| “ |
What would you say I get someone else to watch the sheep tonight? |
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| —Toy Story | ||
"Little" Bo Peep is a supporting character in the Toy Story franchise and the deuteragonist of the fourth film. She is a porcelain shepherdess figurine and Sheriff Woody's girlfriend in the films. Bo Peep and her sheep were originally adornments of Molly Davis' bedside lamp.
Background[]
She is inspired by the character of the classic children's nursery rhyme Little Bo-Peep. Bo is sometimes considered to be "Andy's toy" because Andy likes to make her the damsel in distress of his plays. Bo is the romantic interest (later girlfriend) of Woody, providing a calm and loving comfort whenever he is overwhelmed. She is noted for using her shepherdess crook to hook her cowboy and bring him closer in a romantic way. In private, she is a great deal more daring with her words and actions, which Woody seems to be quite fond of. In Toy Story 4, her origins are slightly explained by Woody to Giggle McDimples. She and her sheep were bought along with the lamp not too long after Molly was born, due to the baby being scared of the dark, which "broke every toy's heart", according to Woody. The lamp comforted Molly and she would often have her hand lay on Bo's feet.
Development[]
Originally, Woody's girlfriend in the first Toy Story was supposed to be a Barbie doll instead of Bo Peep, but Mattel refused to license the character to Disney. However, after the success of Toy Story (and boost in sales for Mr. Potato Head and other featured toys), Mattel gave Disney permission to have Barbie dolls in Toy Story 2, 3, and 4.
In the infamous Black Friday reel, Bo was actually the first to accuse Woody of deliberately throwing Buzz out of the window, and also participates in having Woody being thrown off the bed (and later, thanks to Slinky, out of the window). She might have felt terrible for her actions after they found out that Woody was gone. In addition, she sounded slightly different in this version, sporting a Southern Belle accent provided by Kath Soucie.
Bo Peep's shrinking role in the series after the first film is explained in The Art of Toy Story 3. Bo Peep was among the main cast of the first film as a voice of female reason and was not Andy's toy, but part of a porcelain lamp in Molly's bedroom. When traveling with the main characters, Bo could easily "shatter into a million pieces" whilst doing dangerous stunts. Due to being unable to find a believable spot in the story, Bo Peep only appears at the beginning and end of Toy Story 2. Bo Peep was ultimately written out of Toy Story 3, due to the fact Molly and Andy wouldn't want her anymore, and emblematic of the losses the toys have had over time. She also was written out due to the belief that Andy probably wouldn't have anything to say about her when he gives the other toys to Bonnie at the third film's end.
Personality[]
Bo Peep is a very romantic and levelheaded toy. She has strong feelings for Woody, which causes her (along with Slinky) to give him the benefit of the doubt when he allegedly murders Buzz Lightyear, whom she clearly considers attractive as well, and consistently whispers to the wall her worries about where Woody could be. Despite this, she still behaves like a free spirit. She only believes what she has witnessed for herself, such as when she looks into Lenny's visor and sees Buzz riding behind Woody aboard RC, while the rest of the toys immediately take her word for it. By the time she is moved to Molly's room, she becomes more of a leader amongst her toys as she is described by Woody to be the most capable of easing Molly's cries at night which often caused great dismay to everyone.
Since she parted ways with Andy, Bo has taken on a different point of view in life. As a lost toy, she never worries about being loved by a child and is open to see the world.
Physical appearance[]
Bo, along with her sheep, is a porcelain figurine. She has painted blonde hair with three curls on the back, light vinyl skin, and tall. In the original two films, her outfit consisted of a pink bonnet with a white ribbon, a pink dress with a long, poofy, white skirt that featured pink polka dots, a blue jumpsuit under her dress with ruffles at the pant legs, and black Mary Jane shoes.
In the fourth film, she has an updated appearance: Her skin is fairer, and her eyes are wider. In the beginning flashback scene, her dress has the same appearance, but the colors are brighter, and her dress is looser for Bo to move more freely, indicating that the petticoats and hoop skirt that gave it its original appearance were removed. When becoming a lost toy, Bo is faded, and her skin, particularly around her face and arms, has been chipped. Her bonnet was burned from an incident involving a light bulb from her lamp exploding and was discarded, half of her dress is also discarded while the skirt has been created into a two-in-one skirt/cape that while still has the white side with pink polka dots, has purple on the other side with a plastic flower button to keep it in place. Her remaining attire is now her blue jumpsuit with pink ribbon wrapped around it, Mary Jane shoes, white tape on her right bicep, purple tape on her left wrist, and a large, pink bow on her head to replace the bonnet.