So why doesn't Woody carry a gun?
- Thread starter micdavis
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In the real world, yes.
But I think the correct answer is........ Disney.
Harder to sell dolls and dress up kits to 3-9 year olds with a gun involved.
But I think the correct answer is........ Disney.
Harder to sell dolls and dress up kits to 3-9 year olds with a gun involved.
I agree. People have fits when they see kids with toy guns, people still want to ban GI joe for it and it's why there hasn't been a Megatron with a realistic gun form since the 80s. Plus the costume guns would have to fall under the US toy gun laws. And you don't see many guns in disney films anymore since the 70s or so. I lost respect for Spielberg for doing all those changes to ET.
Just go to any toy store like TRU. Witness the lack of an actual toy gun aisle. We had an entire aisle full of guns that would potentially make cops shoot you because they looked real. That was in the 80s. Apparently every kid who grew up playing with toy guns prior to the late 90's is now a homicidal killer. :rolleyes
CTF
Sr Member
I thought they stopped that 'cause it was so ****ing stupid.
Even as a kid, I thought turning into a giant pistol was just plain stupid.
Larry Young
Master Member
You can put an eye out with that thing.
True. Walmart has a few as does a locally owned place but if you want toy guns you have to go to the dollar stores. Well look they had to make the light gun for the nintendo orange and gray. Well with the G1 megatron it was them reusing a mold they had just like the rest of the line. Anyhow I think Disney could have gotten away with it being a cap gun if they'd wanted to for Woody but i think they decided to be sure they didn't get complaints.
it's just like Lucky Luke , the old version he always had a cigarette , and the new version had a piece of grass ... cauz smoking is prohibited for children 
JMChladek
Sr Member
You guys kind of are missing out on the time period that Woody's character embodies, a 1950s Saturday Morning cartoon of sorts. The Woody episode shown in TS2 seemed to play out a bit like some of the live action cowboy shows of the 50s that aired in the morning as opposed to prime time (at least the ones that had a family of sorts). So in shows like Sky King, while the protagonist there was a cowboy rancher who flew an airplane, I don't recall him ever pulling a gun on anybody. Roy Rogers on his 50s TV show was about the same way. When one got to cowboy shows in prime time, then the guns came out more (not sure when Lone Ranger was on though). Zorro opted out of using a gun and did his thing with a whip instead. The protagonists in the family shows typically never used guns as they wanted to show they were smarter than that. It also in a sense was competing with the Superman ethics on TV that were brought about by the 1950s Superman TV show as well (of course, Superman didn't need a gun, but he never tried to kill anyone either, instead usually just letting the villains do themselves in as they tried to attack him).
Plus, the "original" Woody was a marionette, sort of in throwback to Howdy Doody and Doody never had a gun either. By the 1960s, Gerry Anderson was working with such puppets and showed how VERY difficult it was to put a gun or any other prop in their hands. If Woody had a pistol, it would have really looked a bit awkward for the type of floppy puppet doll he was. They had plenty of guns with other characters as Buzz had his laser in the arm and the green army men had their plastic army rifles molded to them and both toys related to them had the guns in them for all to see. Heck, TS1 blew up a Combat Carl, which was apparently because GI Joe wasn't available from Hasbro for the nasty deed. Even with the name change, people knew exactly what it was and it had a gun as I can recall.
So you may ask why Woody has no gun. But to me, in the way he was portrayed, he didn't really need a gun and until it was mentioned, I don't recall even noticing he had no guns.
Plus, the "original" Woody was a marionette, sort of in throwback to Howdy Doody and Doody never had a gun either. By the 1960s, Gerry Anderson was working with such puppets and showed how VERY difficult it was to put a gun or any other prop in their hands. If Woody had a pistol, it would have really looked a bit awkward for the type of floppy puppet doll he was. They had plenty of guns with other characters as Buzz had his laser in the arm and the green army men had their plastic army rifles molded to them and both toys related to them had the guns in them for all to see. Heck, TS1 blew up a Combat Carl, which was apparently because GI Joe wasn't available from Hasbro for the nasty deed. Even with the name change, people knew exactly what it was and it had a gun as I can recall.
So you may ask why Woody has no gun. But to me, in the way he was portrayed, he didn't really need a gun and until it was mentioned, I don't recall even noticing he had no guns.
it's just like Lucky Luke , the old version he always had a cigarette , and the new version had a piece of grass ... cauz smoking is prohibited for children
Well, I do wonder who here knows the Cowboy that draws quicker than his own shadow :lol And of course his trusty steed Jolly Jumper
I had to check it, but yes, Woody´s holster is empty :unsure But if he had a gun, he´d probably only shoot with blanks, right?
Lutso
Sr Member
Do NOT get me started on the E.T. flashlight ordeal. That has to be one of the most ridiculous things in movie history.
I never thought it strange that Woody was lacking a gun - there's a few reasons that I would imagine are the case. JMChladek brought up a valid point that Woody falls into a certain category of mid-century characters who rarely actually used guns.
I also imagine that it would have worked against the character in the film. The gun would likely serve no real purpose, so it would only be something that could become lost or serve as a distraction, and it also could run the risk of making the character too busy-looking.
I think the character designers likely threw the holster onto Woody to distinguish his as being a cowboy and not some sort of other character. I would have made the gun and holster a one-piece ordeal, but that's just me. They probably liked the simplicity - look at the rest of his design and an empty gun holster does not seem that out of place.
I sincerely doubt that it was "for the children's sake" exclusively, as the film had many mature themes, and I think a plastic gun would have been the mildest of those.
I may also point out that the film the Incredibles was loaded with guns and many other elements of violence, so if we are going to criticize Pixar's being oversensitive let us not leave that film out of the equation.
I never thought it strange that Woody was lacking a gun - there's a few reasons that I would imagine are the case. JMChladek brought up a valid point that Woody falls into a certain category of mid-century characters who rarely actually used guns.
I also imagine that it would have worked against the character in the film. The gun would likely serve no real purpose, so it would only be something that could become lost or serve as a distraction, and it also could run the risk of making the character too busy-looking.
I think the character designers likely threw the holster onto Woody to distinguish his as being a cowboy and not some sort of other character. I would have made the gun and holster a one-piece ordeal, but that's just me. They probably liked the simplicity - look at the rest of his design and an empty gun holster does not seem that out of place.
I sincerely doubt that it was "for the children's sake" exclusively, as the film had many mature themes, and I think a plastic gun would have been the mildest of those.
I may also point out that the film the Incredibles was loaded with guns and many other elements of violence, so if we are going to criticize Pixar's being oversensitive let us not leave that film out of the equation.
skippster86
Member
Remember sid actually used the holster to put a match in? Its not like they totally ignored it.
OldKen
Master Member
It turned into a "small" gun a person could hold... which is... kinda more dumb? :lol
I'm actually suprised they can still sell GIJOE figs with guns still... I guess they have to get kids interested in the millitary? Instill in them early that if they want to have fun with guns, they have to join up! :angel
binkleywalker
Sr Member
Just happened to watch Toy Story tonight. At the begining, they have a green gun taped to one of the toys hands and another time Woody 'draws' against the Etch-a-Sketch and the Etch draws a gun and 'shoots' Woody.
And yeah, the little green men do have guns and they are shown to use them in a slightly threatining manner.
So who knows...
Brian
And yeah, the little green men do have guns and they are shown to use them in a slightly threatining manner.
So who knows...
Brian
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