Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Toy Story 2

The number one movie of 2010 was Toy Story 3. But I hadn't seen a Toy Story since the second one was in theaters more than a decade ago, so before watching the third movie, I set out to rewatch the first two. My test of the first can be seen here. Below, I'll test Toy Story 2.

blug1.png blug2.png blug3.png Four-and-a-half minutes into the movie,Toy Story 2 passes all three levels of the Reverse Bechdel test. Buzz Lightyear and Rex are talking to each other about a video game, and Rex's inability to play because of his small arms.

pink1.png Little Bo Peep is first seen at the 5:40 mark, and less than half a minute later, Mrs. Potato Head is first seen.

pink2.png OB-2 is harder. Fifteen minutes into the movie, a little girl at the yard sale picks up Woody and asks her mom if they can keep him. The mom says that Woody is broken, and tosses him on a nearby table. Neither character is named, nor seen again, but they are both female, and they do talk to each other, even if they do talk about a man (at least, a toy man). Indeed, most of the female characters of the movie don't talk to each other at all. Mrs. Potato Head only talks to Mr. Potato Head, and Jessie and Little Bo Peep never talk to each other, even though it would be natural for them to after Jessie joined the rest of Andy's toys.

pink3.png In Al's Toy Barn, at the Barbie party, there are three partying Barbies who say things like, "What a great party!" and "How low can you go?" However, all of them are speaking to other Barbies who do not themselves speak, so I don't think this counts for OB-3. Ultimately, Toy Story 2 does not pass the third level of the Original Bechdel test.

Like the original Toy Story, the sequel is male-dominated. Of course, since Andy himself is male, it's no surprise that most of his toys are male-oriented. On the other hand, the five toys who go to rescue Woody from Al's Toy Barn are all male, and the movie makes a point of the two female toys (Little Bo Peep and Mrs. Potato Head) staying home while the men go out to rescue Woody. Once again, Andy's mother is shown multiple times, but his father is never seen.

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