- "Now Woody, he's been my pal for as long as I can remember. He's brave, like a cowboy should be. And 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."
- —Andy Davis, as he finally decides to hand Woody over to Bonnie Anderson
Sheriff Woody (usually referred to as Woody) is a character in Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and Toy Story 3. He is the series' main protagonist.
In each film, Woody leaves Andy's room (where Woody and the other toys live) and ventures out into the world. There have been many toys made of Woody, the most popular being his kind, a pull-string doll.
Woody currently makes daily appearances in the Toy Story Midway Mania! attraction at both Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim, California and Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Toy Story
- "You are a sad, strange little man. And you have my pity."
- —Buzz Lightyear, thinking Woody is no help to him
In the first Toy Story, Woody is Andy's favorite toy and is the leader of Andy's toys. He regularly holds meetings for the other toys concerning Andy's birthday, Christmas, moving situations, yard sales, etc. He has random bouts of jealousy, anger, frustration, and feelings of inadequacy regarding his role through out the first movie. This was seen a lot when Buzz Lightyear arrived. Despite any problems the both of them had, they became best friends and both take charge of Andy's room.
Toy Story 2
- Buzz: "Woody you're not a collector's item; you're a child's plaything. You are A TOY!"
Woody: "For how much longer? One more rip, and Andy's done with me. And what do I do then, Buzz? Huh? You tell me."
Buzz: "Somewhere in that pad of stuffing is a toy who taught me that life's only worth living if you're being loved by a kid. And I traveled all this way to rescue that toy because I believed him." - —Buzz Lightyear, as he reminds Woody who he truly is
In Toy Story 2, Woody was supposed to go with Andy to Cowboy Camp but Andy accidentally rips his arm and leaves him. Woody was stolen after saving Wheezy from a yard sale. Shortly after, he meets his Roundup gang: Bullseye, Jessie, and The Prospector. He then finds out that he was the star of a popular late 1950's TV show called Woody's Roundup. Woody initially intends to go back to Andy, making Jessie bitter and resentful, but gradually warms up to go to the toy museum with the Roundup gang. Ultimately, when Woody decides to go back to Andy, he offers to take others with him. Andy later fixes Woody's broken arm.
Toy Story 3
Woody dangling from a hang glider right over Sunnyside Daycare.
Woody is still very loyal to Andy and accidentally donated to Sunnyside Daycare Center. Unlike the other toys, Woody doesn't want to start a new life in Sunnyside and leaves his friends to go back to Andy, who plans on taking him to college. On his way back to Andy, he is found and taken home by a little girl named Bonnie. Though Woody enjoys playtime with Bonnie and meeting with her toys, he still wants to go home to Andy. When he mentions Sunnyside, Bonnie's toys take him to Chuckles the Clown, who explains that he, along with two other toys named Lotso and Big Baby, once belonged to a sweet girl named Daisy, who accidentally left them in a park. Lotso, Chuckles and Big Baby eventually made their way back to Daisy, only to find that Daisy had replaced Lotso with another one, turning the pink bear bitter and ruthless. They found Sunnyside, and Lotso and Big Baby rose to power quickly, turning the daycare into a toy prison, while Chuckles had been taken home by Bonnie. Woody realizes he has to go back to Sunnyside to save his friends, so he stows away inside Bonnie's backpack. He gets tips on how to escape Sunnyside with the help of the Chatter Telephone, and formulates a plan on helping the toys escape, of which they succeed on doing, but not without intervention. When the toys return home, they clean themselves of the dirt and grime that had made its way onto them during their escape and their return home through the garbage dump. Woody leaves a message to Andy on a sticky note with a marker, telling him to donate his toys to Bonnie. Andy drives to Bonnie's home and gives all of the toys to her, hesitantly giving Woody to her last. Woody makes peace with what Andy has done, calmly says "So long, partner," as he watches Andy's car drive away from the street, and happily becomes Bonnie's toy. During the credits, as he enjoys watching Jessie and Buzz perform a pasodoble, Woody tosses Jessie a flower and Jessie catches it by its stem in her mouth.
Trivia
- What attracted Tom Hanks to voice Woody was during his childhood, he would always wonder if his toys were alive and moved around when nobody was in his room.[1]
- Woody makes a cameo in one of the additional bloopers of A Bug's Life as a crewman when he enters the frame, holding a clapper-board upside down, to mark the end of a scene gone wrong.
- Woody, along with Buzz Lightyear and Hamm, appears in the movie Cars as car versions during the end credits. Woody is a woody wagon.
- While Woody is voiced by Tom Hanks in all the films and few of the toys, his brother, Jim Hanks, voices most of the Woody toys and him in the video games and Toy Story shorts.
- Lee Unkrich, director of Toy Story 3, has revealed on his Twitter that Woody's full name is "Woody Pride". However, his last name has never been used in any of the three films.
- When Jessie first meets Woody in Toy Story 2, she exclaims, "Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln!" Abraham Lincoln's mother was Nancy Hanks, a blood relative of Woody's voice actor Tom Hanks, who is a direct descendant of an uncle of Nancy Hanks.
- The original first half of Toy Story featured Woody as a different character where he let the ruling of the bedroom go to his head. What is probably the highlight of the original half is when Woody throws Buzz out the window on purpose and not caring a bit what just happened or what the other toys thought. It was because of this that Toy Story was almost canceled after a Black Friday Viewing, but Pixar was given another chance, and over the last two weeks, they reworked the first half of the movie they wanted to make, giving Woody a more likable character. According to John Lasseter, they wanted the audience to be like, "No, Woody, don't do that.", instead of, "Wow, What a Jerk."
- On that note, the 10th anniversary commentary also explained that while Woody was indeed jealous of Buzz Lightyear, he didn't intend to get rid of him when he pushed him out of the window, he just wanted him to fall behind the desk so that Andy would choose Woody instead of Buzz that one time.
- Woody is based on John Lasseter's Casper doll, as well as the Howdy Doody puppets from the 1950s.
- Woody is 15.18 inches tall, and his hat adds on three-fourths of an inch.
- The phrase "I'd like to join your posse, boys, but first I'm gonna sing a little song" was not spoken by Woody's voice box in the first two Toy Story films, but was heard in a deleted scene for Toy Story where Sid tortured Buzz and Woody.
- Woody has 229 animation points of movement in his face.
- Woody's voice box has only 7 sayings.[2]
References
Other quotes pertaining to Woody
- "Reach for the sky!"
"This town ain't big enough for the two of us."
"Somebody's poisoned the water-hole!"
"Yee-haw! Giddy-up partner! We've got to get this wagon train a-movin'!"
"You're my favourite deputy."
"There's a snake in my boot."
"I'd like to join your posse, boys, but first I'm gonna sing a little song." - —Woody's various voice-box phrases
- "Howdy! My name is Woody."
- —Woody, introducing himself to Buzz Lightyear for the first time
- "A moving buddy: if you don't have one, get one!"
- —Woody, during the first staff meeting
- "Okay! Save your batteries."
- —Woody
- "There's no place like home! There's no place like home!"
- —Woody, frantically finding an exit route after leaving Sid's room
- Buzz: "Come on, fellas. Did Woody ever give up when Sid had me strapped to a rocket?"
Toys: "No."
Buzz: "No! And did he give up when you threw him out of the back of that moving van?"
Mr. Potato Head: "Oh, you had to bring that up."
Buzz: "No, he didn't! We have a friend in need, and we will not rest until he is safe in Andy's room! Now let's move out!" - —Buzz Lightyear, as he demands the toys never to give up until Woody is safely home
- "Who am I to break up the Roundup Gang?"
- —Woody, after deciding to stay with the Roundup Gang
- "Forget it, guys. He's not worth it."
- —Woody, as Hamm and Slinky desire to teach Lotso for leaving them to die after they are rescued from an incinerator
- "So long, partner."
- —Woody (last line), as he watches Andy drive away from Bonnie's House