The Gospel according to Toy Story: An Atheist Response

I was reading up on my favourite film, ‘Toy Story’ and came across an interesting article on a Christian blog by a guy called Anthony, claiming the film to be a religious allegory. I would like to respond to this article, which you can read in its entirety HERE. If anything, ‘Toy Story’ is an ATHIEST allegory, and here is why.


The way Anthony understands the film is that it presents “the difference between assigning value to yourself and having it assigned to you by someone else, someone more superior, something more real.” He goes on to claim that “If Toy Story were written to reflect modern secular humanistic relativistic atheistic worldviews, Buzz would have decided that he was a real Buzz Lightyear if he said he was… ie, prestigious in his own eyes, if the important thing is that we value our individual selves (ala Objectivism).” Now before we begin, I recognise that we agree that ‘Toy Story’ champions the acceptance of reality over fantasy, and our contrary readings reflect our views on reality. For Anthony God is reality, while for me he is not.

So far I have two problems with his argument. Firstly, his definition of Objectivism as a stance from which we can declare ourselves and reality to be whatever gives us more worth… Does that not immediately stink of the “infinite worth” of humans from a Christian perspective? Surely there is more assigned value to an agent of an infinite, almighty lord than a being without one. Objectivism is NOT this stance at all, it is the simply claim that there is an external reality independent of ourselves, and therefore such a thing as “truth” in accordance with such a reality. It does not allow us to pick whatever version of the world we want, regardless of evidence. ‘Toy Story’ actually presents AN EXTREMELY objective viewpoint, and distinctly opposes a claim such as the one Anthony assigns the word to.

This is however not the important point. We both agree that the film is about the value of truth, I even would go on to say it is about the value of objective reasoning. In the film, Buzz discovers what Woody has known all along, that he is a TOY, not a space ranger. Anthony interprets this as Buzz rejecting a self-imposed value and accepting the external value and love of Andy (God). Here we have our second problem – the view that value is assigned by someone else, importantly someone “superior”. It’s easy to see how Andy could be read this way; he is kind, loving and he marks the main characters with this love. His love is extremely valuable, as is God’s. But the text fails to support such a reading, especially if we include ‘Toy Story 2’. God’s love is infinite, God is the creator of life and God is all powerful. Andy possesses NONE of these qualities. The value of his love is PRECICELY that it is finite, and will ultimately end. While it’s true that the toys of the film have a creator, that creator is NOT Andy, he is not even aware his toys are alive. Finally, Andy is a child, helpless to control even his own world, let alone the toy’s. Andy is so helpless and unaware he can do nothing to save even the faithful Woody from Sid’s evil. This analogy just doesn’t hold up.

“We would like to think that if we merely declared that we were completely independent and autonomous from any creator it would be so. We would like to think that assigning ourselves whatever value we like means that we really have that value. There is the theory and then there is the reality.”
Remember- Buzz DOES NOT assign his own value. Buzz believes things about himself, because of his box (scripture), with absolutely no further evidence to support his belief. His box tells him he is an agent of STAR COMMAND, not the leader, holding information which reveals the evil Emperor Zurg’s “only weakness”. Buzz is promised a reality of huge scope, epic battles between good and evil, and an assurance of his unique individual worth. He believes he can talk to and take orders from STAR COMMAND, and stubbornly continues his false mission in the face of great evidence that refute these beliefs. Remember, Buzz’s belief system is not “autonomous”, and includes many unfounded fantastical elements in-line with religious belief. If we want to read Woody as the Christian and Buzz as the atheist, we should at least look at how the characters act in their world. Buzz is a character of great faith, faith in STAR COMMAND, while Woody, despite loving Andy greatly, displays NO FAITH in him. He believes what he experiences, he knows Andy is neither knowledgeable or powerful enough to save them from Sid, he has to do that himself.

“The thing about meaning and value is that these concepts are inherently relative- relative in the sense that are relative to some entity. …Under the atheistic framework, we have no more value than a wadded up piece of paper, or a scrap of iron. Nonetheless, something gnaws on us constantly, alerting us to the fact that we are something more than the mere matter that litters our existence.”
Actually we have great value. If we achieve something great, we can be proud of that. Andy does not help the toys save themselves at any point, everything they achieve is THEIRS. These characters REJECT having their value bestowed upon them by a superior, even Andy’s less favourite toys love him, in a sense Andy is a NON-FACTOR in their choices and freedoms.

“Buzz tried to fly to prove he really was the ‘real’ Buzz Lightyear and lost an arm. You can only mock reality so long before you get hurt.”
Besides refuting Anthony’s claims, I’d also like to draw your attention to a section of the text he seems to have ignored. In the middle of the film, Woody and Buzz find themselves in a restaurant’s crane-game. The inhabitants, based on their limited world, have developed a fanatical religious belief in “the claw”. They say “The claw is our master! The claw chooses who will go and who will stay!” Woody knows that the Claw has no sentience at all, and in this scene is actually controlled by the disturbed Sid. Later, one alien inhabitant joins Woody and Buzz as they are taken to Sid’s house. The alien keeps talking about how “nirvana is coming! The mystic portal awaits!”, only to be fed to the uncaring dog Scud. His delusions of mysticism ultimately lead to his near-destruction…

“For you see, Buzz and Woody the Sheriff may not have liked the fact that they were toys at various times in their existence, but they did not cease, for this reason, to be toys.”

This is absolutely right. Because being a toy brings with it certain truths. It entails a finite reality, which in turn gives it value. In ‘Toy Story 2’ Woody understands this and still says “I wouldn’t miss it for the world”. For all toys, life is good while it lasts and no longer. They will not be rewarded for their service with Andy, and they will not be punished if they leave. They will be missed. This is because Andy is as mortal and as fallible as any toy.

“I am a toy, and I have been sealed with God’s name, and frankly I love it. I invite you, not to become a toy, because you have no power to change what you are, but to recognize that you are a ‘toy,’ and come to terms with it, and so enter into the “joy that was set before him.””

I am a toy, and I accept the world as it really is, and frankly I love it. I invite you, not to become a toy, because you have no power to change what you are, but to recognise that you are a ‘toy’ and come to terms with it, and so appreciate the finite value of mortal love and freedom.