#for the record this doesn’t really happen with villains or antagonists per se

[novelconcepts]

I’m always a sucker for when a character flaw is a direct foil to a character’s finest trait.

For example: if I see an actor (usually female or nonbinary, though not always), and they absolutely hit the first time out the gate, I will hyperfixate like a motherfucker and devour everything they’ve ever done! A fan for life! I’ll invent reasons to enjoy even their worst work! I’m a champion for this person’s art, goddammit!

But if the first time I saw an actor, he was playing an absolutely DOGSHIT dude—even though I am 5000% aware of and embrace the fact that an actor is Not their character—

Get that man out of my face. Never wanna see him again. Get him ouuuuutta here. I am begging.

[bewhoyouarebopeep]

Gabby Gabby, the best kind of twist villain

It’s generally acknowledged that Gabby Gabby was one of the highlights of TS4. She broke the mold created by TS2 and TS3 of having an irredeemably evil villain. And Gabby’s story dispensed with the narrative that a toy going unloved breaks something inside of them and makes them go dark. Which is a very welcome change. 

One thing that continues to impress me is the effectiveness of Gabby’s pivot. I think a large part of that was due to the vocal performance of Christina Hendricks, as well as the character design and animation. 

She had to both be creepy, and be a character that you could see providing comfort to a lost child. Other villains were easier - the Prospector’s entire issue was that he was an unappealing toy that kids didn’t want. Lotso, you give him smaller eyes and a smaller head so he looks a bit more adult and doesn’t set off people’s cute-sensors as much. Gabby is just generally appealing-looking. She has a baby face, warm colours, and an optimistic smile. So her creepiness ends up coming not from her per se, but from the dissonance between her appearance and her aims. I think the bit that really seals it in her first scene is when she’s staring at Woody pleasantly but fixedly, as Benson removes her voice box. It's unsettling, and very effective.

The other thing that makes her pivot work is that, not only is she given a sympathetic back story, but her motivations are revealed to be the same as Woody’s. And that’s also the other great thing about her as an antagonist, that for the first time in a Toy Story, the antagonist is a proper foil for the hero. She’s not just there to get in Woody’s way, she’s there to teach him something about himself.

Gabby and Woody share the same story. Unlike with the Prospector and Lotso, when it comes to kids and a toy’s purpose in life, Woody and Gabby share the same values. Moreover, they’re both trying to deal with the fact that their lives are not as they “ought” to be. The way she watches Harmony play tea time is an explicit parallel to Woody watching Bonnie from the closet. They both fixate on this one thing - the voicebox, Forky - that they think will give their lives meaning, but ultimately doesn’t. 

What bothered me about TS1 and TS2 is that the character growth happened through very straight forward discussions. There’s a big talk, one character thinks for a bit, and they have a change of heart. By having Woody watch Gabby, see how futile her attachment to Harmony is, tell her that  “there’s plenty of kids out there” and she can’t spend the rest of her life waiting, you see him internalize what Bo’s been saying in a way that’s far more effective and impactful, and makes more sense with his character development. It’s a classic example of showing, not telling. Her fixation on Harmony to the exclusion of all other kids is destructive and ultimately self-defeating, and the difference between that and Woody and Bonnie is a matter of degrees, not substance.

One smaller thing that I appreciated is that when Gabby tries to get Harmony’s attention, her recorded phrase is “I love you!” She’s predetermined what their relationship will be, is expecting to be accepted, and then crushed when things don’t go according to plan. When the lost girl finds her, she says, “Will you be my friend?” It’s more cautious, more balanced, and healthier.

Finally, I wanted to share this one bit from the Art of Toy Story 4 book, that shows the deliberate colour contrast and coordination between Gabby, Harmony and the lost girl, which I thought was quite cool.