Toy Story 2's Unexpected Villain
Last night I had a dream about Toy Story 2. No idea why. But in the middle of it, my subconscious told me that something wasn't right about Wheezy, the toy penguin up on the shelf that has a broken squeaker. I couldn't put my thumb on it, so I went to the basics. When does this movie take place?
On the Pixar Theory website, we find out that the first Toy Story takes place in 1997, with the sequel taking place from 1998-1999. Of course, this isn't official, so I went by a tiny detail many people may have missed; Molly.
She is just learning how to walk, as Andy helps her. We can determine that it can't be more than 2 years, since humans tend to be able to walk fine by the age of 2. It's more likely that this movie takes place the following year, otherwise Molly would be a fairly late bloomer, because babies take steps with human support by 9-12 months. Also, since Andy is at a summer camp, we can safely say that this movie takes place the following summer after Toy Story.
Why is this important? Because Wheezy wasn't around in the first Toy Story. We would have seen him, even if his squeaker was broken. If he was around, Andy's mom would have thrown him away or mixed him in with all the other toys when they were moving. Where else would they put him?
He isn't even around during the final Christmas scene of the original Toy Story, so he was either given to Andy as a present after the movie ended, or given to him within the next 6-8 months where Toy Story 2 likely takes place.
This is important because it is stated in the movie that Wheezy has been up on the shelf for a few months prior to the movie. This means that Wheezy only got played with for 3-6 months at most before his speaker broke. It is also evident that Wheezy was one of Andy's favorite toys during the time he was played with, and Andy had forgotten about him. This is a pretty bold statement, since Andy plays with his toys a lot.
So we now know that Wheezy was played with for a short time but was one of Andy's favorites for a few months. Great, where does that lead us? Well we have to look at the behavior of our favorite squeaking penguin.
Toys can be jealous of one another. It was a main plot point in Toy Story 1, so it can easily be applied here. Wheezy was living the dream of any toy, being played with a ton. So how would he feel if something happened to him, and he was forced to watch Andy play with other toys for a couple of months? Jealous. It should be him up there along with everyone else, but instead, he has to watch, unable to intervene or get anyone's attention.
This sends him into a state of depression, clearly demonstrated when Woody finds him. He even says "What's the point in prolonging the inevitable? We're all just one stitch away from here...to there". As he points to the yard sale.
The yard sale? It was Wheezy who discovered it! From the previous quote, we can tell that he doesn't really care about whether he gets sold or not. Or does he? He makes no effort to even hide when Andy's mom goes into Andy's room looking for sell-able toys. Woody is the one who pushes him in between the books
Wheezy has a plan: knowing Woody's valiant heroic nature, he would definitely try to save Wheezy, and probably end up getting sold instead. What's the worst that could happen? Wheezy gets sold to some other kid. Anything would be better than sitting on a shelf.
Throughout this whole sequence, Wheezy doesn't even move. Even when Woody is saving him, he doesn't do anything. But one moment really got me convinced. Wheezy is in Buster's collar and is slipping, which prompts Woody to push him up, causing Woody to fall off of Buster which eventually gets him stolen by Al. Wheezy could have easily just put his arms outside and on top of the collar, so that he would be caught by his armpit preventing him from slipping. Watch this video here to see what I mean.
So what does this say about Wheezy? He probably didn't build an emotional connection to the other toys due to his short time being played with, which caused jealousy, and he is the main reason Woody gets toynapped by Al, and is completely aware of it. He really wants to be played with, and getting rid of Woody could help. Re-watching that scene, Wheezy does seem to exaggerate his emotions a bit. Maybe that part is just me.
So does it work? Yes, kind of. Woody does end up getting back, but Wheezy is re-discovered by Andy and even gets a new squeaker. By the end of the movie, he is no longer a jerk and just happy that he is back to normal. So I guess everything worked out, plus Jessie and Bullseye came, so Wheezy ended up doing more good than bad.
TL;DR: Wheezy, the penguin from Toy Story 2, fed up of being played with only for a few months and being shelved for much longer, develops jealousy of the other toys. It was him purposely getting thrown into the yard sale that got Woody kidnapped by Al so he could make it back into the mix of other toys, and hopefully have Woody gone for good. Most of it worked out for him, and is no longer bad by the end of the movie.
Edit: this also makes his rendition of "You've Got a Friend in Me" more meaningful, since he either A. Felt a ton of guilt Or B. Tried to cover up his actions with a quick musical number
Edit 2: For everyone who says that Wheezy was a dog's toy, it's said in the movie that he was Andy's toy.
YouTube reading
Credited to u/TheCircleOfKnife
Originally uploaded on July 11, 2016
| Comments • 0 |
Loading comments...
|
