Overview |
Toy story 2 | Adventure, comedy animation film | John Lasseter
|
Theme and Quotations
'Toy Story 2' by John Lasseter conveys the theme of belonging through the main character, Woody. In the film, Woody is snatched away from Andy by the greedy toy collector 'Al McWiggen'. He is then to be sold and put away on display at the Konishi Toy Museum in Toyko, Japan. After he finds out that he is being sold, he repeatedly says "No" (29:04). Woody states that he can not go to Japan because he has to come back home to his owner Andy. This implies that his sense of belonging has not wavered as he states that he needs to come home to where he belongs, in Andy's bedroom. 'No. No, no, no, no, no, no. I can't go to Japan' 'What do you mean?' 'I gotta get back home to my owner Andy.' (29:04-29:11).
Film Deconstruction
Link to the concept
John Lasseter's film 'Toy Story 2' informs the audience about the concept of belonging in many parts of the film. It is a film that explains how vital belonging is. John Lasseter's film conveys a variety of effective techniques to portray meaning in the film. He does this effectively with the use of diegetic sound. Diegetic sound has successfully been used to show that Woody did not fully understand the concept of belonging. The song 'You Got a Friend in Me' by Randy Newman (1:06:55) is played after Woody rejects his friends offer to come back home to Andy. He ultimately decides to go to Japan to be displayed in a museum with the 'Roundup Gang'. The technique, diegetic sound, has been provided in the film to convey the meaning to Woody that he belongs to his family and friends and not in a museum. A smart technique that is utilised in John Lasseter's film is visual imagery. This technique was used to show how the word 'Andy' on Woody's shoe gave him a sense of belonging and identity. The act of scratching the paint off of his shoe gave back his sense of belonging. It was the moment of realisation, the moment where Woody fully understood that he belonged to Andy, as a toy. An additional powerful technique that is provided within John Lasseter's film is symbolism. The rip on Woody's shoulder is symbolism of belonging and of not belonging (9:30 and 1:16:20). At the beginning of the film, Woody's first rip was from Andy. He was then placed on the shelf and felt as if he did not belong to Andy. Woody was taken by Al from Andy and was later repaired when he was at his apartment. This was when he found his 'new' sense of belonging. The second rip was due to 'The Prospector' at the near end of the film. This rip occurred because 'The Prospector' tries to force Woody against his own will to belong to the museum in Japan with the other members of the 'Roundup Gang'. ‘Toy Story 2’ conveys the concept of belonging at the end of the film where Woody’s arm is repaired once more by his family, telling the audience that Woody’s sense of belonging is back.