Miscellany's Toy Story

Toy Story 2 explores the miscellany of toys in the modern consumerist world in at least three different ways: (1) through the deliberate cyclicality of toy production, which constantly renders previous toys obsolete, (2) through the temporary placelessness toys assume in both location and function when they are not being used, and (3) through the permanent disuse toys suffer when their owners have finally outgrown them. The film addresses the first form of miscellany in the scenes involving the new model of Buzz Lightyear on the shelves of Al’s Toy Barn, which inevitably sparks a case of mistaken identity between the old and new Buzz. This newer model is identical in practically every way, save for its “new utility belt,” which is enough

As with all the other films in this soon-to-be tetralogy, Toy Story 2 is replete with scenes of Andy machinating all kinds of fictional scenarios, of which the toys are the primary actuators – including and especially the film’s opening scene. Sure, Andy clearly loves these toys and their play episodes are childhood-forming, but equally as important is what becomes of them after Andy tires and sets them aside. At that point, the toys assume the first kind of miscellaneous triviality, being messily strewn about Andy’s room until such time that he again has use for them. Variegated as they are, the toys are shoved under and/or tossed on top of the bed, nestled into a random drawer, emplaced in a windowsill, or even deserted altogether and left on the floor in the very same spot they last were, unworthy of even being relocated. In that sense, they are miscellanies inasmuch as they are infinitely placeable and replaceable, themselves having no definite order to their disposal. Toys’ miscellaneous nature is unique in this way, as it’s rare that household items are so placeless as to be anywhere placeable. In other words, their first form of miscellany is their ability to be dropped at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever, as well as their lack of any specific place of belonging in Andy’s room when not being played