Toy Story 2 : Story is King
Created by the power houses “Pixar” and “Disney”, Toy Story 2 began with Woody preparing to go cowboy camp with Andy, only to suffer a rip in his arm that cause Andy to leave him behind (And Andy’s mother put him away on a shelf), only to be sold at a yard sale to a toy collector who – to preserve the toys value – locked them away, never to be played with again, in order to sell them to a museum in Japan.
Toy Story 2 took place about three years after the event of Toy Story revolve around whether woody would choose to flee the pampered and protected (but isolated) existence – the life of a collectible – the collector had force upon him, would he or would he not fight for the chances to go home to his original owner, Andy ? Coming from Pixar and Disney label the movie with predictable happy ending – meaning that Woody would choose to go back to reunite with Andy in the end.
The story of Toy Story 2 gives viewer reasons to believe that Woody was facing a real dilemma and one that they could relate to. Off course Woody would made the choice to go back to Andy, but Woody would make that choice with the awareness that doing so guaranteed future sadness, and two simple but important character addition set the course for Woody’s choice.
First, character named – Wheezy the penguin – who tells Woody that he has been on that self for months because of broken speaker. Wheezy introduces the idea early on that no matter how cherished, when a toy gets damaged, it is likely to be shelved, tossed aside – maybe for good. Wheezy then establishes the emotional stakes of the story.
Second, fundamental tweak was to beef up the story of Jessie, a cowgirl doll who had loved her little girl owner, just as Woody loved Andy, only to abandoned when the girl outgrew her toys. Jessie’s message to Woody (would now be wrenchingly told in a message sequence accompanied by the Sarah Mclachlan song “When she loved me”) was that no matter what you want or how much you care, Andy is someday going to put away childish things. Jessie picks up the theme that Wheezy set in motion and her sassy interactions with Woody allow that theme.
Wheezy and Jessie’s addition made Woody’s choice more fraught. He could stay with someone he loves, knowing that he will eventually be discarded, or he could flee to a world where he could be pampered forever, but without love that has build for. That is a real choice, a real question.
“I can’t stop Andy from growing up”, he tells stinky Pete the prospector “But I wouldn’t miss it for the world”.
