Anthropomorphism, marketing relationships, and consumption worth in theToy Storytrilogy1

Abstract Who doesn't love a toy? Toys become our friends, our inspirations, and our creations. What is interesting about these significant relationships is that they are formed with rather ordinary commercial products. While this may seem natural enough, Pixar's Toy Story trilogy provides us a glimpse into the other side of this relationship, that is, from the perspective of the toys. Through a highly sophisticated use of anthropomorphism, the films reveal that these relationships are far from one-sided, value-based, identity-laden, symbolic manifestations. Instead, they encompass a mutually constituting, evolving, defining, and ever-changing process, in which we become our objects as much as our objects become us. As a result, it is important to look beyond the relative value of these objects in order to assess their overall worth. Keywords: anthropomorphismtoysmarketing relationshipsconsumption worthto infinity and beyond Notes 1The movies Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and Toy Story 3 are © Disney/Pixar. 'Toy Story' is a registered trademark of Disney Enterprises, Inc.