Category: Toy Story

GABBY GABBY, FOUR

She’s similar to Lotso: a kind of mafia don ruling a little fiefdom. She reverses, though, and becomes Woody’s friend with a happy ending, rather than a backstabbing enemy tied to the grill of a garbage truck. I don’t like the choice, lol. As a viewer it’s hard to switch from fear to empathy. And the one thing she does to Woody, even though he ends up a willing participant, is arguably too disturbing for a children’s movie. She’s creepy, and I can’t get past that.

So, does her character stay true to its Enneagram through these changes?

Unlike Lotso, Gabby’s motivation is quite clear: “I want to love a child and be loved in return.” She’s consistent. In order to achieve this she’ll do anything, from psychological manipulation to violence.

She’s not physical. At best we see her walk in that stiff-legged doll waddle. She’s done a lot of planning and thinking. In order to get to point D, a child’s love, she needs to accomplish A, B, and C. Is she a Head Type? Would a Heart Type need a storybook instruction manual in how to have a tea party?

Not a Seven. She’s too timid. She’s kind of sturdy for a Five or Six, though, and the series has always been good about an intuitive sense of body sizes. Also, a true Six would be more idiosyncratic. They might baffle or seem weird, but they’re not creepy. A Five wouldn’t be that ruthless; they’re too socially cautious to pull it off. 

Ah. She’s a Four, a Heart Type after all. It’s the self-interest, which sways with her whim. First she’s villainous, then she’s a teammate. A Four can hit all those points in one arc. The storybook isn’t a primer for her! It’s a mirror in which she can admire herself.

What the showrunners have missed, and what they got so right with Woody and Jessie, is the moment when a Four breaks your heart and you love them. Gabby is never lovable. A well-written Four is exasperating but also endearing. Their pain is on their sleeve. Whatever sympathy I have for her quest for a child is undercut by the memory of her glassy-eyed brutality toward Woody. This character needed another trip through the writer’s room in order to balance out her tone.

BO PEEP, EIGHT

This Bo acts plastic when she’s actually porcelain, and it drives me crazy, lol. In the first movie, the quality of her skin rendering is so lovely. In Toy Story 4, they’ve lost that translucent quality. And don’t get me started about how she throws herself about, even breaking an arm, as if she isn’t basically made of glass.

Before this, Bo doesn’t show enough character to read an Enneagram on her. Now that she’s living free we can figure her out.

She’s very physical, like an action hero doll. (Which is so wrong!) Brave, daring, hard-charging, she’s probably a Body Type, and most likely an Eight. Hollywood has a hard time writing any other number for strong women. She’s got her sheep and her little friend, McGiggles. (Oops, McDimples.) She knows everyone about the neighborhood, but they’re not in her core circle. This is definitely more Body than Head or Heart.

Really, there’s not much else to Bo. She’s a run-of-the-mill Woman Eight, the easiest trope to hit. Her porcelain delicacy is ignored. Her creation as a lamp ornament is disdained. Her inherent feminine fragility is tossed aside with her skirt. She’s just a badass who drives around in an RC skunk, subverting every one of our expectations and giving us nothing interesting in their stead.

Sorry, lol. I strongly disagree with these choices made for Bo. What kills me is that she had so much potential to be one of the great characters if the showrunners had embraced all the things that made her unique.

LOTSO, THREE

Like Prospector, Lotso is a villain because his toy life was thwarted. Remind me. He was accidentally left behind, right? And then replaced by the parents.

Ah, the cruelty of toy life. You’re one of a million versions of yourself, and yet you are supposed to be special and unique to your child. If you haven’t suffered enough wear and tear that identifies you, how will anybody know you’re their one of a kind? 

Lotso is truly mean. He lies to Big Baby in order to deny him a reunion and keep him from having what Lotso can’t have. He runs the daycare like a tyrant, including using new arrivals as fodder. He’s portrayed like a sweet-smelling mafia don. And he’s an accomplished liar.

Again, let’s pretend that the creators had some subconscious sense of the Enneagram physique. Lotso, therefore, can’t be a One, Four, Five, or Six. He’s too burly. I refuse to call him a Two. Prospector has cornered the market on that portrayal. He’s too sedentary to be an Eight or Nine. Three or Seven?

Three. The evil kind. That touch of envy, of not having the toy life he deserved, is the key.

Also, no Seven would ever sit still long enough to be named Lots-O’-Huggin’.

UPDATE 7/8/2021:

After watching this again, I really must complain about Lotso. He’s the downfall, the reason Toy Story 3 is not as great as the first two. What is Lotso’s motivation, what does he want? The Prospector is such a wonderful villain. He wants a family, he wants the love and camaraderie he was denied as a toy. Tokyo is that chance for him, and he fights for it.

Lotso, though, wants . . . power? Domination? He was lost, and then replaced. What emotion does that history motivate? Envy of toys who had owners for years, yes. A place from which he can never be abandoned again, yes. How does that all translate into his actions in the daycare, though? The first question any actor asks, and any writer needs to ask about a character, is: What do I/they want? The answer must be playable, and it must be a strong foundation for the plot. Woody and the gang are crystal clear, which is why this is still a very good movie. But it’s not great, and that failure lies with Lotso.

PROSPECTOR, TWO

Heart Type, hands down, one hundred percent! His speech at the end, the fact that no child wanted to buy or play with the Prospector doll, is just so perfect. It’s been eating him alive. Oh, the irony of being the sidekick toy that no one wants is magnificent.

Which number? If we give the creators credit for instinctually understanding Enneagram physiques (as we did with Woody), then he is no Four.

I’m totally cracking up. He’s a Two! It’s the pickaxe. He has accessories! Also, it’s quite heartbreaking that a doll with so much love to give, as a Two would, is ignored. His bitterness is justified. What a lovely choice.

SID, NULL

The human next-door neighbor, Sid, is Toy Story’s villain. What’s hilarious, is that in real life many of us were Sids. He’s admirable! Inventive, tool-handy, an outside-the-box thinker — it’s what we all want to be. And the story creators knew this! By looking from the toys’ perspective they make fun of themselves and their own childhood.

As the villain, what does Sid bring? Do we judge him by human standards or toy? Is he creative or cruel?

He likes to blow things up. When he blows things up he makes up a story as to why the toys go boom. Like Andy, he has an imaginative relationship with his toys. Again, in real life, Sid is an amazing kid. The undermined trope is just so wonderful. He could really be any Enneagram number.

To be fair, though, we have to consider him only as the villain. He enjoys mutilating. He terrorizes. Toys tremble in fear underneath his bed. He seeks out new and nice toys in order to abuse them.

Nope, it’s not working. I can’t pinpoint him. He’s too generic, in either role. He’s a collection of tropes without a specific character build. The same is true of Andy. They are the yin and yang of each other, and neither is given anything beyond a general archetype.

JESSIE, FOUR

She’s so emotional, so vulnerable with such a heart. Four?

You just love her, don’t you? Her passion for the Roundup Gang and her companions is endearing. Her enthusiasm for life outside of the packing box. Her love of Emily, although not remarkable for the world of toys, still can make you cry. That song!

As broken as she is, hurt by her abandonment, she’ll still jump in and hope. She’ll be part of the Gang, she’ll be part of Andy’s room, she’ll be in the daycare center. She’s so game!

When Woody rescues her in the airplane, she goes from lost and devastated to thrilled and enthusiastic so quickly. Her resilience! 

Pixar has created a three-dimensional Four, someone with the warts and the triumphs, and Jessie is given all the time to show the depth of her character. She is an example of the true breadth of this Enneagram number.

It’s also why she and Woody are not a romantic item. Two people of the same number will be more like siblings.

BUZZ LIGHTYEAR, ONE

He’s so helpful! He never tires, either. Patient. Remember when he’s taping back together his cardboard spaceship and the other toys help? And when he works with Etch-a-Sketch to discover the chicken man? Buzz is indefatigable.

He’s such a rule-follower that it takes half a movie for him to realize he’s not who he thinks.

Brave. Athletic. He sees himself as heroic and he behaves that way. Even after his ego has taken a hit, he still shines through as that wing-popping, save-the-day guy.

When he finally realizes he’s part of a team, he’s happy to be a team player. 

I keep coming up with an Enneagram One. Rules, obviously. Athleticism. That Energizer Bunny quality. He’s a leader. Once he understands the true mission — be Andy’s toy — he’s willing to co-lead. A One will share authority with someone who’s proven to be competent. When Buzz understands the entire Andy’s Room situation, he also realizes that Woody has done a good job. As long as business is conducted efficiently, a One will put aside any personal disagreements.

Also, don’t forget the flamenco dancing. I’m cracking up right now remembering all the great Buzz moments. Ones are funny. Part of the greatness of their humor is it bubbles up from their core. It’s honest. That’s definitely Buzz.

WOODY, FOUR

Envy. Woody’s envy of Buzz drives the first Toy Story. He can only be a Heart Type.

Woody’s a great leader. He’s got the whole room organized. The recon soldiers and the walkie talkies, the moving buddies, the meetings — this is a smooth-running team. A lot of this is due to writers and creators wanting to showcase toys from their youth. The movie is fun! It works, though, because Woody’s character traits are so integrated into the gimmick.

Is he a Three? He’s so beloved, in Andy’s room but also as a collectible. The cowboy doll is a cool toy. What happens when all the success and ease of a Three’s world is upended by chance? Buzz wishes him no harm and is not the villain. He’s just a random event that wrecks Woody’s comfort.

I want to say, though, that Woody’s a Four. His emotional intensity, his dependence on the love from the room, his connection to Andy. His battle with Sid seems particularly Four-ish. He’s able to gain the sympathy of Sid’s toys, even when Andy’s toys have rejected him. The journey through emotion Woody makes seems like a Four path.

Also, and this is funny, Woody moves like a Four. He’s tall, gangly, with long arms and legs. Remember his run? Doesn’t it make you laugh when you imagine him as a Four? Woody was drawn/modeled by people who knew his character. This isn’t just a process of casting an actor who may or may not match the Enneagram of their role. Something made the creators design a Woody that fits certain physical parameters. I like this mysterious sense of synergy!