Wikipedia

Jessie (Toy Story)

Jessie is a fictional cowgirl rag doll in the Disney–Pixar Toy Story franchise. She first appeared in Toy Story 2. She is voiced by Joan Cusack in the Toy Story filmography, while Sarah McLachlan is her singing voice in Toy Story 2. Kat Cressida also voiced the character in the Disney Infinity series.

Jessie
Toy Story character
First appearanceToy Story 2 (1999)
Created by
Voiced by
In-universe information
SpeciesToy (Rag doll)
Title
Cowgirl
Sheriff
Significant otherBuzz Lightyear

Jessie is a brave and excitable rag doll who is abandoned by her owner after she outgrew her. Years of being in storage leads her to develop claustrophobia and abandonment issues. She is eventually rescued by Woody and finds a new owner in Andy Davis. Years later, she and most of her friends are donated to Bonnie Anderson, who claims Jessie as her new favorite toy. With Woody's departure after reuniting with Bo Peep, she is given his sheriff badge as a token of her significance to Bonnie.

The idea for Jessie was suggested by Nancy Lasseter, while John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Ash Brannon, and Andrew Stanton developed and created the character. Jessie has received a positive critical reception since her debut, with praise for her significance to the franchise, personality, and Joan Cusack's vocal performance.

Development

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Concept artwork of Jessie's original design for Toy Story 2

The story concept for Toy Story 2 began with director John Lasseter considering what scenario would be most upsetting for a toy. He decided that the idea of a toy collector who seals toys in cases ensuring that they will never to be played with was worse than being replaced by another toy. He took inspiration from a toy collector character that appeared in an early draft of Toy Story but was removed. The concept involved series protagonist Woody being part of a collectible set, an idea that originated in a draft story titled A Tin Toy Christmas. Ralph Guggenheim, a producer on Toy Story 2, said that the team took inspiration from 1950s children's cowboy television series, including Howdy Doody and Hopalong Cassidy, to define the rest of the characters in Woody's set: "You would find a gruff old prospector. You would find other characters, like an Annie Oakley-Calamity Jane sort of character, a tough frontier girl." Lasseter's wife Nancy also encouraged him to include a female character that would appeal to girls and to make her a more substantial character than Bo Peep. Jessie was originally created as a character named Señorita Cactus, designed as a Mexican sidekick of the prospector character to entice Woody with her feminine charms. By the time she had been redefined as Jessie, her personality was also updated to be tougher.[2]

The Pixar team knew that a key aspect of the plot was to find a reason for Woody to leave Andy's room, so they wanted to create a compelling character to engage with Woody emotionally. Chief creative officer Pete Docter said that the team knew that Woody could not be convinced to leave through logic and reason so they decided that it needed to centre on a relationship: "Jessie brought this sense of responsibility and duty". Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley said that Jessie was created to support Woody and show him a new perspective and as she evolved she continued to support him.[3] Lasseter said that the team worked hard on making Jessie a strong female character. He explained that after being abandoned by her owner, Jessie believes that her only opportunity to be loved by children again is in a museum, which requires a Woody doll: "her whole love of children is hinged around the fact that Woody got there". He said that several attempts were made to create the scene in which Jessie tells her backstory but when this failed to work, they found that it was better expressed through the song "When She Loved Me", written by Randy Newman and performed by Sarah McLachlan.[4]

 
Joan Cusack (in 2010) signing a replica rag doll of Jessie

Joan Cusack was cast as the voice actor for Jessie in Toy Story 2 and voiced the role in the third and fourth Toy Story feature films.[5] Lasseter was a fan of McLachlan, so she took on the singing part of the role. Newman said that she had the ability to hold long notes, so he wrote Jessie's song with her voice in mind. He was tasked by the Pixar team to write a song that would explain Jessie's relationship with her owner and her sadness when the girl grew up.[6]

Characteristics

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Jessie is a red-haired, energetic, yodeling cowgirl doll. She is a part of a collectible toy set based on a 1950's cowboy puppet television series named "Woody's Roundup", which consists of Sheriff Woody, Jessie, a prospector named Stinky Pete and Woody's steed Bullseye. This valuable toy collection is destined to be sold to a museum in Tokyo by a collector named Al McWhiggin. Despite having a lively spirit, Jessie has a tragic history. The song "When She Loved Me" reveals that she once had an owner who loved her until the girl eventually abandoned her. This loss leaves Jessie in a depressed state with a deep longing to be loved and played with once more. In addition, her experience of being placed in storage as a collectible toy results in her being severely claustrophobic. Production designer Bob Pauley described Jessie as "superfun and energetic and a nice complement to Woody". He said that she was designed by Jill Culton, who found her hair particularly difficult, but Jessie was later upgraded.[3] Cusack described her as a "can-do girl".[7] After making friends with Woody and the other toys, Jessie's outgoing personality returns and she develops a romantic attachment to Buzz Lightyear.[8]

Appearances

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Main article: Toy Story (franchise)

Toy Story films

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Toy Story 2

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Main article: Toy Story 2

When Woody is stolen by Al McWhiggin, he meets Jessie, Bullseye and Stinky Pete at Al's apartment. Woody learns that he is a rare vintage doll based on a character of the same name from a popular 1950s series titled Woody's Roundup. Upon discovering that he and the others will be sold to a toy museum in Tokyo, Woody tells them that he must get back home to his owner, which causes Jessie to become enraged due to her fear of being kept in storage. After his arm is torn off, Woody has no choice but to stay and get it fixed, while blaming Jessie for waking Al that night. Woody later has a change of heart after hearing of Jessie's traumatic past (by way of her song "When She Loved Me"), when she was loved by a girl named Emily, but was abandoned on the side of the road. As a result, Woody decides to stay with his roundup gang. A group of Andy's toys show up to rescue Woody, but he refuses. He eventually decides to go back to his owner and asks Jessie and Bullseye to come with him, but Stinky Pete will not let them leave and the group is taken to the airport. Woody and Bullseye escape, but Jessie is taken to the airplane. With the help of Bullseye and Buzz Lightyear, Woody rescues her from the airplane. Once Andy arrives home, he accepts them into his collection, dubbing her as "Bazooka Jane."

Toy Story 3

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Main article: Toy Story 3

After Andy appears to throw his toys away, Jessie convinces the other toys to find a new hime at Sunnyside Daycare, refusing to relive the trauma she felt when she was given away by Emily. She tries to persuade Woody to join the others at the daycare, but he leaves to return to Andy alone. Jessie and the other toys discover that they have been placed in a room with very young children who play with them too roughly. Mrs. Potato Head sees Andy searching for his missing toys through her missing eye, causing Jessie and the others to realize that they were wrong about him. They decide to return home, only for Lotso to order his henchmen to imprison them with the help of a reset Buzz. Following another rough play date with the young children, Andy's toys are reunited with Woody, who has a change of heart and decides to rescue his friends. The toys carry out their plan to break out of Sunnyside but accidentally reset Buzz to a Spanish mode. Spanish Buzz makes his love for Jessie apparent by passionately wooing her. Jessie is initially uncomfortable with this drastic change, but grows to like this romantic side of Buzz. When the toys get stuck in a garbage truck along with Lotso, Jessie is rescued by Spanish Buzz, who appears to be crushed by a broken television set. She despairs over his apparent death, but hugs him in relief to find him unharmed. After the toys are nearly killed in a trash incinerator, Andy's Alien toys rescue them using a crane. They return home to Andy and prepare to be stored in the attic, but are instead given to a girl named Bonnie and Jessie quickly adapts to her new life as one of Bonnie's toys.

Toy Story 4

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Main article: Toy Story 4

During the prologue, set between the events of Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, Jessie helps Woody, Bo Peep, and the other toys save RC from the storm. Jessie is now Bonnie's favorite toy and she wears Woody's badge as a result. After Bonnie creates Forky, her parents decide to go on a road trip, taking several of her toys with her. Forky escapes and Woody follows him. The following morning, Buzz takes it upon himself to find Woody, resulting in Jessie becoming the temporary leader. Bonnie's parents begin to leave, but Jessie is able to stop them by popping the RV tires. At night, Jessie comes up with an idea to slow down Bonnie's parents and to meet up with Woody, Buzz, and Forky. Once the vehicle is parked in front of the carousel, Jessie and the other toys reunite with Bo Peep. Woody, deciding not to go back home, gives Jessie his badge and they share a heartwarming farewell before he departs. The following year, Jessie introduces Karen Beverly to Bonnie's other toys, which gets the attention of Forky.

Other films

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Jessie was featured as a minor character in Toy Story That Time Forgot, a television special for ABC. In Toy Story of Terror!, Jessie appears as the main protagonist who developed PTSD via locked inside the dark bag and eventually confronts her.[9] In the Pixar Popcorn short, "To Fitness and Beyond", she appears stretching and jumping with the rest of the toys. Jessie also appears in all 3 shorts of the Toy Story Toons.

She makes several cameo appearances in other Disney films, including Monsters, Inc. as one of Boo's toys,[10] Meet the Robinsons on a basketball poster,[11] and as a cloud silhouette in Ralph Breaks the Internet.[citation needed]

Video games

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Jessie has been featured in numerous Disney and Pixar-related video games. She makes an appearance in Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue,[citation needed] and is featured as a playable character in Toy Story 3: The Video Game.[citation needed] She is also playable in Disney Infinity and Disney Infinity 3.0, voiced by Kat Cressida.[12] Additionally, a character skin for Jessie, after the release of Toy Story 4, became unlockable through in-app purchases in Minecraft in 2019.[13] In 2018, Jessie became an unlockable character for the mobile game Disney Heroes: Battle Mode.[14]

Theme parks and attractions

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In Toy Story Midway Mania!, Jessie and her friends are featured in the interactive dark ride at Disney California Adventure and Disney's Hollywood Studios.[citation needed] Woody and Jessie are featured in Big Thunder Ranch's outdoor stage and dining area, and Woody's Roundup Village's meet and greet area.[citation needed] They can also be found in the Splash Mountain courtyard in Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom.[citation needed] Woody and Jessie are featured in the North America Room of It's a Small World.[citation needed] In 2019, Jessie's Critter Carousel opened at Disney California Adventure.[citation needed] In 2022, Jessie's Trading Post Store and Roundup Rodeo Barbecue Opening in Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios.[15]

Merchandise

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Disney heavily promoted Jessie following the release of Toy Story 2, as she was a character that they could market to girls, something the original film did not really provide. Among the toys released were 10" and 12" fashion-style dolls, plush and rag doll-type dolls, and action figures in the Toy Story 2 and Toy Story and Beyond lines. Other merchandise included wallets, purses and other accessories for girls, nightlights and other bedroom accessories, costumes and dress-up sets, and sculptures and collectibles. Following the film's release, many stores were sold out of Jessie dolls.[16] During the 1999 Christmas season, the Atlanta journal reported dolls being sold for three-times their retail price on eBay.[17]

Reception and legacy

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Jessie has received a largely positive reception. In a review of Toy Story 2, Roger Ebert described Jessie as "spunky" and "liberated", commenting that "she brings new life to the cast by confronting the others for the first time with a female character who's a little less domestic than Mrs. Potato Head".[18] Tim Luisi cited Jessie as a turning point in the Toy Story franchise's gendered representations of support and described her as the franchise's first female character who was as important as the male characters.[19] Jessie has been described as a "strong, independent and assertive female character",[20][21] though Lilian Munk Rösing described this strength as "boyish" and "manic".[22] Matthew Wilkinson of Screen Rant, ranking her as the best supporting character in Toy Story, stated, "Jessie really brought the girl power into the franchise in a big way."[23]

Rolling Stone ranked Jessie as the fifth best Pixar movie character, highlighting Cusack’s "bubbly, fragile performance" and noting that in her song "When She Loved Me", she epitomises the end of childhood.[24] Psychologists Alan M. Schwitzer and Lawrence C. Rubin described Jessie's arc in Toy Story 2 as "a poignant story of abandonment, loss, and reconnection."[25] Gwen Ihnat of The A.V. Club summarised Jessie's abandonment by her owner as "gut-wrenching" and a "sobfest", commenting that parents would especially feel the emotional impact of the loss of childhood innocence. She felt that the scene "elevated the movie from an adventurous romp...to a meditation on the losses associated with growing up".[26] Peter Bradshaw writing for The Guardian opined that Jessie's abandonment story is really about a parent's fear of their child growing up and becoming independent: "a part of you will wind up, like cowgirl Jessie, left under the child's bed, forgotten".[27]

Ian Goodwill of Comic Book Resources and Jerrica Tisdale of CinemaBlend said that Jessie is one of the Toy Story characters that needs an origin story spin-off.[28][29] Body+Souls writer Courtney Thompson said that Jessie was not the feminist hero she could have been stating, "Jessie, our one ray of hope in that she is explicitly adventurous, independent and funny, gets the sexist treatment by creating a romance storyline for her."[30] Conversely, her developing relationship with Buzz Lightyear received positive commentary from Sara Martin Alegre, who said that it could be considered a subversion of the dominant male romance trope built on "healthy and consensual feelings that Buzz and Jessie bear for one another".[31]

Cusack received praise for her voice work as Jessie. Marc Snetiker of Entertainment Weekly remarked on her "fizz-pop-crackle twang" and considered Jessie to be "one of the most fully realized and precisely layered characters on Pixar’s roster".[32] She also won the category for Female Voice Acting in a Feature Production at the 2000 Annie Awards for her voice work as Jessie in Toy Story 2.[33] Jessie also received the Patsy Montana Entertainer Award from the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.[34][35]

Jessie is the namesake of version 8 of the Debian operating system, with other releases also named after characters from the Toy Story films.[36]

References

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  1. ^ Plantenga, Bart (2013). Yodel in Hi-Fi: From Kitsch Folk to Contemporary Electronica. Plantenga. ISBN 9780786486946.
  2. ^ Price, David (2008). The Pixar Touch. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-26575-3.
  3. ^ a b Entertainment Weekly The Ultimate Guide to Toy Story. Entertainment Weekly. 2019-06-21. pp. 38–40.
  4. ^ "John Lasseter (II)". The Guardian. 2001-11-19. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  5. ^ Rosenberg, Lily (2019-06-23). "'Toy Story 4': Meet the Voices Behind Each Animated Performer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  6. ^ Adams, Sam (2021-01-26). "Set List: Randy Newman". The A. V. Club. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  7. ^ Pearlman, Cindy (2010-06-16). "She's a real can-do girl; Joan Cusack reprises her role as the voice of Jessie in Toy Story 3". Edmonton Journal. pp. D4. ProQuest 503772394. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  8. ^ Caballero, David; Amber, Ashley (2022-08-24). "15 Strongest Female Characters From Pixar Films, Ranked". Collider. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  9. ^ "Review: 'Toy Story Of Terror!' Is A Hauntingly Great Halloween Special". IndieWire. 2013-10-14. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  10. ^ Toy Story 2 Archived 2008-03-30 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Chand, Neeraj (2020-03-30). "Meet The Robinsons: 10 Hidden Details About The Characters". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  12. ^ Pimentel, Joseph (October 27, 2015). "One of Disneyland's many voices has an ear for magic". Orange County Register. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  13. ^ "Toy Story Mash-Up". YouTube. June 26, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  14. ^ "Update 0.4 Notes". Disney Heroes: Battle Mode. May 7, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  15. ^ "BREAKING: Jessie's Trading Post Store and Roundup Rodeo Barbecue Opening in Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios in 2022". 19 January 2022.
  16. ^ Hevrdejs, Judy (1999-12-10). "'Toy' Goof 2". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest 418927243. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  17. ^ Murray, Sonia (1999-12-23). "Kids will be singing cowgirl blues". The Atlanta Journal – via Factiva.
  18. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Toy Story 2 movie review & film summary (1999) | Roger Ebert". Rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  19. ^ Luisi, Tim (2018-09-12). "Toys will be toys: gendered interaction frames in the Toy Story trilogy". Journal of Children and Media. 13 (1): 20–35. doi:10.1080/17482798.2018.1513852. ISSN 1748-2798. S2CID 149991685.
  20. ^ López Alcázar, Naiara (2021). "Toy Story 4 (2019): There is a New Sheriff in Town, and She is Female". In Martín Alegre, Sara (ed.). Gender in the 21st Century Animated Children's Cinema (PDF). Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona. p. 115.
  21. ^ Low, Bronwen (2007). "Junior Chick Flicks". In Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline; Mitchell, Claudia (eds.). Girl Culture: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing. p. 374. ISBN 9780313084447.
  22. ^ Rösing, Lilian Munk (2016). "The Hysteric' s Guide to Pixar: On Voice and Gaze in Toy Story 1-2". International Journal of Žižek Studies. 5 (4): 14. ISSN 1751-8229.
  23. ^ Wilkinson, Matthew (November 23, 2019). "Toy Story: The 10 Best Supporting Characters From The Disney Franchise". Screen Rant. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  24. ^ "25 Best Pixar Movie Characters". Rolling Stone. 18 November 2020.
  25. ^ Schwitzer, Alan M.; Rubin, Lawrence C. (2012). Diagnosis and Treatment Planning Skills for Mental Health Professionals. SAGE Publishing. p. 282. ISBN 978-1-4129-8882-7.
  26. ^ Ihnat, Gwen (2020-05-27). "Pixar's first big tearjerker arrived in the middle of Toy Story 2". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  27. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (2010-01-21). "Toy Story 2 is completely different to me now that I am a father". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  28. ^ Goodwill, Ian (November 20, 2021). "Lightyear: 10 More Toy Story Characters That Deserve A "Fictional" Origin Story". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  29. ^ Tisdale, Jerrica (March 4, 2021). "7 Toy Story Characters We Like To See Get Their Own Spin-Off Movie After Buzz Lightyear". CinemaBlend. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  30. ^ Thompson, Courtney (November 13, 2018). "Jessie From 'Toy Story' Isn't A Feminist Hero – But She Should Be". Body+Soul. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  31. ^ Guallar Comas, Maria (2021). "Toy Story 3 (2010): A Genderless Inheritance". In Martín Alegre, Sara (ed.). Gender in the 21st Century Animated Children's Cinema (PDF). Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona. p. 111.
  32. ^ "The 10 Greatest Pixar Voice Performances". EW.com. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  33. ^ "28th Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners". Annie Awards. Archived from the original on April 24, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  34. ^ Cowgirl Hall of Fame – Special Awards Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  35. ^ Beck, Jerry (2005). The Animated Movie Guide. Chicago Review Press. p. 288. ISBN 1-55652-591-5.
  36. ^ Gilbertson, Scott (May 1, 2015). "Debian 8: Linux's most reliable distro makes its biggest change since 1993". Ars Technica. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
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