JeanGreyForever wrote:To be fair, Buzz was never the smartest toy in the room. The whole first film is about him not recognizing that he's a toy which seems something exclusive to Buzz Lightyears and the rest of the films always have a shtick to knock him out of commission like being replaced with the utility belt Buzz or going into demo and then Spanish modes. He does feel sidelined in this film, but this was very clearly Woody's story, even moreso than the rest of the films were. I've heard some people say that Toy Story 3 was the ending for all the main toys except Woody and this film is what brings closure to his story.
That is very true, but I still felt like the character regressed
on top of being sidelined. That whole inner voice thing seemed more like something TS1's Buzz or TS2's fake Buzz would do. In any case, I'm glad he came back to his old self in the end to provide words of encouragement for Woody.
JeanGreyForever wrote:I actually really liked the take on Gabby Gabby. When she was first introduced, I was afraid she'd be a rehash of Stinky Pete or Lotso but she really shouldn't even be characterized as a villain as much as an antagonist and I really felt for her, moreso than any other Toy Story villain. Her story was especially moving to me when she reminds Woody of all the joyous moments he's shared with Andy and how even though that life will eventually end, she would give anything to just experience even one of those moments. I almost wish she had gone home with Bonnie at the end so she could have joined the main cast and we could continue to see her journey.
Oh I definitely agree with all of that. Even when
mentioned by Bo and Giggle, they only think of her as annoying, never as villainous. I only had issues with her introductory scene, when she tries taking Woody's voice box by force. That seemed like a rather egregious assault to me and yet it never gets resolved or excused (I mean, I guess you could say she was desperate, but still). But other than that, I quite liked her arc in the second part of the movie.
JeanGreyForever wrote:That scene where Bo and Woody are separated at the beginning was really heartrending and ironically enough, I felt more emotions at the end when Woody is walking away from Bo than I did when he's saying goodbye to the rest of the toys, despite already knowing that he's going to stick with Bo. Maybe it's the romantic in me or maybe it's because of how rushed the final goodbye is.
Haha, same actually.
I think it's the lack of screen time for the other toys that made the final goodbye not as emotional for me as anything having to do with Woody and Bo. Perhaps it would have been different had the other toys participated in the rescue mission. They were not involved in the main plot, so we as audience kind of grew detached from them.
JeanGreyForever wrote:Jessie's brief reunion with Bo was really nice as well, especially since we never really get to see the two interact in the films. I was very happy to see Woody give Jessie his sheriff's badge as a parting gift after Bonnie initially gives it to her. I've heard some people complain that he should have given it to Buzz, but that literally makes no sense to me. Jessie would be Woody's natural predecessor in the sheriff role and it's important to note that it's not like she's taking over as leader of the toys because that is Dolly's role in Bonnie's room. Not surprisingly, there's been complaints online about the feminist undertones of this film with people criticizing Bonnie for dumping Woody after Andy gifted her to him, Dolly for "usurping" Woody's position as leader, Woody giving Jessie the badge instead of Buzz, and Bo Peep's 180 degrees transition. I didn't find this Bo very OOC personally, but that's probably because she was always a minor character in previous films and we never see her in action. Although I've heard that in the first Toy Story, when Woody and Buzz are trapped in Sid's room, the plan was that Bo would be the one to rescue them as a surprise twist to the audience who clearly wouldn't be expecting this so clearly the characterization isn't that far off from how she was envisioned.
That's actually very true.
I guess Bo's previous lack of screen time made her more flexible for adapting to the needs of this movie, so she didn't really seem that OOC to me either. But that reunion with Jessie really meant a lot to me, I always loved both of them, and like you said, they never really interacted previously.
Also agreed on the sheriff's badge. It was pretty obvious it would be her to get it and not Buzz.
Btw, I'm surprised One Million Moms or similar groups are not calling for boycott of the movie because of a 10-second portrayal of a lesbian couple.