The Green Army Men are IMHO one of the most underrated elements of the Toy Story films. Their stakeout of Andy’s birthday party was the highlight of the first film and they had some cute moments in TS2. But for me their finest moment is in TS3 for a couple reasons: 1) It sets up the danger that is to come and 2) To be completely honest, I forgot that they were characters in the series; that’s how long it took Pixar to make this movie.
A personal anecdote I’d like to add: About ten years ago, I went to Disney World and had gotten to MGM Studios just a tad before they opened that day. So for entertainment, the Green Army Men were stationed outside the gate. And I’ll never forget this one exchange that Sarge had with this one little boy:
Sarge: Son, do you have army men at home?
Boy: Yes.
Sarge: You got the brown ones or the green ones?
Boy: Green.
Sarge: That’s good; I made Andy give all the brown ones to Sid next door.
Sergeant and the Green Army Men were important throughout the Toy Story movies, mainly the first and the last. To start, they offer an immediately recognizable presence to this world of toys, something just about every kid could relate to. It also shows us how the toys’ demeanor is usually centered around what they’re made of. Despite being so small, they’re probably the most disciplined of all the toys in Andy’s room.
By Toy Story 3, they’re fully aware of how disposable they are; Sarge reasons that it’s better to escape than risk being thrown out. What’s also interesting is that the rest of the bucket has already been taken out of Andy’s room, and the three troops are all that remains. There’s theories that the bucket at Sunnyside is Andy’s (even if it isn’t, it still gives Sarge a place to call home). The video game shows that the bucket is in the attic, but if that was the case, then why didn’t Sarge just return to the rest of his troops?
I’m looking forward to seeing more about Sarge and his men; we haven’t seen too much of Sunnyside with the Toy Story shorts, and it would be easy for them to pay a visit to Bonnie’s room like Barbie and Ken.
that’s a funny story, and technically, it a real toy story… eh? get it? althojugh, it was sorta sad I TS3 though. sarge was the real person who did it all.
Prior to Toy Story 3, I always thought the army men undergo their own struggles with their place in Andy’s room. This point is revealed to be true when Sarge and the remaining troops leave before Andy comes back with the trash bags. Despite their stoic exterior, the army men also are aware that one day their owner will outgrow them.