The rocket strategy almost doesn’t work either, but just as disaster seems imminent, Woody’s final option is to trust someone else to be in charge for once (when Buzz uses his wings to let them “fall with style” back to Andy), and that’s what finally results in success. When the match fails, he uses Buzz’s helmet as a magnifying glass to light it. When RC Car’s batteries run out, Woody tries to light the rocket with the match. In Toy Story specifically, the looming problem is that the moving van is getting away while Woody’s options for reuniting with Andy are becoming increasingly slimmer. One way of discerning an Optionlock story is the problem gets bigger as time passes, forcing the characters to consider their options more quickly. There is not a specific time limit forcing the story to a conclusion there is, however, a “race” between Woody and the moving van (figuratively and literally). (The mother’s “decision” to move is not part of the movie, nor is her “decision” to buy the Buzz Lightyear toy.) The final “action” that resolves the Objective Story is the sudden appearance of Buzz and Woody next to Andy in the car. Action Story DriverĪll the precipitous events of the story are things that “happen” which force the characters to deliberate on how they should respond-Andy’s birthday party occurs early, Buzz Lightyear “lands” on Andy’s bed, the decorative motif of Andy’s room changes (note the lyrics of the song “STRANGE THINGS ARE HAPPENING TO ME”), Buzz is thrown out the window by accident, Sid pulls Buzz and Woody out of the claw machine, “moving day” arrives, etc. Later, however, when he pulls the mutant toys together and lays out a very linear, step-by-step strategy to save Buzz from Sid, his Male approach is very effective. He also fails to consider how his actions will tip the delicate balance of public opinion against him. His very linear approach is most dramatically demonstrated when he thinks, “Hmm, if I cause Buzz to disappear behind the desk, Andy will have to pick me to go to Pizza Planet, and I’ll win his favor back.” He then attempts a very simple cause-and-effect operation to use RC Car to push Buzz off the desk, but fails to see the relationships among the objects on the desk that will make his plan go awry.
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Woody is almost entirely focused on the effects he wants to achieve and how to directly cause them “balance,” “surplus,” and “deficiency” rarely enter his considerations.
He is loath to check his attitudes at the door, and that often gets him in trouble. He calls meetings, plots strategies, mobilizes other toys, and approaches all problems by jumping into the fray, even if it means starting an unpleasant confrontation. Woody is a very active, take-charge kind of cowboy. He needs to stop measuring himself in terms of “playtime.” If he would stop all these things, he could relax and accept a new state of affairs which is out of his control anyway.
He needs to stop being insecure, competitive, and jealous. Woody needs to stop feeling entitled to sole possession of the “spot” on Andy’s bed. His presence forces Woody to confront his personal issues, and that impact remains constant until Woody’s own “change” resolves the inequity between them. From the experience of his separation from Andy, Woody comes to believe his own words, “It doesn’t matter how much we’re played with-what matters is that we’re here for Andy when he needs us.” In the final scene we see Woody loosened up and dancing, satisfied to be part of the group rather than its leader he’s more comfortable with himself, more chummy to Buzz, and more accessible to Bo Peep’s advances.Ī NOTE ABOUT OBSTACLE CHARACTER: Even though Buzz Lightyear appears to make a change (when he comes to see himself as Andy’s Toy rather than a Space Ranger), in terms of his IMPACT upon Woody and the others, he is a Steadfast Obstacle Character. At the moment of greatest crisis (right before the rocket explodes), Woody lets someone else be in charge for once, allowing himself to be literally taken under Buzz’s wings. Woody’s resolve to maintain his status as “Andy’s Favorite Toy” is unraveled throughout the course of the story, until by the end he concedes that status to Buzz. 8 of the 12 essential questions Change Main Character Resolve