why Buzz still froze around humans, and a theory suggests this was part of his training as a space ranger. Back in 1995, Toy Story arrived to change the world of animation forever, and it introduced viewers to characters that went on to become part of pop culture, as are its leads Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen).
Toy Story tells the story of Woody, a pull-string cowboy who is his owner’s (Andy, voiced by John Morris) favorite toy, and as such, he’s also the leader of the rest of the toys in that room, but it all changes when Andy gets a brand new toy on his birthday: Buzz Lightyear, a space ranger action figure. However, Buzz isn’t aware that he’s a toy and is convinced he's an actual space ranger, creating a lot of tension between him and Woody, and sending them on a dangerous adventure that changes their individual perspectives on friendship and life and also leads them to form a strong bond.
Buzz’s idea of him being a real space ranger instead of a toy created a lot of frustration in Woody, and Buzz eventually accepted he’s a toy, though he did it the hard way (watching a TV commercial for his toy line). For the rest of the Toy Story franchise, Buzz is aware he’s a toy and embraces this nature, but there are still many questions around his story, mostly why, if he didn’t know he was a toy, he still froze when humans were around – and a theory tries to explain this through Buzz’s experience as a space ranger, suggesting freezing around humans was part of his training.
The theory, posted on Buzz’s training as a space ranger, including something along the lines of “acting like the locals” that could have been translated into the toy’s history and programming, thus explaining why Buzz froze around humans even though he wasn’t aware that he’s a toy.
The biggest argument against the theory of Buzz’s space ranger training being the reason why he froze around humans is that Buzz Lightyear toys could have simply been programmed to do so, no matter if they were aware that they are toys or not. Perhaps Lightyear could solve this long-debated question about Buzz’s actions and reactions during the first half of Toy Story, but it could also remain a mystery that can be answered in different ways, though the most convincing one so far is that about Buzz’s programming.
