Hey! He may not be a smart dog, but he knows what roadkill is!
I love Slinky, but then again I love all the characters so much. His southern, scratchy voice is awesome, and both Blake Clark and Jim Varney do fantastic jobs. His loyalty and dedication to Woody and his friends is so moving. And his slinky rings are probably about the most handy feature any of Andy’s toys have - other then Buzz’s superhero-ness. As Woody’s best friend, and being so positive and jolly, he’s definetly a toy to love.
And yeah, he always does have a huge role in the finales. He tried to pull Woody, Buzz and RC back to the moving van, he operated the brakes in the Pizza Planet truck, and he gave the idea for the toys to escape their first peril in the dump. And he lets them hop Andy’s roof at least twice! Though how the heck does he jump up there the second time, in the third film?
And it really moved me in the finale of 3, when he [spoil]was the first of the toys to join hands with the others besides Buzz and Jessie. Then he took hold of Woody, and you could see how terrified he was. And then, when Woody was saying goodbye to them at Andy’s house, it was so bittersweet to see Slinky’s face so loving and sweet, saying goodbye to his best friend.[/spoil] I just love Slinky and by extension all these characters that much.
Slinky is awesome, and so loving. And I LOVE his catchphrase, “golly bob howdy!” Such a shame he only said it once in Toy Story 3!
PixarMistress- I’m not saying he’s stupid- rather, that he sees things simply, in black and white. It’s because of that that he’s such a loyal character; whilst the others are questioning and being suspicious of Woody (for example) Slinky simply sees the toy who’s always been his friend and ally and doesn’t understand why everyone else is going against him. Sometimes a more straightforward and direct way of thinking can be an advantage, and Slinky’s a very good example of that. Mater is similar in that sense; sometimes you’ve got to get down to basics to understand things like true loyalty and friendship.
And does anyone know the origins of his catchphrase, ‘golly bob howdy’? I love the way he says it, but aside from it being a sort of exclamation I’m never sure exactly what it means.
Some how I’ve always thought that that specific phrase came from one of Jim Varney’s Ernest quotes. It seems very evocative of his improv style.
I love Slinky Dog just because he’s such an optimistic and laid back character. I don’t really see him as a direct thinker, as moreover a character who simply enjoys following orders. He’s a very endearing in his own right and one of my favorite quotas is when he’s saying to Mr Potato Head “If Woody says it’s alright, then darn it if it’s good enough for me!”
Plus, what other dog has a Forcefield built inside them?
Even though Slinky Dog is one of my favorite characters by far, this is something that’s always bugged me from the first Toy Story. Why did they even have Slinky, the undying and loyally faithful one, being cruelly stretched to the point of breaking his spring just for trying to help? What message is that for PIXAR to be sending us for trying to help others- don’t do it because you will fail and end up hurting yourself? Why couldn’t they just have him succeed? Having him fail wasn’t heroic, and it accomplished nothing to move the plot, apart from perhaps adding suspense to the rocket scene. Why was it here? What purpose did watching him get mutilated serve to move the story forward? Honestly, they could have done without it and the scene would still be the same.
Either that or it would have made more sense if someone like Mr. Potato Head ended up getting hurt instead of Slinky. Slinky was loyal until the end and he ended up becoming broken, while Mr. Potato Head’s actions bordered on being evil and got away scott free.
Mr. Potato Head wasn’t evil, he just let his jealously of Woody cloud his judgement. Plus, he didn’t know Woody was trying to save Buzz. In the end he assisted Slinky in helping Buzz and Woody back. He was horrified by the mistake he made
Plus, having slinky fail isn’t not-heroic, it shows that he tried and it adds to character. He’s a hero for trying.
I know, but I’m just a little disappointed that PIXAR couldn’t just let him win. I dunno, I guess my whole notion is that if they already planned that the rocket was going to be what brought the toys back to Andy, throwing in Slinky getting badly injured just seemed kind of cruel. I mean, there wasn’t a more selfless character in that film, so why shoot him in the back for trying to help?
Well, if Slinky had pulled them into the van, that would have been too easy. Then you wouldn’t have had the iconic scene of Woody and Buzz flying through the air and then having Andy realize where they were as soon as possible. Plus, Buzz needed to prove to Woody that he could fly.
I know, I know, that was arguably the best scene in the entire film too! Arrrrrgh!! Then I just wish Slinky had been able to help them some other way that didn’t involve him getting hurt, I just didn’t agree with their moral of having him fail.
I do remember in the Toy Story interactive storybook back in 1996 or something, that Slinky was successful in rescuing the toys. It didn’t have the same awesomeness as the rocket scene, but I just loved it because it ended with him being actually successful and heroic.
About Slinky Dog, he is my second favourite character in Toy Story after Woody. He was the voice of reason (well, along with Bo) in TS1 and was very helpful in 2 and 3. He is just “as loyal as any dog you could want”. And he understands Buster’s barking, that’s cool
Slinky Dog is the very first Pixar character I’ve ever loved.
Way back in 1995, when I was only 11 years old, I saw a poster of Slinky Dog at the movie theatre by my house and instantly feel in love with him on sight. Mostly becasue he was so darn cute.
He was the very first Toy Story character I bought at Toys’R’Us that year. I still have my Slinky from when I was little.
I love how in the first film he stayed loyal to Woody and always trusted Woddy wven when the othe toys turned against him. He embodies everything a dog should have…loyalty,affection, and friendship. Slinky Dog is the Best !!!
It broke my heart when Jim Varney passed away in 2000, but Blake Clark made a great Slinky too. You know what I mean ?
Awwww I thread dedicated to Slinnnkkk! This makes me so happy. And so happy to see others having the same reaction to the creation of the thread alone as I have. I adore Slinky and his relationship with Woody and his role in Andy’s room. I don’t have much else to say that no one else has but I have to say it improves my day to come on and read comments by fellow fans.
Besides the short legs, lack of articulation, and his hole in his head can anyone else point to the inconsistencies between the current Slinky Dog toy and the real Toy Story version? I’m trying to build my own and I’m trying to lay down some guidelines for myself.
First of all his ears are made of leather, not that cheap fabric the toy uses. His tail should be curled differently, more spread out. For articulation, his legs rotate, and there are joints in his feet. At the end of 3, his head is sort of a bobble head (watch closely when Andy gives him to Bonnie). He also doesn’t have any seems on him, but if you’re using wood that won’t matter.
Slinky Dog! He’s one of my favorite characters - so friendly and loyal. I love his redneck mannerisms and laid-back personality. His stretchy antics are always funny, whether his slink is being put to good use or getting him into trouble. Golly-bob-howdy, indeed!
