I know we already discussed why Bo Peep is not in the film numerous times in the past but for one last time, I just wanted to see if anything could’ve been done.
According to Lee Unkrich in The Art of Toy Story 3, one of the penultimate reason not to include Bo Peep in the third film came from the fact that during Andy’s send off of the Toy Gang to Bonnie was that he literally couldn’t say anything more than “She’s a Lamp.” and all of the other reasons not to include her (ie her absence being more of an impact to the other toys, importance of loss of loved one) spawned from that. Now, at first I was sort of perturbed by this statement as it really sounds akin to “She has no personality” and that PIXAR just gave up too quickly trying to give her a satisfying goodbye. But perhaps Andy really couldn’t have said anything more about Bo to Bonnie. This has always left me wondering.
So I guess what I’m asking is, did PIXAR make the right decision not to include Bo Peep because Andy couldn’t say anything more about her? And IF PIXAR was include Bo, what else could Andy have said about her besides “She’s a lamp?”
She’s have smashed beyond recognition during one of the many scenes where they’re falling into or onto something. Not to mention the rough play section.
Seriously though, I don’t know what Andy might’ve said about her.
“This is Bo Peep. She’s a flirtatious damsel-in-distress, and honestly I have no idea why I’ve kept half of my little sister’s lamp for all these years. She used to have these three sheep that were joined together so they looked like some kind of ovine Cerberus, but I lost them ages ago. Make sure not to play with her too much because she’s made of porcelain so she’s basically a glorified statue. Ten years ago or so she used to be Woody’s girlfriend, but a few years ago I decided she’s better off with Jessie, so do whatever with her.”
That’s ok Draik, neither am I. Actually, I’m kind of on the same boat as a few other people who think “Bo Peep was actually a scratch female character created so PIXAR could fill The Smurfette Principle in the first film”, definitely the weakest character in the film. She had a relationship with Woody and…that’s about it.
The material Bo was made of, however, as stated by Lee Unkrich, had nothing to do with their decision not to include her.
I personally think Unkrich’s reason was a cheap cop-out. If Andy could say something about the LGMs that Bonnie already knew (I’m sure Bonnie’s been to Pizza Planet tons of times and has seen thrm in the claw game), then he could have said something about Bo Peep. And Andy didn’t have to give a soliloquy on her, so it’s not like Michael Arndt would have had to knock himself out giving Andy something intelligent to say about her (he totally could have, but that’s another story).
Getting her there was the struggle. Having to slow down for her every time would just slow down the pacing too much. Though Andy could definately come up with something about her, no question about it.
I mean if would have directed the movie,i would have had her lamp be broken by molly or stopped working,but kept Bo, so that way the lamp wouldn’t have slowed her down in the process of transitioning .Molly could have got rid of the lamp a few years ago,but decided to keep Bo as a doll or just a stand alone decoration with her sheep,or or somehting…idk, i guess if she kept Barbie then Bo peep and Barbie could have been the only last dolls remaining.
Also the secne where everyone gets put into the trash bag,but gets accidentally thrown out.Well she obivosily couldn’t have been in that scene because of them rolling around in the bag and roughness ,but she could have already been in the Daycare Box comforting Barbie…
Even the part where the box fail over when they arrived at the Daycare,i doubt she would have broken. Extreme force or a very high drop would have ot be applied to break porcleian.I mean people act like it’s glass.it’s breakable,but not as flimsy.
Anyways i don’t see why they couldn’t have her character rectoned like Hamm,and Say she was some high durable shiny plastic.because originally hamm was a ceramic bank too.
Porcleia nis actualyl a type of Clay…FYI u guys.
I just htink Lee took the eay s way out,Andy could have said somehting for her,and Bo not being “Bleiveable” in his owlrd was not very plausible to me at all.I could see Andy’s mother kepping her around,or because Grandmas gave it ot molyl hwne she was little etc.I mena She was Woody’s girl and Toy Story first lady,despite if more active girls came alog like Jessie
Also i hate how people are making it seem like because of stunts and the scenes in the movie she wouldn’t have been able to be in it or it would slow the rest of the gang down.
I’ve read that they took Bo out because they couldnt figure out a decent way of incorporating her into the story. I’ve also read that’s why she has a reduced role in TS2. I agree with that logic. I dont really know she what she would do besides being Woody’s girlfriend. She’s not active like Jessie is and I cant really see her doing all the running around that the other characters do. Granted I have nothing against Bo, but it does make sense to me. Plus why would Andy have her? She was part of Molly’s lamp and to me Molly didnt seem the type to care about keeping it. And yes, it seems realistic to me because not everyone in a certain group gets to stay together forever. There are breakups and goodbyes. I suppose maybe Molly could have kept Bo by putting her in the attic, but there are complications with that too. One being that you never see the attic so Bo probably wouldnt be in the story anyway, or, having a whole side plot because Woody may want to get her out of there.
There’s a lot Andy could’ve said about Bo- this is Bo, she’s brave and watches over everyone, but she gets in trouble when Evil Dr Porkchop does bad things. Buzz Lightyear can save her.
And when Andy takes Woody out of the box, he could say that Bo and Woody love each other like how the Potato Heads love each other – or that Woody rescues Bo when she gets in trouble.
I see Bo as an integral part of Toy Story as a series, as she allows Andy to have doll play, which while he could do that with Jessie, is different than how he plays with Bo. -Omar, who’s a giant fan of Bo.
The problem I see with that is that it distracts from the dialogue about Woody. While the rest of the characters are certainly important, Woody’s meaning is key: him being alone emphasizes. By interrupting it with a rehashed line about Woody’s love of Bo–a character who wasn’t significantly important in the first film and whose role was on the decline ever since–shakes up the narrative. Problem is, Bo’s role always was connected to Woody. The Potato Heads and Bullseye and Jessie had a strong connection with each other, which gave meaning to Andy’s statements. Matching up Bo with anyone else but Woody would feel odd.
True, Bo’s meaning for Andy is inexplicably tied to Woody, and it would cut into Andy’s speech about why Woody is important. However, I still see Bo as an important character. True, she might have been the token female before Mrs Potato Head and Jessie arrived on the scene, but that doesn’t mean that having a damsel in distress character limits what Andy could’ve said about Bo.
Leaving Woody out the speech, Andy could’ve said Bo watches over the other toys, or she babysits the Aliens or that she’s just another character who had meaning for him. I mean, if he could talk about the Pizza Planet Aliens, then he could say something that short about Bo.
Like I said before, getting her to that ending is what would be a stretch. Though Andy doesn’t HAVE to mention Woody with her. It’s not like Andy only played with her twice, he definately has a character in mind for her when he’s playing.
-Omar