gnome if he has seen Woody's hat.
• Everything's Better with Penguins: Wheezy, a squeaky-toy penguin in Andy's room. By the movie's end, his squeaker has been fixed and he's quite capable of singing "You've Got a Friend in Me."
• Evil All Along: Stinky Pete. His intentions to keep Woody with the Roundup gang en route to Japan go from gentle to aggressive well into the film's third act.
• Evil Brit: When Andy voices the Evil Doctor Porkchop, he gives him a British accent. (Or at least, a child's best imitation of a British accent.)
• Evil Laugh: Zurg, after killing Buzz in the Fake-Out Opening.
• Evil Overlord List: In the opening action sequence, Zurg obviously read the List and put in a fake "Source of Zurg's Power" battery (a hologram) in his lair to trap Buzz.
• Exact Words: Implied. When the toys arrive at Al's penthouse and see what they think is Woody getting tortured, Rex asks, "What are we gonna do, Buzz?", to which Belt Buzz responds, "Use Your Head." Cut to Rex being used as a battering ram to open the vent grate. Connect the dots.

  Rex: But I don't wanna use my head!

• Extremely Short Timespan: The movie is set over the course of three days, from Friday to Sunday, ending on Monday morning.

  Woody: [quickly; hushed; to the other toys] Have a good weekend, everybody, I'll see you Sunday night!

• Fake Action Prologue: The beginning with Buzz Lightyear infiltrating Zurg's planet features Buzz Lightyear as an actual member of Star Command, complete with a working laser and real flight. It turns out to be a video game that Rex is playing.
• Fake Static: Al uses this while talking to Mr. Kinoshi on his cell phone.
• Family-Unfriendly Death: Buzz in the video game dies after getting his upper half disintegrated by Emperor Zurg.
• Fantastic Racism: With the launch of Sputnik and the Space Race in the 1960s, children became obsessed with toys related to space and all other toys fell into steep decline quickly. This isn't true in modern times, but the old cowboys-themed toy Stinky Pete hasn't quite got over this old grudge, and in his own words, "space toys" like Buzz are upstarts.
• Farce: After Buzz is sealed inside a box by the new version of himself and placed on a shelf, Andy's other toys happen upon New Buzz and believe he's their Buzz. The real Buzz tries to call out to them that they got the wrong one, but the box muffles out his voice so they don't hear him.
• Fat Bastard: Al and Stinky Pete. The former steals a child's toy to add to his collection, and in general is very greedy and rude. The latter appears friendly at first, but is later revealed to be so adamant about going to Japan that he'll force and even damage Woody into staying with them.
• Fate Worse than Death: It's implied that Woody initially sees going to the museum as this, and so does Buzz when he finds out. In the latter's words, it would be like an And I Must Scream scenario, reduced to watching kids from behind glass and never being loved again.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing:
  • Right before the official reveal, the immediate sign that the scene of Andy coming home early was actually a dream of Woody's? The card game some of the other toys were playing consisted of all aces.
  • Doubles as a Meaningful Background Event: When Woody first sees the "Woody's Finest Hour" tape, it's stopped in the middle of a cliffhanger, with Stinky Pete saying Woody's Roundup was cancelled before airing the conclusion. This is the very same tape Woody plays for the others when they come to rescue him, except he failed to pause it. In the background after Buzz delivers his Armor-Piercing Question and leaves, Woody asks "Everybody okay?" and Jessie responds "Sheriff Woody! I knew you'd make it!" implying that Woody made it across the gorge and saved the others before the show goes into the "You've Got a Friend in Me" number. However, only the viewer would be able to pick that up, and it's implied none of the others ever saw the tape to the end before. Or, in other words, by revealing that he lied, Stinky Pete's villainy was hinted at shortly before it was shown.
• Flag Drop: The movie has Buzz Lightyear give an inspiring speech as a waving flag appears in the background and "The Star-Spangled Banner" plays. This fades into the next scene, where Al has fallen asleep in front of the TV, and the station is playing the national anthem to sign off for the night. Averted in the international version, where the flag is substituted by a spinning globe, with a generic musical theme playing instead of the American anthem.
• Foreshadowing:
  • During Andy's playtime, Woody has to choose whether Bo Peep gets eaten by a shark or killed by monkeys, which ends with him taking a third option.
  • Woody's nightmare sets up how Woody is afraid of Andy outgrowing him, and fuelling his later decision to go to the museum with the Roundup Gang, despite initially wanting to return to Andy.
  • When the other toys assume Woody was trying to get himself sold at the yard sale by climbing into the "25¢" box, Slinky remarks "Oh, Woody, you're worth more than that!" Little did Slinky know that he wasn't wrong...
  • "The secret entrance is to the left, hidden in the shadows." Rex was actually talking about the video game in the Fake-Out Opening and referring to Zurg's lair, but Utility Belt Buzz takes it seriously and uses this information to get himself and the others into Al's building.
  • While Woody, Bullseye and Jessie's TV counterparts have the same voices as them, Stinky Pete's is different - his TV voice is goofy and high-pitched, while in real life his voice is lower and more mellow sounding.
  • Included in Al's huge collection of Woody's Roundup merchandise is an issue of Life magazine featuring Woody and Bullseye, with a smaller headline that reads "Sputnik - first photos revealed." Stinky Pete hates space toys because, after the launch of Sputnik, they eclipsed cowboy toys in popularity.
  • When watching Al's tapes of their old show, Jessie mournfully shuts off the TV before the conclusion of "Woody's Finest Hour" because, as Pete claims, the show was canceled before it could air. However, during the scene when Woody rejects Buzz and co.'s rescue, you can hear the conclusion playing in the background. This means Pete has been lying to Jessie and using her abandonment issues for who-knows-how-long to secure his own fate.
  • The prospect of Andy growing into adulthood and leaving the toys without a home or an owner comes up again much later.
• Format-Specific Joke: The credits feature a Barbie doll saying goodbye to people as they leave the theater. Doesn't really work on DVD or TV.
• For Want of a Nail:
  • Most of the plot would not have happened if Andy hadn't accidentally torn Woody's arm, which itself wouldn't have happened if Andy had not had five minutes to play with Woody in the first place.
  • Woody's rescue of Wheezy would've gone off without a hitch... had Wheezy not begun slipping out of Buster's collar on the way back.
  • Similarly, had the corn popper not been left out in the middle of the sidewalk, Buster wouldn't have unintentionally thrown Woody off of him.
  • Had the little girl not found Woody and brought him to her mom after he fell off Buster, said mom wouldn't have thrown him onto the table and attracted Al's attention, causing him to steal Woody.
  • Played for Laughs: one of the bloopers shows what would've happened if the vent was screwed shut when the "Use your head!" plan was enacted.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Roundup Gang as a whole
  • Woody - Phlegmatic (calm, wise and loyal, but often selfish, rude and snarky)
  • Bullseye - Melancholic (a voiceless horse that acts puppy-like, but can be emotional over Woody or when he and Jessie are having a conflict). He doubles as Sanguine due to his playful behaviour.
  • Jessie - Sanguine (an excitable cowgirl who is rambunctious and Badass Adorable, though she can double as Melancholic due to her past with Emily.
  • Stinky Pete - Choleric (once acted like a grandfather-figure to Jessie and Woody, but is secretly a Manipulative Bastard who had a rough life and even has a grude against space toys.
• A Friend in Need: Buzz name-drops the trope during his Rousing Speech to the others, calling Woody this and saying they shouldn't give up on him as there have been times he could have given up and didn't (citing two examples from the previous film, when Sid had Buzz strapped to the rocket, and then when they threw Woody out of the moving van).
• Freeze-Frame Bonus:
  • A constellation of the Luxo lamp is seen during the opening credits (when "Walt Disney Pictures presents" appears).
  • During the scene where the toys are watching the TV to find the commercial for Al's Toy Barn, old Pixar Shorts can be seen among the channels they skip through. The other channels are actually commercials animated by Pixar, for the likes of Tetra Pak, Listerine, Hallmark, and Levi's.
  • When Woody looks at the magazines on Al's floor, one of them has "Sputnik - First Photos Revealed" written on the side of the cover. The byline reads, "Doctors say 'Americans not eating enough fat'".
  • Parodied in one outtake, where one of the LGMs tells the others he was one of the aliens who grabbed Woody's leg in the first Toy Story.
  • In another outtake, Heimlich and Flik are seen discussing the filming of A Bug's Life 2 when Buzz suddenly karate-chops the bush they're standing on, knocking them away. In the corresponding scene of the actual film, Heimlich can be seen crawling on the bush.
  • On the back of the gaming magazine Rex finds, you can see the price of the magazine is $5.00 US and $50.00 Canadian.
• Friendly Tickle Torture: Jessie (and Bullseye) does this to Woody. Unfortunately, his friends walk in and believe her to be torturing him.
• From Bad to Worse: After jumping back into his case when Al shows up to take photos of his collection, Woody unknowingly caused part of the stitching to get caught on the case's stand. As such, his arm winds up falling completely off due to the stitch getting pulled out when Al grabs him.
• Furry Confusion:
  • A brief moment of this happens when Buzz uses an out-of-the-box, yet apparently non sentient or even alive toy Monkey in his attempt to catch up with the other toys as they leave Al's Toy Barn. It could have just been in "hyper-sleep" like the boxed toy, despite not being boxed, but there's no explanation either way.
  • The "snake in my boot" toy that Woody encounters appears to be an inanimate object, despite being an animal toy.
• Genki Girl: Jessie. On "Woody's Roundup", Jessie is pure Genki. Even in the real world, despite being prone to worrying and feeling rather haunted by her sad past, she still has shades of this trope. John Lasseter described Jessie as "having high highs and low lows": when she's happy, she's ecstatic. When she's sad, she's manic.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: In-Universe. It's implied Woody's Roundup was popular in Japan based on Konishi's excitment over having Al's collection in his museum, which makes sense considering Westerns are a popular genre in Japan in real life.
• Gilligan Cut: This little exchange when the toys need to get through a ventilation grate to rescue Woody:

  Rex: What are we gonna do, Buzz?
  Fake Buzz: Use your head.
  [cut to Rex being used as a battering ram]
  Rex: But I don't wanna use my head!!!

• Guide Dang It!: Rex believes that the Buzz Lightyear video game is using extortion to get him to read a strategy guide. He unwittingly defeats Emperor Zurg in person at the elevator shaft, and once he gets home, he declares, "I don't need to play; I lived it!"
• Hammerspace: From the Hilarious Outtakes mentioned below: "And a rubber ducky, and a PLASTIC STEAK, and a yo-yo!"
• Hand-or-Object Underwear:
  • Bullseye, after his saddle falls off.
  • Hamm, after he trips and his cork is dislodged as he and the other toys trek to find Al's Toy Barn.
• Happily Married: Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. Though the former has to repeat to himself that he's married when he meets one of the Barbie dolls.
• Harmless Villain: Al is a jerk and thief, but he otherwise poses no active or knowing threat to the toys (especially Woody, whose care is in his best interest, if just for the money he would nab by selling him).
• He's a Friend: Woody to Andy's other toys when they arrive to rescue him.
• He's Back!: While Woody was still dealing with the fact that his arm was torn and was put on a shelf instead of going with Andy to camp, the literal second Wheezy points him towards the direction of the "Yard Sale" sign being put up, he immediately jumps back into the leadership role, further demonstrated when he promptly hitches a ride on Buster once Andy's mom takes Wheezy.
• "Hell, Yes!" Moment: Rex has one when he enters Al's Toy Barn with the others and he sees the video game strategy guide revealing secrets on how to defeat Zurg.
• Heroes Gone Fishing:
  • Andy does this early on with Woody before accidentally ripping his arm.
  • Rex is also anxious to defeat Zurg in Andy's Buzz Lightyear video game. Hamm is seen playing the same video game at the end.
• Heroic BSoD:
  • When Andy leaves Woody at home due to his ripped arm, Woody is devastated.
  • Woody goes through one after having to choose between his gang and Andy's toys.
• Hilarious Outtakes: Continuing from the popular gag from A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2 features bloopers as though these are real actors performing on set.
• Homage: When the toys are at a toy store and driving around in a toy car, Rex at some point falls off and starts running after them to catch up. Mr. Potato Head spots Rex in the side mirror with the text "Warning: Objects in mirror are closer than they appear" written. This is clearly a parody of a scene in the original Jurassic Park movie where the island visitors tries to escape a T-Rex in the same manner, mirror warning and all.
• Hope Spot: Towards the end of the "When She Loved Me" sequence, a grown up Emily finds Jessie under her bed. For a moment, it seems Jessie is about to be played with again but instead she is put in a box to be donated. Jessie then watches in horror as Emily drives away.
• I Choose to Stay: Woody is torn between going back to Andy and likely eventually being thrown out, or going to the museum and lasting forever. Woody decides to remain with the Roundup Gang because he doesn't want to break them up, and knowing that if he abandons them, they could go back to storage indefinitely. Understandably, Andy's toys are shocked when they catch up to Woody, especially Buzz, who thinks Woody is throwing his life away. After some insight, Woody changes his mind and decides to go back to Andy after all, but take the Roundup Gang with him.
• Identical Twin ID Tag: Andy's Buzz and Utility Belt Buzz look almost identical, so to differentiate the two, Utility Belt Buzz wears a utility belt that Andy's Buzz lacks, Andy's Buzz wears his helmet down while Utility Belt Buzz wears his up and, although it's not commented on, Utility Belt Buzz still has his wrist communicator sticker while Andy's Buzz lacks his since he peeled it off in the first movie. Andy's Buzz also has "Andy" written on the underside of his foot which is how he proves his identity to the other toys.
• I Hate Past Me: Played with when Buzz meets Utility Belt Buzz, who acts like Buzz did in the previous movie (before seeing the Buzz Lightyear commercial).

  Utility Belt Buzz: [to his "communicator"] Buzz Lightyear to Star Command, I've got an AWOL space ranger!
  Buzz: Tell me I wasn't this deluded...

• I Knew There Was Something About You: The toys are trying to find out who took Woody when Buzz recognizes the thief as Al of Al's Toy Barn, who appears in his commercials as "The Chicken Man", which the other toys dislike. Hamm says "I knew there was something I didn't like about that chicken."
• Impact Silhouette: A particularly hilarious variation of this occurs when the Utility Belt Buzz seizes regular Buzz and throws him into a pinart toy, leading to Buzz making a perfect impression, complete with a ridiculous look of surprise on his face.
• Improvised Screwdriver: Woody unscrews the cover of an air vent by turning the screws with his bare hands—as a toy, he's small enough for that to work. Later, Stinky Pete uses his toy pickaxe to re-tighten those same screws, closing the cover to prevent Woody from leaving.
• I Never Told You My Name: When Woody first meets the Woody's Roundup gang, he finds himself surprised that Stinky Pete knows his name. He then gets shown all the merchandise of the Woody's Roundup TV show, of which they were the cast, so of course they would know his name.
• Ink-Suit Actor:
  • Voiced by Wayne Knight, Al bears more than a passing resemblance to him. Knight actually had his face digitally scanned as reference for the character model.
  • In a coincidental way, as soon as the ones responsible for the Brazilian dub saw how Al resembled actor Mauro Ramos
    
    ◊, he got assigned the role.
• I Owe You My Life: Mr. Potato Head acquires a trio of squeaky alien hangers-on in the second movie after he rescues them from falling out of a car. The Little Green Men then pester Mr. Potato Head with the line, "You have saved our lives! We are eternally grateful!" until the conclusion in which Mrs. Potato Head decides to adopt them in which the LGM respond with "Daddy!"
• I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine: John Ratzenberger and Kelsey Grammer were both castmembers on Cheers, so naturally Hamm and Stinky Pete have a scene together.
• Iris Out: The film ends with a typical cartoon-style one, on Wheezy after his big finish on the Robert Goulet "You've Got a Friend in Me" number.
• Ironic Echo: In the previous movie, Woddy yells at Buzz that he is a "Child's Plaything", not an actual Space Ranger. Here, Buzz says this what Woody when the latter is concerned that the Roundup Gang will go back into storage forever if he doesn't go to Japan with them. Woody is a "Child's Plaything", not part of a collection.

  Buzz: [to Woody] Woody, you're not a collector's item, you're a child's plaything. You. Are. A TOY!
  Woody: For how much longer? One more rip and Andy's done with me!

• It's All About Me: Stinky Pete tries to act like it is about the Roundup Gang being together again when he starts taking extreme measures, but when Woody and Jessie accuse him of not being fair, he finally snaps and, after claiming they'd always end up in a dime store like he and other unpopular toys did, goes from "we" language to "me" language:

  Stinky Pete: "FAIR?!" I'll tell you what's not "fair": spending a lifetime on a dime store shelf, watching every other toy be sold! Well, finally, my waiting has paid off, and no hand-me-down cowboy doll IS GONNA MESS IT UP FOR ME NOW!!!

• It's Personal: After Stinky Pete punches Buzz, Woody says "No one does that to my friend!" and fights Pete.
• Jaw Drop: Mr. Potato Head, Rex, Hamm and Slinky all do one in Al's Toy Barn upon first seeing the partying Barbie dolls.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mr. Potato Head risking himself to save three of the Little Green Men (who he had just met!). He's also noticeably nicer in general than he was in the first movie, possibly because he now has a wife in the form of Mrs. Potato Head, which is what he wanted in the first film, and got at the end. He also feels guilty for his actions in the first movie.

  Buzz: Did Woody give up when you threw him out of the back of that moving van?
  Mr. Potato Head: Oh, you had to go and bring that up!

• Jerkass:
  • Al and Stinky Pete, the former for mistreating other people for the sake of prioritizing his ambitions, and the latter for being a condescending character towards others (including Jessie when she no longer supports him).
  • Jessie, after hearing Woody plans to leave them and go back to Andy, is pretty rude and snappy to him for a portion of the film. We later learn that she had understandable reasons to be upset.
• Just in Time: Although he had no way of knowing, Mr. Potato Head was just moments away from getting crushed by the giant pipe due to his shoe getting caught on the gum.
• Keep It Foreign: Tour Guide Barbie tells the toys to remain seated in both English and Spanish, a reference to the safety spiel near the end of the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland. The Latin American Spanish version has Barbie use English and Spanish (and in the same order), while the Castilian Spanish version has her say it first in Spanish and then in French. The Japanese version does it in Japanese first and then English, like the safety spiels at Tokyo Disneyland.
• Kitschy Local Commercial: The commercial for Al's Toy Barn uses many text boxes and a map to the store, coupled with Al's loud, declaring voice.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Al loses out on the deal for the Woody's Roundup collection, making his stealing of Woody All for Nothing.
  • Stinky Pete, after being revealed to have manipulated the Roundup Gang for days into going to Japan and then making them go by force, is stuffed into a girl's backpack and left to his fate of being played with for the first time in his life.
• Left Hanging: According to Stinky Pete, the In-Universe Show Within a Show Woody's Roundup was cancelled during its final episode, leaving it uncertain if Woody saved Jessie and Stinky Pete.
• Left the Background Music On: Sort of: When Buzz is giving his Rousing Speech, an American flag appears behind him and patriotic music plays... which stays after he walks off camera. It takes a few seconds before it's revealed that it's just Al's TV signing off ("And that concludes our broadcast day").
• Literal-Minded: Before setting out to save Woody, Buzz and Bo Peep share this bit of dialog:

  Bo Peep: This is for Woody, when you find him. [kisses Buzz on the cheek]
  Buzz: [clears throat] Um, alright, but I don't think it'll mean the same coming from me.

• Lord Error-Prone: The second Buzz Lightyear doll, who (like Buzz in the last film) is convinced he's a real space ranger. His zany ideas get more and more troublesome, until he decides to drop him and the others down the elevator so he can "fly" instead. Even after the elevator saves them, the toys have no patience left for him.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Parodied with Zurg and Buzz (the one they meet in the Toy Store) in the second one. They later play catch with Zurg's ball-shooter.
• Makeover Montage: Woody getting fixed up by Makeover Fairy Geri is presented this way. His eyes are glossed, hair is touched up, arm is stitched up, the bottom of his boot is painted over, etc.
• Malevolent Architecture: Zurg's underground fortress is designed this way. Firstly, there's a spiked wall closing in on Buzz, really fast, to the point where he needs to sprint and jump out the closing door at the other end of the corridor. There's a really scary Bottomless Pit to deal with (but there are temporarily floating platforms to jump on). However, the platforms suddenly fall off (with Buzz). Fortunately, he is reminded of his utility belt and suddenly presses a life-saving button to suddenly fly back to the platform containing Zurg's "source of energy".
• Malicious Misnaming: Stinky Pete, after revealing his true colors calls Buzz "Buzz Lightweight". Woody is quick to angrily correct him.
• Match Cut:
  • When Buzz's rousing speech causes the Stars and Stripes to appear, he then leaves the camera, and the image turns grainy, then the camera pulls back from Al's apartment TV.
  • A variation comes after the scene where Woody is repaired and restored. Al proclaims, "He's just like new!" Then it immediately cuts to a sign reading "NEW!" at Al's Toy Barn as Buzz is searching for Woody.
• Mean Character, Nice Actor: Stinky Pete in the outtakes is treated as just another friendly member of the cast.
• Meaningful Background Event:
  • Leading up to the Nightmare Sequence, the cards that the toys are playing with before Andy returns are all aces of spades, even before Andy drops Woody into the pile. It's very easy to miss on an initial viewing, but it's the viewer's first hint that something isn't quite right at this moment.
  • Woody turns on the TV to show Buzz and the others the Woody's Roundup show that he came from, and it continues playing during the rest of the scene. When Buzz's group are leaving Woody can be heard on the TV saying "is everybody okay?" and Jessie is heard thanking him for saving them from the dynamite, revealing that this episode is "Woody's Finest Hour" and Stinky Pete lied about its cancellation.
• Mood Whiplash: Andy's playtime with Woody early on comes to a sudden halt when Andy accidentally tears Woody's arm.
• Morton's Fork:
  • Evil Dr. Porkchop (Hamm) forces one upon Woody in Andy's playtime, making him choose between feeding Bo Peep to a shark or killing her with monkeys. Woody chooses Buzz Lightyear!
  • In tussling with Stinky Pete on the conveyor belt, he rips Woody's arm, then threatens him so:

    Stinky Pete: Your choice, Woody: you can go to Japan together or in pieces. If he fixed you once, he can fix you again.

    What happened to Al from Toy Story?

    A news article on the wall indicates that Al's Toy Barn has gone bankrupt, and it is implied he lives at his mother's house. This may not be canon however, since as indicated above, he still has the address of his store in the final film.

    Who are the characters in Toy Story?

    Introduced in Toy Story (1995).

    Sheriff Woody..

    Buzz Lightyear..

    Bo Peep..

    Billy, Goat and Gruff..

    Mr. Potato Head..

    Slinky Dog..

    Who plays the collector in Toy Story 2?

    Wayne Knight (the voice of Al), shortly after this film, got to voice another one of Toy Story 2's villains, the Evil Emperor Zurg for Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Because Wayne Knight was bearded at the time of the film's production, the Pixar staff chose to give Al a goatee.

    How much was Al offered for Woody?

    He then sees Woody's hat, puts it on him, and becomes overjoyed that he finally found him. Al initially offers to pay 50 cent to buy Woody after Mrs. Davis comes up to ask him about some problem, but Mrs. Davis (unaware of how Woody came to the yard sale) declines by taking Woody away.