A Case of Mistaken Identity: Buzz Lightyear

We're coming up on the new Toy Story sequel, which might as well be titled "Toys vs. Tech". In honor of this additional sequel (which I hope is really good), I wanted to flashback to the beginning of the toys' adventures when Buzz Lightyear joined the crew. Back when all he had was delusions of grandeur.

Everyone remembers when Buzz Lightyear came out of that birthday present, thinking he was a real space ranger. It drove Woody absolutely crazy, while the other toys laughed at his discomfort. However, after being taken to Sid's house and Buzz's bubble burst, Woody didn't react the way he'd expected. It wasn't "I told you so" but instead it was a chance to be a friend.

Though delusional, Buzz was happy and confident. The unearned confidence was shattered when he learned he was a toy (If he didn't know he was toy, why did he go lifeless like the others when Andy came around?). With his illusion shattered, Buzz thought he was a worthless piece of plastic. It took finally becoming friends with Woody for Buzz to realize his true potential. He thought being Andy's toy was a far cry from being a space ranger, but a change in life perspective isn't always a bad thing. In Buzz's case, he learned that his worth wasn't from being an intergalactic hero, but from bringing joy to a child.

All of us come into this world thinking we're one thing. The natural man. We believe we're the impulses and desires that come so instinctively as we go through life. We think we're the flesh and blood we were born with. However, as prophets since Adam have taught, we are children of God. We have divine identity. Though we think we're "[children] of man" (as the adversary told Moses) we're "[children] of God".

Present Nelson taught there are three labels that ought to define us and direct our lives more than any other: child of God, child of the covenant, and disciple of Jesus Christ. He said, “Labels can be fun and indicate your support for any number of positive things. But if any label replaces your most important identifiers, the results can be spiritually suffocating." I mean, imagine if Buzz still believed he was a space ranger. Even he noted how pathetic he must have been when he met another Buzz at Al's Toy Barn. 

I've come to love the Aaronic Priesthood theme, especially the first line: "I am a beloved son of God, and He has a work for me to do." It's a powerful reminder that my potential isn't limited to who I think I am. While I could learn to be confident as the man I am, my identity as a son of God changes my purpose. As a man, I can grow and become who I want to be and who God wants me to become. I was not preprogramed with backstory. I was born with purpose... even if it isn't being a space ranger. 

PS: If Buzz came into Andy's room with backstory programmed into his plastic little head, why didn't Woody know about his backstory with Jessie and Bullseye?

Friendship Lessons

    

         Recently, I have been thinking about lessons about friends from movies and songs. I cannot point to why this has been on my mind, but it has sparked this blog post, so we’ll see what insights I can share. Thank you for being a friend!

I recall a book I gifted my brother called Surround Yourself With Greatness by former BYU and NFL tight end, Chad Lewis. I might have read the intro but that’s all. I do remember Chad speaking about the book with a reporter once and what he shared has stuck with me. In summarizing what the book was about, he said something to the effect that you are what you surround yourself with. If you surround yourself with skunks, you are going to stink. If you surround yourself with people who are great, you will be great. I have heard John Bytheway refer to a similar idea which he calls "The Parable of the Marinade". Friends have a big influence on this and so it can be important what friends you choose. 

I have been blessed with friends throughout my life, but perhaps the most important thing I have learned about friendship is the importance of being a good friend. I do not have a perfect answer about what being a “good” friend means, but I hope to share a few insights that I have received from some of my favorite “friend” lines from movies.

“You’ve got a friend in me” from “Toy Story.” 

Andy’s interaction with his toys is a nostalgic look at what playing with toys can be. Add to the fact that the toys can come to life and are looking out for Andy and the journey that Woody and Buzz go on to becoming friends and it is a great friend journey. This line from this song is a good summary of what we want in a friend, someone to rely on.

“Never had a friend like me” from “Aladdin.” 

Robin Williams’ performance was spot on with this song and the message is one that I think I can see in the friends that I have. While there may be similarities in the friends that I have, each is unique and brings different strengths and to the proverbial table, providing me the opportunity to learn from each of them

“No man is a failure who has friends” from “It’s a Wonderful Life.” 

This message is written on Clarence’s copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer which he gifts to George Bailey at the end of the film. In the context of what Jesus told early leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Doctrine and Covenants 88:117, “ye are my friends,” I think this means that no one on earth is a failure because Jesus is our friend. Elder Buckner spoke in greater detail about this scripture in the October 2024 General Conference. 

Now, I know this is not a comprehensive list of all the friends’ examples that are out there, but I hope it can be a good start to reminding us all the importance of being a good friend, being grateful for our friends, and always remembering that the Savior is our greatest friend. 

"You're Just Like Me. Trash!" --Forky

(Guest Post by Mike T)

I don’t cry during movies. Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List, Titanic, The Pianist, Lion King… fantastic movies, but I reign it in, look up a little bit, take some deep breaths, and usually succeed in keeping a dry face. But I do not watch Toy Story 4 around people who aren’t ready to see me weep. What is it about the Toy Story movies? How do these animated full-tilt fantasy films grapple with the most fundamental and realistic questions about what it means to be human? They are a singular achievement in film, technologically and creatively. And Toy Story 4 is the best of them.

The first three Toy Stories bravely tackle the difficult themes of childhood, sentience, memory, free will, purpose, and connection. The last film does something almost unimaginably ambitious - in addition to the prior themes, it attempts to explore more fully the idea of creation, self-hatred, and intrinsic worth. In a children’s film. If you asked me to do that, as a writer, I would throw in the towel. Immediately. But these geniuses at Pixar make it look easy, and they do it with one character - Forky. You’ve probably noticed my love of hyperboles, and I’m about to throw one more at you: Forky is one of the most important characters I have ever seen in film. 

For those in need of a brush-up, Forky is made from trash. Woody, who is feeling less and less useful to Bonnie, decides (of his own accord) to accompany her to her orientation day of kindergarten. As Woody predicted, Bonnie struggles in a new and unfamiliar environment. When her craft materials get stolen, Woody sneakily produces some new craft materials from the trash can. Bonnie looks around, wondering who her secret benefactor might be, and then gets to work making something new out of the materials. Forky is born. Of course, he doesn’t talk until he’s only in the presence of other toys, but his first words are bold and decided: “TRASH”. Thus ensues Woody’s challenge to protect Forky (and Bonnie, who is by now passionately attached to her creation) from his insatiable desire to fling himself back into the waste-basket.

When I first watched all this, I almost couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Was this kids’ movie really going to be driven by one character trying to prevent the suicide of another character by convincing him of his intrinsic worth to his creator? Forky never says he hates himself - that might be overstepping for a kids film. But he fully believes he is trash, and he is ready to go back to the trash. He cannot comprehend that his very existence - literally, just sticking around and being there - is so deeply important to his creator. Forky is not beautiful. His eyes are different sizes, there’s a greasy stain on his face, and his arms continuously threaten to completely fall off of his body. But to Bonnie, Forky represents something: her own ability to create, her ability to pass value into something simply by wanting it so. Love is her creative force. In a touching conversation, Woody guides Forky down a long, dark street (at times dragging him), all the while trying to make the case for Forky’s immutable value in Bonnie’s eyes.

I remember as a small kid (maybe 5 or 6), I was brought to tears when I realized I had to throw away my popsicle stick after I ate the popsicle. For some reason, the idea of subjective experience chose that moment to turn on in my brain, and I couldn’t help feeling like this poor popsicle stick didn’t deserve to be abandoned. How could I just discard something that had its own existence? More importantly, if this stick was worthy of nothing but the trash, where was my promise that I deserved anything better? In much of my life, patterns of self-loathing became the norm. My brain defaulted to criticizing myself and refusing to believe others could love me. It wasn’t the best situation, but it’s what I was familiar with - trusting others was terrifying, accepting my own potential was terrifying… because they both take work. A lot of it. Being a human takes work. But our value is already born inside of every one of us. We are much, much more than trash. We are capable of love and inspiring love, and God desperately wants us to feel His love. He wants us to love him back. More times than I can count, Christ has all but dragged me down a long, dark street, promising and promising that somewhere in me was something more beautiful than I could comprehend.

I know, I know. There’s a chance I’m reading too much of my own story into all this, but I think that’s precisely the beauty of a great screenplay. 

“Why do I have to be a toy?” Forky asks.

“Because,” says Woody, “you have Bonnie’s name written on the bottom of your sticks."

The Most "Out There" Pixar Movies

I just rewatched The Good Dinosaur with the kiddos. Not the best Pixar movie ... but as we all know, even a subpar Pixar movie is better than most of the noise available to us. But rewatching The Good Dinosaur struck me how strange it is that there's a scene where Arlo and Spot get high. Let me repeat that for those of you who haven't seen the movie (because let's face it, most of you haven't). Arlo and Spot GET HIGH off of fermented fruit. And it's not just that cute drunk stupor that cartoons sometimes show. This is a full on hallucination scene. Spot's head gets huge, Arlo grows extra eyes, they switch bodies and float off into space. 

Like, what the ... ?

So I decided to look at all 24 Pixar movies and find the ones that are the most "out there". Here goes...

#10 The Good Dinosaur This is actually a pretty white bread movie, with one really trippy scene. Probably the trippiest single scene in any Pixar movie. And it's trippy enough to put the film on the list.

#9 Soul What a sweet flick. Introspective and deep and so inspiring. But it also features a man's soul trapped in a cat. And Tina Fey as a black man. And it posits that  the pre-mortal life is run by talking line drawings.

#8 Up One of my favorite movies on this list. Not the trippiest, but it does have a cadre of talking dogs, a giant momma bird named Kevin, and two geriatric men as the main characters. Oh, and the main plot point is that a house gets carried away by helium balloons. Okay, maybe it's more out there than I thought.

#7 Coco This film makes me cry. Every. Darn. Time. But in spite of some  very real emotional pull, the world of Coco is inhabited by talking  skeletons who regularly lose body parts. And giant psychedelically colored beasts.

#6 Wall-E Robots who fall in love.  Skyscrapers made of garbage.  Humans that have turned into blobs of lifeless goo. Okay that last one is pretty spot on. But the rest is kinda out there.

#5 Ratatouille Are we even going to talk about the fact that Remy controls Linguini's brain ... by pulling his hair?

#4 Monsters, Inc. Wait. So monsters are real? And they need children's screams (and laughter) to power their  world? And Jennifer Tilly plays a tolerable character?  Yeah, that's a tripped up fantasy.

#3 Toy Story Close your eyes and picture that scene where Sid's toys come alive, Woody's head spins around, and he says, "So play nice!" Now picture that happening in real life.  'Nuff said.

#2 Onward This movie is just as imaginative as it is strange. But in addition to the magic, the manticore's destruction, and a giant cheese puffs, this movie gives a major amount of screen time to a living pair of legs. Like, the legs are a main character! But the trippiest part? We connect emotionally with those legs! Thanks, Pixar.

#1 Inside Out Where do we begin? Our brains are actually a hivemind. References to the bears in San Francisco. The existence of Bing Bong, who squeals like a dolphin and cries candy. The abstract thought shortcut scene with non-objective fragmentation, etc. Pizza with pineapple! So so so out there.

Pixar Popcorn

Last month, Pixar released 10 shorts that they call Pixar Popcorn. It's 10 short films, ranging from 1 to 5 minutes long. (Thank goodness the longest one is Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele just riffing on each other for 5 minutes!) Head on over to Disney Plus and spend 22 minutes munching on these popcorn snacks. 

And bite-sized shorts deserve bite-sized reviews: 10 shorts, 10 words per review, 10 kernel rating. 

"To Fitness and Beyond" 10 Word Review: Rex tries push-ups. Hamm attempts sit-ups. Need I say more?  Rating: 6/10

"Unparalleled Parking" 10 Word Review: Montage of cars parking. Reminds me of adolescence. Lizzie FTW.   Rating: 5/10

"Dory Finding" 10 Word Review: Best parts: Dory's glasses, Ellen's vocalizations, and all the bubbles. Rating: 7/10

"Soul of the City" 10 Word Review: This is Gorgeous. Orderly. Life-affirming. Familiar. Tranquil. Geared towards adults.   Rating: 9/10

"Fluffy Stuff with Ducky & Bunny: Love" 10 Word Review: A Ducky versus Bunny debate (d)evolves into a rap riff.   Rating: 10/10

"Chore Day - The Incredibles Way" 10 Word Review: Clones and laser eyes make chores easy. S'mores with Jack-Jack! Rating: 8/10

"A Day in the Life of the Dead" 10 Word Review: How skeletons live their (after)lives. Fun with dead body parts!  Rating: 6/10

"Fluffy Stuff with Ducky & Bunny: Three Heads" 10 Word Review: Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele are "denomic" geniuses. More banter!    Rating: 10/10

"Dancing with the Cars" 10 Word Review: I enjoyed the title ... and the conga ending the short. Rating: 4/10

"Cookie Num Num" 10 Word Review: The Incredibles use powers to win a cookie. So fun! 🍪🦸💪  Rating: 10/10

One of the fun things to watch for in the Pixar Popcorn (besides Pixar's famous Easter Eggs) is the various interactions that Luxo Jr. has with popcorn kernels in the opening logo. Enjoy this Pixar snack!