The Cowboy and the Shepherdess
Little Bo Peep emerges as a stand-out heroine in the fourth chapter of Pixar’s iconic Toy Story franchise.
Little Bo Peep emerges as a stand-out heroine in the fourth chapter of Pixar’s iconic Toy Story franchise.
In the last three Toy Story films, audiences have followed Woody, Buzz and their fellow adventurers through the great outdoors, frightening daycare centers and even to Pizza Planet. Still, there’s one place the story hasn’t gone — at least, until Toy Story 4 is released in June — and that’s into the unfulfilled love story between Little Bo Peep and Sheriff Woody.
The filmmakers knew this storyline would be one worth exploring and that Bo Peep would be a surprising character to rediscover. She was always resourceful, clever and mostly in control of all her interactions with Woody. And all of these things made her the kind of vivid and tough character that director Josh Cooley loves.
“Even when we would blow up the movie and kind of rethink things, Bo Peep was always the foundation of the entire movie,” says Cooley, who was one of the writers and story supervisor on Pixar’s Inside Out. “She was always part of a baby’s lamp instead of being a toy so she probably always knew her life span in a kid’s room was going to be shorter, so, when things change, she’s more ready to accept it and move on to something else.”
Cooley believes that Woody really wasn’t ready for those kinds of changes and his mission had always been to be Andy’s protector. He adds, “In a way, it was a mission he never wanted to let go of because it was his whole identity as a toy. I kind of looked to my relationship with my wife when I thought of their relationship. We have completely different ways of looking at things and when you have that it can be very interesting. Watching two characters who agree on everything or see everything the same way isn’t as fun to watch.”
While revealing Bo Peep’s strength was a big raison d’etre for the latest Toy Story tale, Cooley also wanted to give Woody another look. The cowboy had always been a dutiful companion, but there had to be more.
Digging Deep into Woody’s Psyche
“That was the thing we thought about most in early versions of the story,” says Cooley. “We didn’t take that into account as much. It just felt like a fun adventure but nothing deep enough, and it wasn’t until we locked into where Woody should go in Toy Story 4 that all of a sudden it felt like this was the movie, because it was getting down deeper into Woody’s psyche. Toy Story has always been about the
fear of being replaced.”
If one of Pixar’s mottos has been to make characters that move in a way that’s true to their materials, then this new version of Bo Peep — an almost ninja-like character — was a conundrum. Bo Peep carves a life outside of a child’s room for herself and she does that as a porcelain doll. The entire design team would have to find a way to make it feel genuine.
“We definitely played with how far to break her, how far to scratch her, and it’s really fun because she is an old toy,” says directing animator Patty Kihm, whose numerous Pixar credits go back to 1998’s A Bug’s Life and include Toy Story 2 and 3. “We were asking ourselves how far we could take it, and ultimately we went with the arm being broken because it felt like a very clear read of who she is — she is porcelain. She is basically living a very risky life by even being played with so openly by kids and not being on a shelf, just being admired by a collector who has a bunch of porcelain items. Andrew [Stanton]
was always really good at reminding us that [the toys] can’t just be running out in public openly. So we also knew that we needed to give Bo a method to move around if this toy, unlike other toys, is out there living her life. So, we made her an automobile. She gets some trash together and makes this ‘skunkmobile’ that looks like it might be a real skunk to get around — because you’re going to get away from a skunk.”
A Rocky Start
Toy Story 4 went through several changes itself since it was developed around the time of then Pixar head John Lasseter’s departure. Rashida Jones and Will McCormick were the original writers on the fourth movie, but they left the project abruptly in 2017. According to CNN, Jones denied that the departure was due to an unwanted advance from Lasseter. But Jones did say she moved on from the film because Pixar has “a culture where women and people of color do not have an equal creative voice.” (The studio did not respond when asked to comment on this statement.)
“[Bo Peep] was always part of a baby’s lamp instead of being a toy, so she probably always knew her life span in a kid’s room was going to be shorter.” — Director Josh Cooley