' The Redemption Of Bo Peep

Bo Peep, one of the few female characters in the Toy Story franchise, was little more than an afterthought in the first two films. But the latest entry, Toy Story 4,successfully revitalizes the character, imbuing real personality and some long-overdue agency into Bo.

Her dramatic upward trajectory didn’t just redeem an underutilized character, but sparked new life into the Toy Story franchise.

The first film depicts Bo as little more than Woody’s love interest; she plays the damsel in distress in Andy’s games, sparks Woody’s jealousy in her admiration of Buzz, and rewards Woody with kisses after his adventure. So far, so Princess Peach.

The second film, however, barely features Ms. Peep at all, the character passively choosing to stay home rather than join the rescue party and save Woody. Compared to Jessie’s crackling energy, Bo was a dullard, a stay-at-home sheepherder; it’s little wonder she was cut out of the third film entirely.

The official explanation for Bo’s lack of drive, featured in The Art of Toy Story 3, was that the character was made of porcelain and thus too fragile to adventure with the boys, lest she "shatter into a million pieces."

That doesn’t seem to have stopped Hamm the piggy bank, who is literally designed to be shattered, or Woody himself, who is technically a valuable antique, too old to be played with, let alone jumping out of car windows.

A better explanation for Bo’s withdrawal might relate to branding; for Bo was initially conceived as a Barbie doll, until Mattel refused Pixar the rights to the brand, which is why the character suddenly shifted to the public domain. After the massive success of the first film, Mattel had a dramatic change of heart (funny that), which is why Barbie cameos in the second film, and features prominently in the third.

Barbie’s introduction and Bo’s gradual erasure perfectly mirror each other, but her quiet disappearance sparked a fantastic storytelling opportunity for the fourth film, an organic continuation of a tale that seemed firmly wrapped up after the bittersweet finale ofToy Story 3.  

Amusingly enough, Toy Story 4 acknowledges Bo’s fragility while simultaneously dismissing it, Bo’s arm having snapped off during one of her many adventures, then casually taped back together.

Indeed, the redemption of Bo is handled superbly, with the character displaying zero tropey, on-the-nose “girl power” we see too often in blockbusters cynically marketing shallow-but-strong female characters as progressive (Marvel does this rather a lot).

Bo’s dramatic personality shift is explained by her backstory, which sees her become a victim of her passive nature, spending years collecting dust on the shelf of an antique store, before growing sick of her self-imposed stagnation and taking life into her own hands.

Bo’s journey also provides a great metaphor for the parents who find themselves drifting aimlessly, lacking purpose after their kids grow up, before reshaping their identity into an independent spirit.

Finally, Bo’s evolution shifts her from Woody’s cute girlfriend into something resembling a soulmate, with the two toys firmly addicted to adventure, choosing to spend the rest of their years enjoying a never-ending road trip.

Thankfully, Bo ended up being far more than a shapely piece of porcelain, emerging as Woody’s true other half, replacing Buzz Lightyear, whose personality (ironically) degraded as Bo’s emerged.

If there’s ever a Toy Story 5, perhaps Buzz and Jessie could go on a journey of their own.

Source: Forbes.com

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