Central to the story is a pull-string cowboy named Woody — and his other toy friends. Woody is six-year-old Andy’s favorite toy and sits in the coveted place of honor on Andy’s bed. Life for Woody is pretty good and it looks like he’ll remain the favorite toy for years to come.

That is, until Andy’s birthday party! Birthdays mean new toys and new toys mean old toys may be forgotten! To be forgotten is one of the biggest fears that all toys share. Anxious to see if Andy received any new toys, Woody sends in the green army men on a recon mission to find out. Soon they hear the news that changes all of their lives as toys — there's a new toy in town named Buzz Lightyear. Buzz is the latest super-powered-karate-chopping-laser-blasting-space-hero-action-figure and it looks like he's an instant favorite with Andy!

This comes as a great shock to Woody, who now must cope with being #2 in Andy’s world. His answer is to try to knock Buzz behind the dresser and into obscurity by using R. C. Car. Woody’s plan backfires and he unintentionally sends Buzz out of Andy’s window and into the real world. The rest of the toys see what happens and unite against Woody for sending Buzz to certain doom.