So, Toy Story 2.

I’ve seen it a lot recently, and for lack of anything better to do, I’ve been thinking about the implied mythology behind toys as portrayed in the films.

Some Facts:

1. Toys become animated when people leave the room.
2. They can be animated when people are in the room, but it is against the Rules.
3. The Buzz Lightyear action figures do not become animated until they are taken out of their box, and at that point they still believe they are Space Rangers.
4. Being put back into their box does not cause them to become inanimate again.
5. Stinky Pete, who originally is thought to have never been outside of his box, was animated. We later learn he had been outside of his box for at least some time.
6. Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl remembers her owner, Emily, who owned her sometime in the 1950/60s, and was then in a collections box, and then in Al’s storage.
7. Woody never mentions any owner other than Andy.
8. Andy’s mom refers to Woody as an “old family toy.”
9. Woody must have been made during the time of the “Woody’s Roundup” tv show in the 1950/60s, or else he wouldn’t have been a collector’s item.

So, the bit I can’t rectify is why does Woody not seem to remember any owner other than Andy? Is there an implied convention that getting a new owner wipes away any previous memories (such as having been a national phenomenon in the 1950/60s and having previous owners in Andy’s family)?

Did the previous members of Andy’s family who owned Woody leave him in his original packaging, and therefore inanimate?

Perhaps with the Pixar/Disney merger, the rumored Toy Story 3 will be made and I will finally have these answers. Because it’s gonna bug me.

Maybe I’ll write John Lasseter.