Toy Story introduced the audience to a group of toys who come to life when nobody's watching, but one of them wasn’t aware that he’s a toy and brought a lot of conflict into the mix because of that: Buzz Lightyear, but why didn’t he know he’s a toy? Pixar has become a powerhouse in the world of animation and continues to bring at least one new movie each year, and because of that and the quality of its movies and stories, it has become a favorite of generations of viewers. Pixar’s reign in animation started in 1995 with Toy Story, directed by John Lasseter, which was not only a huge critical and commercial success but also made history.
Toy Story is set in a world where toys come to life when humans are not around, and they truly live in their own little world as they form their own communities and look after each other. Toy Story introduced viewers to Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), a pull-string cowboy toy who was his owner’s (Andy, voiced by John Morris) favorite… until he got a brand new toy on his birthday. This new addition to Andy’s room was Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), a space ranger action figure who unlike the rest of the toys, wasn’t aware he’s a toy. Between that and becoming Andy’s new favorite, tension arose between Woody and Buzz, sending them on a dangerous adventure during which they formed a strong bond.
Toy Story made film history thanks to its innovative computer animation and made way for a franchise with four movies, three TV series, two TV specials, a spinoff movie (Lightyear), theme park attractions, and of course, a variety of merchandise that go from comic books to video games. Toy Story 4 finally gave closure to the stories of Woody and Buzz by having them go on separate ways without their friendship being severed, and even though Buzz eventually understood and accepted his nature as a toy and not a real space ranger, a big question remains: why didn’t he know he was a toy from the beginning?
When the audience arrives at Andy’s room, all the toys already knew each other, had a role in the dynamics of their small community, and had been around for a while, so the first look that viewers have at a new toy and a new arrival to Andy’s collection is through Buzz Lightyear, meaning that it’s unknown if the other toys also went through an existential crisis where they had to realize they are toys. It’s believed by many that Buzz didn’t know he’s a toy because he’s a new toy, but in Toy Story 2, viewers learned that other Buzz Lightyear toys are also unaware of their “toy nature”, leading many to believe that they don’t know they are toys by default. The question of why Buzz didn’t realize he’s a toy made way to another, big question and plot hole in Toy Story, which is why Buzz freezes when Andy or any other human is around, which can be answered by saying it’s either out of instinct, imitation, or it’s in his programming.
Ultimately, Buzz not only learned to coexist with other toys, share the spotlight (which is something Woody also had to learn the hard way), and to accept and embrace that he’s a toy and not a real space ranger, but he also became Woody’s best friend and one of the most iconic characters in the history of animation and cinema in general. There might never be an official answer to why Buzz Lightyear didn’t know he’s a toy in Toy Story, but viewers can come up with their own interpretations of it.