An Animated Toast to the Ephemeral: The Multicultural Logic of Late Capitalism in Toy Story 2 (1999)

Abstract

Stolen by an obsessive and greedy doll collector, the perplexed and enraged Woody quickly discovers an abundant collection of merchandizing products bearing his counterfeit at the apartment of the toy devotee. The yoyos, lunchboxes, guitars, soap bubble dispensers, record players, radios, plates, and LPs all speak to the popularity of the Woody character—and the complexity of his nature as a consumer item of capitalist production. After the sheriff doll meets more toys—the Prospector Pete, cowgirl Sally, and Bullseye, the faithful horse—at his lofty and tidy penitentiary, Woody also learns about his origin as one merchandizing product from the highly popular 1950s TV program “Woody’s Roundup.” Although the puppet show for children had been canceled after the Sputnik shock, more than forty years later the sheriff doll has become a valuable collectible which the toy collector stole from the uninformed Andy to complete his “Woody’s Roundup Gang” set and sell the whole assemblage to a Japanese museum. Whereas in Toy Story Buzz wrestled with the question of individuality in the face of mechanical mass production, the discovery of being a rare and valuable collectible mesmerizes Woody at the beginning of Toy Story 2.