{"id":217,"date":"2018-09-30T15:20:30","date_gmt":"2018-09-30T19:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.faithfictionandfeminism.com\/blog\/?p=217"},"modified":"2024-08-23T10:18:02","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T14:18:02","slug":"stephanie-overanalyzes-childrens-entertainment-toy-story-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.faithfictionandfeminism.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/30\/stephanie-overanalyzes-childrens-entertainment-toy-story-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephanie Overanalyzes Children\u2019s Entertainment: Toy Story (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h2>\n

Part 2 – All About The Ladies<\/h2>\n

If you haven’t read Part 1<\/a> of Stephanie Overanalyzes Toy Story, you may want to do so before continuing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll Take My Feminism Where I Can Get It<\/h4>\n

Let\u2019s face it, the Toy Story universe doesn\u2019t have an abundance of female characters. The first 2 movies can\u2019t even pass the Bechdel test<\/a>. Toy Story 3<\/em> adds at least 5 named female characters, and really builds on the strong characterization Jessie got in Toy Story 2<\/em> by giving the girls crucial, if not major, roles in the story. Multiple viewings have pointed out to me that throughout Toy Story 3<\/em>, women are the characters who most often stand up to Lotso. While Woody is busy trying to return to Andy, and Buzz is brainwashed, the ladies are holding down the resistance. And when Lotso has all the toys surrounded by the trash bins, trying to coerce them to return to the daycare, it\u2019s not Woody or Buzz who present a counterargument – it\u2019s Jessie and Barbie who lead the fight. (The glance between Buzz & Woody when Barbie says “authority should derive from the consent of the governed, not from the threat of force\u201d is downright classic.) Ultimately it is Mrs. Potato Head who\u00a0saves all their lives\u00a0due to her seemingly trivial decision to adopt 3 aliens at the end of Toy Story 2<\/em>. And it is no insignificant matter that Andy’s toys (whom might be considered by many to be “boy’s toys”) are handed down to Bonnie, a girl, for their new lease on life. These may be small moments, but they\u2019re important ones, and they stand out more to me the more I watch these movies.<\/p>\n

In addition, the two Toy Story holiday specials are both focused on female characters: in the Christmas special,<\/a>\u00a0Trixie the dinosaur learns to be content in how she’s played with, while the Halloween special<\/a> focuses on Jessie working through her PTSD. (No seriously. The 20-minute kid\u2019s cartoon tackles Jessie\u2019s post-traumatic stress from being boxed up for decades. It\u2019s kind of amazing.) Yes, Toy Story will always be Buzz & Woody\u2019s show, but overanalyzing it does enrich the female characters, and I\u2019m always down for that.<\/p>\n

Um, Excuse Me, I Believe You Have My Toy<\/h4>\n

We have all been overlooking a gross injustice in the Toy Story universe for far too long: Mrs. Potato Head is Molly\u2019s<\/strong> toy. At the end of Toy Story<\/em>, the toy soldier watching the Christmas gift unwrapping says, \u201cMolly\u2019s first present is\u2026 Mrs. Potato Head!\u201d And yet for the rest of the series, Mrs. Potato Head is always among Andy\u2019s possessions. ANDY STOLE THAT TOY FROM HIS SISTER AND WE\u2019VE ALL BEEN TURNING A BLIND EYE!<\/p>\n

Andy\u2019s Mom<\/h4>\n

I feel a kinship with Andy\u2019s mom. We both have oldest sons who are imaginative, funny, smart, and obsessed with Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Plus she has a lot of Mom Moments that are right-on-point…<\/p>\n