Woody is pretty much a complete asshole in the first Toy Story and he is the main hero in the movie. Has there ever been another movie that is directed at children where the hero is such a petty jerk? Think about Woody. He is so jealous of Buzz he is willing to kill Buzz. Sure he finds his way in the end, but that doesn’t really make up for his attempted murder of Buzz.
Well, there’s a few “wild” semi-main characters - for instance, Lilo and Stitch sort of share the “main character” job, and Stitch is definately not a nice guy through most of the movie. That’s not really what you’re looking for, though.
By all accounts, the original draft of Toy Story had Woody as being a Grade-A jerk. He would belittle and boss around the other toys, with no regard for their feelings and concerns. The project was almost killed because Woody originally was so unlikable, nobody could get emotionally “hooked” with the movie and give a damn about his predicament. Woody needed a major personality change to get him “mellowed down” to what we saw in the final film.
Saying Woody was attempting to “murder” Buzz is a bit of a stretch, however – it’s very clear from the context of the movie that Woody simply wanted to get Buzz “out of the way” (maybe wedged behind the desk) for a few minutes, so Andy would pick Woody instead for the trip to Pizza Planet. The whole bit about falling out of the window was an unforseen accident.
And yes, Woody doesn’t adapt well to his loss of “most favored toy” status, but as you noted, that’s the character-building aspect of the story.
Seconded. It’s this kind of attention to character that makes Pixar movies stand out: Woody isn’t on a quest to “save his best buddy” a la Disney; instead he’s basically a decent but flawed character who, out of petty jealousy, did something spiteful and stupid which rebounded on him when the consequences were worse than he intended - Buzz falling out of the window. He’s then ostracised by the other toys, and has to make amends and redeem himself by trying to rescue Buzz. Through his travails he matures as a “person”. None of this, however, is forced down the viewers throat with trite homilies about the value of friendship: it’s just there if you want to pick up on it. Not bad for what’s ostensibly a kid’s movie.
If anyone else has read A Wizard Of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, there are interesting parallels between the two stories: no plot points {let alone spoilers} unless anyone else who’s read it picks up on this thread…
There’s only a limited number of basic plots in all of literature, and the story of a petty jerk that grows into a hero is a familiar one.
Couple of examples : Peter Parker isn’t a particularly admirable character in the first Spiderman movie (and the original comic), until his uncle’s murder motivates him, and Edmund’s behaviour in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is pretty appalling.
There are lots of children’s stories or characters where the main character – usually a child – is too self-involved in the beginning, and learns about others. If I recall correctly, Howdy Doody (upon whom Woody was vaguely based) did that from time to time. He would be childishly selfish about something, and learned the lesson about being more mature and more caring about others.
The film is about Woody’s emotional change towards having Buzz in the room.
Not unlike a kid having to adapt to a younger sibling.
Of course, in “Toy Story,” there IS a younger sibling on the way, just in case you missed the parallel.
It seems to me that main characters who turn from jerks to heroes are actually pretty common in children’s literature. What about the Grinch?
Yes but Andy doesn’t seem to have a problem with his little sister. He even lets her play with his toys.
Actually, I’m very familiar with wizard of earthsea, but I never actually watched ‘toy story’, so now I’m curious LOL.
It’s a standard way of teaching kids lessons. Watch Fairly Oddparents or My Little Pony or whatever and you’ll see episode after episode of kids being petty and learning Very Special Lessons.
It even applies to stuff aimed at pre-teens and teens, like Sabrina.