*SPOILER* Sarge and the Troops

Pixar's Feature Films Toy Story / Lightyear
#1

So, for those who’ve seen the movie… Sarge and only two other Army Men remain after the ten years since Toy Story 2. They leave on their own to go find a new home. At films end, they settle into Sunnyside, presumably recognizing Barbie, and “serving” directly under Barbie and Ken.

A few things to discuss about the Army Men in the film.

  1. [spoil]Probably the real reason the Army Men left is for their own safety. Just like one said, “When the trash bags come out, we Army guys are the first to go.” It’s true - over the years Andy, as he grew up and through clean-ups and yard sales, he just grabbed random handfuls of Army Men and threw them out.[/spoil]

  2. [spoil]Why didn’t the Army Men, even with the danger of being thrown away, accompany Woody and the others?[/spoil] They would’ve had bigger roles than in the previous films, maybe as big as the Aliens and Bullseye. They definetly could’ve come in handy in some parts at Sunnyside.

  3. An idea of how the Army Men could fit into a scene of the film: I can imagine once [spoiler]Lotso leaves the toys in the Caterpillar room,[/spoiler’] Sarge goes, “We’ll go establish recon and communicate with the natives,” but finds out about the abusive toddlers too late, and hide out until the day is done.

  4. [spoil]Going AWOL on Andy’s toys[/spoil] doesn’t really cast Sarge in a good light. If he’s been commander in chief of the army men all these years, he’s obviously got the military code of honor. Bailing out almost makes Sarge look cowardly… but I of course can’t hate him, as he’s just trying to protect his remaining troops… after all… staying is [spoil]what felled the entire Army apparently. [/spoil] Surely, Sarge doesn’t take to those memories too likely.

  5. [spoil] With Woody keeping contact with Sunnyside through letters in Bonnie’s backpack by film’s credits[/spoil], Sarge and his last two men could definetly return to Woody, once the letter exchange started.[/spoil]

#2

I could definetly see them playing parts in sunnyside, and probably having lots of comedic moments also. Although,[spoil] Being as small as they are, they wouldn’t last a second throughout all the “trashy” scenes…[/spoil]

#3

[spoiler]Segeant and the Paratroopers were the most important, so that’s most likely why they stayed behind while the rest of the bucket was given away (most likely to Sunnyside). Once Andy fully cleans out his room, however, he’d definately notice them, and would possibly throw them out, since they’re only plastic army men.
They didn’t go with Woody and Buzz for that exact reason.
At Sunnyside, at least there’s a Bucket O’ Soldiers already there (possibly Andy’s), so they’ll definately have a place to fit in.

I would definately like to see what kinds of missions they’d run.[/spoiler] Hopefully Toy Story Toons can fill us in.

#4

About a year ago I commented on how I thought it was funny how Sarge always said in the original film “A good soldier never leaves a man behind!”, yet when he goes out the window in Toy Story 3 he’s almost doing that to Woody and the others, even though he wished them good luck. I actually find that now to be a theme throughout all the movies, and the slogan for the 3rd film makes it especially clear.

[spoil]I’m also one of those speculating on if that Bucket O’ Soldiers is the same one as Andy’s and if they had coincidentally donated it to Sunnyside, because that would mean that Sarge would actually end up being reunited with his troops. I would have really liked to see that kind of twist happen in the end credits.[/spoil]

#5

Currently, the evidence that stands for it being Andy’s is that there’s also an idential LEGO house to what Andy had. Though they both are mass-produced items, what’s the chances they’d both end up in the same place? And most of Andy’s other toys that are gone weren’t there, but they gave the notion that the toys were sold gradually. These must’ve been what wa left over from a garage sale or something.