Toy Story recap: the story so far

No. 01 · 1995 · Film

Toy Story recap

Andy's toys come to life when no one is watching, and his favorite, the cowboy doll Woody, leads them. At Andy's birthday party, Andy gets Buzz Lightyear, a space ranger action figure who believes he really is a space ranger, and Buzz quickly takes Woody's place as favorite. Jealous, Woody tries to knock Buzz behind the desk, but Buzz falls out the window, and the other toys turn on Woody. Woody and Buzz end up lost at a gas station, ride a pizza truck to Pizza Planet, and are won from a claw machine by Sid, Andy's toy-torturing neighbor. In Sid's house, Buzz sees a TV advert and realises he is just a toy; he loses an arm trying to fly. Sid plans to strap Buzz to a rocket and blow him up.

How Toy Story ends

Woody rallies Sid's mutant toys, who come to life in front of Sid and scare him out of torturing toys forever. Woody and Buzz chase Andy's moving van, and when they cannot catch it, Woody lights Buzz's rocket; they launch into the air and Buzz opens his wings to glide them into the car. At Christmas in the new house, Andy gets a puppy, and Woody and Buzz are now friends.

Post-credits scenes

No. There is no post-credits scene; sketches of objects from the film scroll during the credits.

No. 02 · 1999 · Film

Toy Story 2 recap

Andy leaves for cowboy camp, and Woody, his arm torn, is put on the shelf. Woody rescues the penguin Wheezy from a yard sale and is stolen by Al, a toy collector who owns Al's Toy Barn. In Al's apartment, Woody learns he is a valuable collectible from a 1950s TV show, Woody's Roundup, and meets the rest of the set: the cowgirl Jessie, the horse Bullseye and the Prospector, still in his box. Al plans to sell them to a toy museum in Japan, and they can only go as a complete set. Jessie tells Woody how her owner Emily outgrew her and gave her away. Woody decides to go to Japan to be admired forever. Buzz leads Rex, Hamm, Mr. Potato Head and Slinky across town to rescue him, getting mixed up with a new Buzz Lightyear toy and Emperor Zurg at the Toy Barn.

How Toy Story 2 ends

Buzz reminds Woody that he is a toy meant to be played with, and Woody chooses Andy. The Prospector, who has never been played with, stops him, but the toys stuff him into a little girl's backpack. At the airport, Woody and Buzz rescue Jessie from the plane as it taxis, and they ride Bullseye home. Andy accepts Jessie and Bullseye, and Woody is at peace with the fact that Andy will one day grow up.

Post-credits scenes

During the credits, a reel of fake bloopers plays, including the Prospector chatting up two Barbie dolls. There is no scene after the credits.

No. 03 · 2000 · Film · optional

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins recap

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins (2000) is the cartoon adventure that the toy Buzz Lightyear is based on, told as a direct-to-video film. Tad Stones directed it, and Tim Allen voices Buzz. A short computer-animated opening in Andy's room featuring Buzz, Rex, Hamm and the aliens introduces it. Buzz and his partner Warp Darkmatter (Diedrich Bader) rescue three Little Green Men from Emperor Zurg (Wayne Knight), but Warp seems to die in the explosion, and Buzz swears off partners. Star Command offers him the rookie Mira Nova (Nicole Sullivan), a princess who can pass through walls; the janitor Booster (Stephen Furst), who dreams of being a ranger; and XR (Larry Miller), a robot who becomes self-aware after the Little Green Men rebuild him. Zurg steals the Uni-Mind, the orb linking the Little Green Men, and wires it into a Mega-Ray that bends whole planets to his will, including Star Command.

How Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins ends

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins ends with Buzz accepting that he cannot work alone. On Planet Z he learns Zurg's new henchman, Agent Z, is Warp, who faked his death to serve Zurg. Mira, Booster and XR rescue him, Mira sends Buzz into the Uni-Mind's core to restore it, and the enslaved worlds are freed. Zurg escapes and Warp is jailed for treason. Buzz forms Team Lightyear with the three rookies, which leads straight into the TV series.

No. 04 · 2000 · Series · optional

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command recap

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000) is a 2D animated series about Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear and his rookie crew policing the galaxy against Emperor Zurg. It ran for one season of 62 episodes from October 2, 2000 to January 13, 2001, mostly on UPN with the rest on ABC, picking up from the direct-to-video film. Patrick Warburton voices Buzz, an earnest hero who suspects Zurg (Wayne Knight) is behind every crime. His team is Mira Nova (Nicole Sullivan), a Tangean princess who can pass through solid objects and read minds; Booster Sinclair Munchapper (Stephen Furst), a huge, gentle Jo-Adian who idolises Buzz; and XR (Larry Miller, later Neil Flynn), a robot who is regularly destroyed and rebuilt and wants the approval of Commander Nebula (Adam Carolla). Most episodes are standalone cases across the Galactic Alliance, against Zurg and his Grubs, Brain Pods and Hornets, the turncoat Warp Darkmatter, the cloning crook Torque, the energy vampire NOS-4-A2, and Gravitina, who has a crush on Buzz. Running threads include Mira's strained relationship with her father and XR's search for respect.

How Buzz Lightyear of Star Command ends

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command ends with "42", its 62nd episode, in which the Valkyran Raiders try to seize a cargo ship while Buzz's own ship, 42, develops a personality and a bond with XR. It is a standalone adventure rather than a planned finale, and the series was not renewed. In the main timeline, Toy Story 3 followed in 2010.

No. 05 · 2010 · Film

Toy Story 3 recap

Andy is seventeen and leaving for college. He packs Woody for college and puts the other toys in a bag for the attic, but his mother mistakes it for trash. The toys escape and, feeling abandoned, climb into a donation box for Sunnyside Daycare; Woody follows to bring them home. Sunnyside is run by Lotso, a strawberry-scented bear who welcomes them, then assigns them to the toddler room, where they are battered. Woody escapes and ends up with a little girl, Bonnie, where he learns that Lotso turned bitter after his owner replaced him. Lotso's gang resets Buzz to his factory demo mode and imprisons the others. Woody returns and leads a breakout, which ends with everyone in a dumpster bound for the landfill.

How Toy Story 3 ends

At the landfill, the toys save Lotso from a shredder, and he abandons them on a conveyor to an incinerator. They join hands, accepting death, until the aliens rescue them with a crane. Back home, Woody writes Bonnie's address on the box, and Andy gives his toys to her, then, after a pause, Woody too. Andy plays with them one last time and drives away.

Post-credits scenes

During the credits, an epilogue shows Sunnyside turned into a happy place under Ken and Barbie, and Andy's old toys settling in at Bonnie's, with Buzz still dancing Spanish-style with Jessie. There is no scene after the credits.

No. 06 · 2011 · Film · optional

Hawaiian Vacation recap

Hawaiian Vacation (2011) is a Toy Story Toons short in which Ken and Barbie stow away for a Hawaii trip and find they never left Bonnie's bedroom. Gary Rydstrom directed it, and it played in theaters before Cars 2. Bonnie leaves for a winter break in Hawaii, three months after Toy Story 3, and Ken (Michael Keaton) and Barbie (Jodi Benson) climb out of her backpack expecting a beach. Woody tells them where they really are. Barbie explains that Ken was hoping for their first kiss on a beach at sunset, like the picture in a travel brochure, so the rest of the toys stage a Hawaii holiday for the couple around the house.

How Hawaiian Vacation ends

Hawaiian Vacation ends with Ken and Barbie sharing their first kiss outside Bonnie's house at sunset, recreating the brochure picture. They then step off the edge of the porch into deep snow and freeze in a block of ice, and the other toys dig them out and work at the ice with a hair dryer and a screwdriver. Small Fry follows later in 2011.

No. 07 · 2011 · Film · optional

Small Fry recap

Small Fry (2011) is a Toy Story Toons short in which a kids' meal Buzz Lightyear swaps places with the real Buzz at a fast-food restaurant. Angus MacLane wrote and directed it, and it played before The Muppets. At Poultry Palace, Bonnie wants a Mini Buzz instead of her Zurg belt buckle; a Mini Buzz (Teddy Newton) pulls Buzz (Tim Allen) into the ball pit and goes home in his place. Buzz is locked in the closed restaurant, where he stumbles on a support group for discarded fast-food toys led by Neptuna (Jane Lynch), a mermaid, who assumes he is one of them. At Bonnie's, the toys quickly see through the impostor.

How Small Fry ends

Small Fry ends with Buzz escaping the group with the help of Gary Grappling Hook and getting home before the rescue party leaves. He confronts the Mini Buzz, who then joins the support group himself, with Buzz as his sponsor. After the credits, the Mini Zurg left at the restaurant is happy to have the belt buckle for company. Partysaurus Rex follows in 2012.

No. 08 · 2012 · Film · optional

Partysaurus Rex recap

Partysaurus Rex (2012) is a Toy Story Toons short in which Rex, mocked as a party pooper, throws a rave for Bonnie's bath toys. Mark Walsh directed it, and it played before the 3D re-release of Finding Nemo. Mr. Potato Head calls Rex (Wallace Shawn) "Partypooper Rex" after he spoils a bubble game. Left in the bathroom after Bonnie's bath, Rex learns the bath toys can only move in water. Remembering the insult, he plugs the drain, turns on the tap, adds bubble bath and blocks the overflow, and the party starts. When he tries to stop the rising water, he breaks the tap and the plug chain.

How Partysaurus Rex ends

Partysaurus Rex ends with a wave bursting out of the bathroom door in front of Woody, Buzz and the others. Bonnie's mother pays for the plumbing, Rex enjoys a short spell of fame, and Mr. Potato Head doubts his story. Then the pool toys outside, who heard about the party, ask Rex to turn on the garden tap, and he joins them. It is the last of the Toy Story Toons.

No. 09 · 2013 · Film

Toy Story of Terror! recap

Toy Story of Terror! (2013) is a Halloween TV special in which Bonnie's toys are picked off one by one at a roadside motel. Angus MacLane directed it for ABC. A flat tyre strands Bonnie and her mother at the Sleep Well motel overnight, and when Mr. Potato Head vanishes, the toys go looking for him. Something takes them one at a time until only Jessie (Joan Cusack), who struggles with a fear of being boxed in, is left. In a bathroom she meets Combat Carl (Carl Weathers) before he is taken too. The culprit is Mr. Jones, an iguana trained by the motel manager, Ron (Stephen Tobolowsky), to steal guests' belongings so he can sell them online. Ron locks Jessie in a glass cabinet with Carl and the other stolen toys, and in the morning he sells Woody and packs him into a box for delivery.

How Toy Story of Terror! ends

Toy Story of Terror! ends with Jessie getting Woody back. Carl talks her into riding in a box to the delivery truck, where she frees herself and Woody, and they return to the office. When Mr. Jones attacks, Mr. Potato Head pulls a curtain to reveal the stolen toys, Bonnie's mother threatens to call the police, and Bonnie gets her toys back before the trip continues. Toy Story That Time Forgot follows in 2014.

Post-credits scenes

Yes. As the credits roll, the freed toys ride a delivery truck home to their owners, and police arrive for Ron, who tries to flee in a police cruiser and crashes into the motel sign.

No. 10 · 2014 · Film

Toy Story That Time Forgot recap

Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014) is a Christmas TV special in which Bonnie's toys meet warrior dinosaur figures who do not know they are toys. Steve Purcell directed it for ABC. Trixie (Kristen Schaal), a triceratops, wishes Bonnie would play with her as a dinosaur. On December 27, Bonnie takes Trixie, Woody, Buzz, Rex and the ornament Angel Kitty to her cousin Mason's house, then plays video games with him. Mason's new Battlesaurs set, led by Reptillus Maximus (Kevin McKidd) and the Cleric, has never been played with. Trixie and Rex are welcomed as warriors while Woody and Buzz are captured and forced to fight in an arena. Trixie defends them and is branded a heretic for the name Bonnie on her foot.

How Toy Story That Time Forgot ends

Toy Story That Time Forgot ends with Trixie getting the Battlesaurs played with. She shows Reptillus his own packaging, then gets him to switch off the video game, and Mason and Bonnie come to play. The Cleric, who always knew the truth, tries to dump Woody, Buzz and Angel Kitty down a vent, but the children arrive in time. Back home, Trixie is happy to be "Bonnie's dinosaur" in any role. Toy Story 4 follows in 2019.

No. 11 · 2019 · Film

Toy Story 4 recap

Years after Andy, Woody is often left in the closet at Bonnie's. On her first day of kindergarten, Bonnie makes a toy out of a spork, Forky, who sees himself as trash and keeps trying to throw himself away. On a family road trip, Woody chases Forky and finds an antique shop, where Gabby Gabby, a doll with a broken voice box, wants Woody's working one. Woody escapes and finds Bo Peep, who was given away years earlier and now lives as a lost toy with her sheep in a carnival nearby. Buzz goes after Woody and meets the carnival prize toys Ducky and Bunny, and the group recruits the Canadian stuntman toy Duke Caboom. A rescue from the antique shop goes wrong, Bo is hurt, and Woody and Bo argue.

How Toy Story 4 ends

Woody trades his voice box to Gabby Gabby for Forky, and Gabby, rejected by the girl she wanted, finds a lost girl at the carnival and comforts her. Woody returns Forky to the RV, then, with Buzz's blessing, chooses to stay with Bo as a lost toy and helps find children for toys at the carnival. He gives his sheriff badge to Jessie and says goodbye to his friends.

Post-credits scenes

During the credits, short scenes show Ducky and Bunny imagining themselves as giant monsters, Forky meeting a new friend, and life at the carnival. At the Pixar logo, Duke Caboom jumps in, and the Combat Carl toys finally get the high-five they were missing. Nothing sets up a sequel.

No. 12 · 2019 · Series · optional

Forky Asks a Question recap

Forky Asks a Question (2019) is a Pixar short-form series in which Forky, the spork toy from Toy Story 4, asks his friends to explain everyday ideas. It ran on Disney+ for ten episodes of three to four minutes each, from November 12, 2019 to January 10, 2020, with Tony Hale voicing Forky. Each episode takes one question to a different toy. Hamm explains money, Mr. Pricklepants gives acting lessons for "What Is Art?", Rex uses the age of the dinosaurs to explain time, and Bonnie's old toys tackle love. Forky befriends a mug and breaks it, struggles with computers alongside Trixie, takes a leadership test from Dolly, and meets Rib Tickles of the Pet Patrol. In "What Is Cheese?", Buttercup gets tired of the questions and teaches Forky everything at high speed. "What Is Love?" won a Primetime Emmy.

How Forky Asks a Question ends

Forky Asks a Question ends with "What Is Reading?", in which the Peas-in-a-Pod teach Forky to read with help from a Mr. Spell toy. There is no larger story to resolve: each episode stands alone and closes on its own question.The series sits after Toy Story 4, with Forky settled in at Bonnie's among her old and new toys. Lamp Life, about Bo Peep, followed on Disney+ three weeks later.

No. 13 · 2020 · Film · optional

Lamp Life recap

Lamp Life (2020) is a Disney+ short in which Bo Peep tells Woody what happened to her between leaving Andy's house and meeting him again. Valerie LaPointe directed it, and it premiered on January 31, 2020. Annie Potts voices Bo and Jim Hanks voices Woody. Set after Toy Story 4, the short follows Bo's story of how she and her sheep, still attached to their lamp, were given to a new little girl and served as part of her room. Over time the lamp is broken and Bo moves on, until she ends up in Second Chance Antiques, the shop where Woody later finds her.

How Lamp Life ends

Lamp Life ends with Bo and her sheep leaving their lamp behind in the antique shop and going out on their own, the step that turns her into the independent lost toy Woody meets in Toy Story 4. The whole story is Bo's own account, told to Woody after the events of Toy Story 4, and it brings her right up to the moment they meet again. Lightyear followed in 2022.

No. 14 · 2022 · Film

Lightyear recap

Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear crash-lands an exploration ship on a hostile planet, stranding a thousand crew members. Blaming himself, he spends years test-flying a hyperspace fuel crystal, and each four-minute flight costs him four years. His commander and best friend, Alisha Hawthorne, grows old, marries and dies. Thanks to his robot cat Sox, Buzz finally succeeds, but returns to find the colony under siege by Emperor Zurg's robots. He joins a ragtag team of trainees: Alisha's granddaughter Izzy, Mo Morrison and the elderly parolee Darby Steel. They fight their way to Zurg's ship, where Zurg is revealed to be an older Buzz from an alternate future who wants the crystal to travel back and prevent the crash.

How Lightyear ends

Buzz refuses to erase the life the colonists built and destroys the crystal. The team defeats Zurg and his ship, and they return to the colony, which has learned to defend itself. Commander Burnside lets Buzz and his team form a new Space Ranger corps. The film opens with a note that this was Andy's favorite movie in 1995.

Post-credits scenes

There are three. During the credits, Commander Burnside brags about his laser shield after it vaporises a space bug. After the credits, DERIC, the ship's computer voice, finds everyone has left. At the very end, Zurg's lifeless body drifts in space and its eyes light up, hinting he may return.

No. 15 · 2026 · Film

Toy Story 5 recap

Bonnie, now eight, gets a frog-shaped tablet called Lilypad, Lily for short, and spends all her time on it, neglecting her toys. Jessie, now leading the toys, radios Woody for help, and Woody returns. When Bonnie is invited to a sleepover, Jessie and Bullseye stow away, and Bonnie is mocked for still playing with toys. Jessie and Bullseye end up at the farmhouse where Jessie's first owner, Emily, once lived, where forgotten toys and a new girl, Blaze, live. Lily gets the other toys locked away, and a crate of high-tech Buzz Lightyear toys, shipwrecked on an island, makes its way across the sea, believing Jessie is the leader of Star Command. Jessie's plan to bring Bonnie and Blaze together backfires when Bonnie's classmates mock a photo of her online.

How Toy Story 5 ends

Jessie finds a time capsule showing that Emily grew up and named her daughter after her, and regains her faith in Bonnie. With the Buzz units and Lily, who has a change of heart, the toys arrange a new meeting, and Bonnie and Blaze become friends over their love of toys. Buzz declares his love for Jessie and they kiss. Woody leaves again with Bo Peep, and the Buzz units are adopted by children at a school.

Post-credits scenes

Yes. There are two credits scenes. In one, the stranded Buzz Lightyear units reach a school playground, a lonely boy is the first child to get one, and another child pulls a high-tech Emperor Zurg toy from a backpack. A second, shorter scene follows the credits.