Toy Story is More Than Just a Story
The Whole Toy Story gang have taught me a lot about how to live our lives (Especially Woody and Buzz).
The first Toy Story movie was released in 1995, and it became one of the most-known animation movies of all time. There is no single person who doesn’t even know “To Infinity and Beyond”, and also their official soundtrack
“You’ve got a friend in me”.
There has been a long gap period between one sequel to another. There are only 4 years gap from Toy Story (1995) to Toy Story 2 (1999), but since then it took a long period of 9 and 11 years as Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4 were taken in 2010 and 2019. Even though the movies itself has always taken place right at the people’s heart and they are always waiting for it, and
for nearly 25 years, Toy Story always has life-learning moments in every sequel.
Toy Story involves a lot of great actors and actresses. Among others, Tim Allen, Tom hanks, who does not know them? This iconic role is very attached to them. Their voices and impression make this film have a soul in each character and each scene as if they are really ‘alive’ and could ‘feel’.
As a person who loves Toy Story so much, I would share my favorite takeaways from this Pixar masterpiece which taught me to live our life.
Dream Big
Woody has his “Reach for the sky” pickup line. We all know that he is a sheriff, perhaps it has a similar meaning to “Put your hands up” when a criminal got caught by a sheriff. But I like to think it has a metaphor for dream big because it is indeed almost impossible to touch the sky by the hand, but we should make the impossible possible because nothing is impossible.
Buzz also has his “To infinity and Beyond” pickup line, which also refers to dream big. Some people say that we all have our own limitations. But it is ourselves who put in which branch we want to put the limit.
Buzz and Woody taught us to push our limit, and break it.
We should make the limit way higher than what we think.
Expressing Feelings
Andy, the person who owns the whole gang (At least until he went to university) always puts his name on every single toy he has. Andy simply brought joy and happiness to every toy. The toys feel affection and ownership from Andy and always been a part of Andy’s routine.
Andy’s way of saying he loved them is by scratching his name on them, and indeed we have our own way of saying how much we loved someone/something.
We just need to express it.
You are special no matter who you are
In the latest Toy Story Sequel, Bonnie which is the ‘new’ owner of the whole toys made a new toy that came out of the trash. Let me tell out the scene. Bonnie is in her new class, and it turns out to be a boring day, then Bonnie seeks something and she found a spork in a trash can. She completes it with clay, wire, and craft eyes and she named it Forky. Then, she brings it back home, and suddenly it becomes her favorite toy among others. Even though he is only made out of trash, but he is Bonnie’s favorite.
No matter who you are and where you came from, you are special.
Friendships are everything
In the beginning, I mentioned the soundtrack You’ve got a friend in me has a big role that put Toy Story up in the sky. This popular tune represents a backdrop for Woody and Andy's friendship, but as the movies make the path, it speaks to the friendship of Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang.
Although there is a bumpy road between Woody and Buzz at the beginning. But they could handle it safely and make it good until the end.
As the soundtrack says
“ When the road looks rough ahead
And you’re miles and miles from your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you’ve got a friend in me”
No matter how hard it is, they stick together through ups and downs, and so we are.
Loyalty at it is finest
In every Toy Story movie, the gang (especially woody) has taught us everything about loyalty. It seems to have the same meaning as friendship but it is way more specific. Loyalties are feelings of friendship, support, or duty towards someone or something. Every loyalty has a friendship point but not every friendship has loyalties.
It could be seen when Buzz and the rest member trying to save woody and the roundup gang (except Stinky Pete or simply known as The Prospector) in the Airport in Toy Story 2. Or when Woody trying to help Buzz and the whole gang to get out of Sunnyside Daycare because of the unfair Lotso (which we all know why he turns out to be like that). And in Toy Story 4, Woody trying so hard to keep Forky stay by his side (because Forky keeps saying he is trash and he thinks he belongs to a trash can and that is where he should be) because he knows Forky is Bonnie’s favorite toy.
Woody always have a loyalty to his owner, either Andy or Bonnie.
Even in Toy Story 3, when Andy give all of his toys to Bonnie because he had to go to college. He feels very hard for letting go of Woody because Woody has something special that everyone hasn’t, it is his loyalty.
A loyalty that makes him special.
“ Now Woody, he’s been my pal for as long as I can remember. He’s brave like a cowboy should be. Kind, and smart. But the thing that makes Woody special, is he’ll never give up on you… ever. He’ll be there for you, no matter what”
From all of the Toy Story movies, we (or at least me) could take a point that we should dream big, express our feelings, knowing that we’re special, have a great friendship, and be loyal.
Do not let the values that actually exist in real life disappear and only exist in a movie that is even played by toys.
