Jessie (Toy Story)

Jessie
Toy Story character
Jessie in a promotional image of Toy Story 3
First appearance	Toy Story 2 (1999)
Last appearance	Pixar Popcorn (2021)
Voiced by	Joan Cusack (films, Toy Story Toons, TV specials, video games, commercials) Mary Kay Bergman (yodeling voice; Toy Story 2)[1] Kat Cressida (Disney Infinity series)
In-universe information
Species	Humanoid pull-string doll
Gender	Female
Title	Cowgirl Sheriff (post Toy Story 4)
Occupation	Toy De facto leader of Andy's former toys (in Sunnyside) Co-leader of Bonnie's room Bonnie's room sheriff
Significant other	Buzz Lightyear
Place of origin	Woody's Roundup television series

Jessie is a fictional character from the Pixar films Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4, voiced by Joan Cusack. In Toy Story 2, she is a rare toy modeled after a character from the fictional television show Woody's Roundup, where the characters included Sheriff Woody, Jessie, Stinky Pete the Prospector and Bullseye, Woody's horse.

Jessie the doll has a character very similar to the one portrayed on the television show. She is excitable, brave, and very athletic. The doll, however, carries a great deal of sadness, as she was abandoned by her original owner, which left her somewhat distrustful. She was later founded by Al of Al’s Toy Barn, who wanted to sell her to a toy museum in Tokyo, Japan. Between the time Emily abandoned her and when Al found her, it is evident that she had no owners during those years and spent a long time in storage. Years of being in storage have made her somewhat withdrawn, and noticeably afraid of the dark, to the extent of hyperventilating whenever she is inside dark enclosed spaces, or even at just the thought of being abandoned. But she longs to again be a source of joy to a child, and this wish comes true at the end of Toy Story 2 when Andy accepts her (and Bullseye) into his toy collection. In the beginning of Toy Story 3, she still displays signs of fear of the dark, being in storage, and being abandoned when she and the toys mistakenly believe that they are being thrown away by Andy. However, throughout the rest of the film, she appears to be more loyal, confident and helpful to others, in the process developing a romantic relationship with Buzz Lightyear. She has had four owners in this order: Emily, Al, Andy and Bonnie. She becomes Bonnie’s new favorite toy of the gang other than Forky.

Jessie also makes a cameo in Monsters, Inc. as one of Boo's toys that she gives to Sulley.^[2]

In October 2000, Jessie received the Patsy Montana Entertainer Award from the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.^[3] She is also portrayed by Devon Dawson live on stage as a guest with Riders in the Sky in their concert and plays the guitar.

Jessie is the namesake of version 8 of the Debian operating system. The code names of Debian releases are names of characters from the Toy Story films. This naming tradition came because Bruce Perens was involved in the early development of Debian while working at Pixar.

Appearances[]

Films[]

Toy Story 2[]

In Toy Story 2, Jessie and other western toys make up a group known as the Roundup gang, based on Woody's Roundup, a western-themed children's television show from the 1950s. They are also part of a collection of valuable Woody's Roundup merchandise owned by Al McWhiggin. When Jessie is introduced, she tackles Woody with excitement about finally meeting a Woody doll. She is happy that she and the other toys are finally going to come out of storage and go to the toy museum in Japan that they are destined for.

It is Jessie who introduced Woody to the facts about the character on which he is based. She shows him the Woody's Roundup merchandise, and Stinky Pete the Prospector explains how the show was canceled after the launch of Sputnik and the resulting interest in the Space Race and science fiction, diminishing the popularity of westerns.

When Woody indicates that he has no intention of going to Japan, she becomes bitter, and Woody comes to suspect her of attempting to sabotage his escape, including waking Al to prevent Woody from recovering his damaged arm. After Woody is fixed, he learns Jessie's tragic back story about her previous owner through a flashback scene accompanied by Sarah McLachlan's song "When She Loved Me". Woody tells Jessie that, if only she knew his owner, Andy, she might understand why he wants to return to his home. He attempts to explain his bond with his owner to her, but she interrupts him, guessing that Woody is going to say that Andy is a "real special kid" and that Woody feels like he is alive when Andy is playing with him because, even though he is not moving, that is how Andy sees him. Woody, shocked by the accuracy of her statement, asks how she knows that about him. She says simply: "Emily was just the same. She was my whole world." As the song begins to play, the audience sees that Jessie once had an owner who loved her as much as Andy loves Woody.

The flashback shows Emily, her horse-loving young owner, happily playing, laughing, and cuddling with Jessie. The two are clearly inseparable, with Emily even bringing her toy along with her on car rides. Emily's childhood bedroom is designed with a Wild West-equestrian theme of sorts, with figures of horses, toy guitars, cowhide and plaid patterns, and horseshoes decorating the room. Various Jessie memorabilia, like lunchboxes, alarm clocks, and picture frames, also are present in the room; Emily even dresses in plaid shirts, denim shorts, cowgirl boots, and a replica of Jessie's signature cowgirl hat.

However, the audience sees that, as the girl grows older into her adolescence, she begins to forget more and more about her childhood interests and begins to explore things like make-up, nail polish, and vinyl records. Jessie, who once always had a spot on the center of Emily's bed, has now fallen through a crevice and lies underneath it, forgotten. While Emily once loved playing pretend with her toys, now — as the audience sees from Jessie's point of view beneath the bed — she prefers inviting her friends over, painting each other's nails, listening to music.

Jessie lies on the floor, ignored and unhappy, until one day, Emily finds her under the bed for the first time in several years. She takes the toy along with her to share a day on a car trip, like they did when Emily was a child. Jessie finally feels loved and happy once more, as if things will go back to the way they were. The car comes to a stop, however, and their relaxing day together is put to an end when Emily places Jessie in a donations box on the side of the road, to be given away to charity.

The shocked Jessie looks on as her owner drives away and leaves her, and the song draws to a close. Jessie then states, "You never forget kids like Emily or Andy, but they forget you." Woody, realizing he could easily suffer the same fate with Andy, then chooses to stay, which Jessie finds thrilling, especially when he begins to anticipate his journey to Japan in excitement.

Ultimately, it is Prospector that is revealed as the attempted saboteur when Woody finally decides to take Jessie and Bullseye with him back to Andy's room. Because of Prospector's sabotage, Al packs the Roundup gang into a luggage case and heads for the airport. There, Buzz Lightyear and Andy's other toys free Woody and get rid of Prospector by stuffing him into a backpack belonging to a little girl who loves to decorate her toys. Despite this, Jessie still remains trapped as the case gets loaded into the luggage transporter, while Bullseye manages to escape in time. Buzz and Woody mount Bullseye and chase after the luggage transporter, which Woody climbs onto.

Woody follows the case into the plane's cargo hold and frees Jessie from inside. When Woody offers to take Jessie to Andy's home with him, she is rather uncertain at first, but eagerly accepts when she learns from Woody that Andy has a baby sister named Molly. However, the two toys become trapped in the cargo hold, but Woody locates another escape hatch. Using his pullstring, Woody and Jessie swing down from the plane and land on Bullseye right behind Buzz just before the plane takes off. At the very end of the film, when Andy returns from camp after the toys return home, he is pleased to have the new toys added into his collection, calling Jessie "Bazooka Jane," and Buzz seems to have developed a romantic interest in her, nervously complimenting her hair.

Touched and amused by this comment, Jessie, in return, describes Buzz as "the sweetest space toy" she has ever met. She later performs an impressive athletic feat to let Buster out to use the bathroom(much to Buzz's astonishment). Shortly after, Jessie and Buzz are seen together with Woody and Bo Peep as they watch Wheezy sing "You've Got a Friend in Me."

Toy Story 3[]

In Toy Story 3, after Andy seemingly throws them away, it is Jessie who convinces the other toys to be given to Sunnyside Daycare, refusing to relive the trauma she felt when she was given away by Emily. She fails to realize that Andy intended to put them in the attic and that his mother threw them out by accident, and stubbornly refuses to listen to Woody when he tries to clear up the misunderstanding, arguing that Andy has moved on and that they must do the same.

Jessie is thrilled to learn that the children at Sunnyside are replaced with new children when they grow older, meaning the toys can never be outgrown. She tries to persuade Woody to join the others in beginning their lives anew at the daycare, but Woody reluctantly calls her and the other toys selfish and leaves to return to Andy alone, leaving Jessie hurt and saddened. Shortly after, she and the other toys discover they have been placed in a room with very young children, who roughly yet innocently abuse them. Jessie gets her ponytail used as a paintbrush and is covered in green paint in the process, much to her disgust.

Afterward, Mrs. Potato Head sees Andy searching for his missing toys through her eye that was left in his room, allowing Jessie and the others to realize that they were wrong about Andy. They decide to return home, but are instead imprisoned in the daycare by its leader, Lotso, who had reset Buzz into thinking he is a Space Ranger once more and convincing him Andy's toys are Zurg's minions. Even in his demo mode, Buzz still remains somewhat attracted to Jessie(at least to an extent); calling her a "temptress" and being immune to her "bewitching good looks".

Following another rough play date with the young children, Andy's toys are reunited with Woody, who had a change of heart and returned to rescue his friends. Jessie apologizes for not listening to Woody, who apologizes in return for leaving. The toys carry out their plan to break out of Sunnyside but matters are further complicated when they accidentally reset Buzz into a Spanish version of his deluded self. He falls in love with her instantly, and tries everything he can to impress her. Jessie is initially uncomfortable with this change, but is quickly won over by the charms of her Spanish lover.

When the toys get stuck in a garbage truck along with Lotso, Jessie is heroically rescued from being buried in trash by Spanish Buzz, who is crushed by a broken television set. Jessie despairs over Buzz's apparent death, but he soon manifests back to consciousness as his normal self. She hugs him in relief now knowing he is alive, and then repeatedly kisses him on the cheek in saying thanks for saving her(much to Buzz's confusion). The toys end up dumped in a landfill and nearly killed in a trash incinerator because of Lotso's unwillingness to redeem himself, even though Woody and Buzz saved his life. However, Andy's Alien toys rescue them all using a crane. Once safely outside the incinerator, Jessie and Buzz's mutual looks indicate the clear understanding of their feelings for each other. The toys return home to Andy and prepare to be stored in the attic; with Woody's intervention, though, they are instead given to Bonnie, a girl who took Woody to her home while he was away. Andy plays with his toys one last time. Jessie quickly adapts to her new life as one of Bonnie's toys and, at one point, decides to take advantage of Buzz's Spanish personality so they can dance together to "Hay Un Amigo En Mí" (a Spanish version of "You've Got a Friend in Me"); officially starting a legitimate relationship.

Toy Story 4[]

Since the fourth film focuses mainly on Woody, the rest of the toys don't receive much focus, Jessie included. Early in the film, while picking toys to play with, Bonnie removes Woody's sheriff badge and puts it on Jessie, who later returns it. For much of the film, Jessie and the others stay in the family RV waiting for Woody, Buzz, and Forky to return. When they receive word that they need help, Jessie leads them in taking control of the RV to get to them. At the end, they reunite with Bo Peep and say goodbye to Woody, who gives Jessie his badge. One year later, Jessie introduces Bonnie's toys to a new utensil toy made out of a plastic knife (credited as Karen Beverly), created by Bonnie in first grade.

Other appearances[]

Television[]

This section needs expansion. You can help by . (October 2013)

In Toy Story of Terror!, Jessie is forced to confront her nyctophobia and claustrophobia in this half-hour story which features the rest of Bonnie's toys looking for Mr. Potato Head after he disappears. Each member of the search party vanishes one at time as they are hunted by an unseen stalker, leaving only Jessie to rescue them.

She returns in Toy Story That Time Forgot, a 2014 half-hour special.

Attractions[]

This section needs expansion. You can help by . (October 2013)

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. 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. They can also be found in the Splash Mountain courtyard in Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom. Woody and Jessie are featured in the North America Room of It's a Small World. In 2019, Jessie's Critter Carousel opened at Disney California Adventure.

Video games[]

This section needs expansion. You can help by . (October 2013)

Jessie is featured as a playable character in Toy Story 3: The Video Game. She is also playable in Disney Infinity and Disney Infinity 3.0, voiced by Kat Cressida.^[4]

Personality[]

Jessie is depicted as being hyper, hearty, energetic, and outgoing, and noticeably more free-spirited and loose than the orderly and calm Woody. She is also slightly tomboyish. In the television series Woody's Roundup, Jessie is portrayed as being equally bubbly, rambunctious, and adventurous, aided by woodland creatures represented by obvious string puppets. She is also a talented yodeler.

Despite Jessie's extreme cheerfulness and sunny personality, she is scarred by a bleak and slightly depressing and melancholy background, when she was outgrown and abandoned by her owner Emily. She spent years afterward as a collector's item owned by Al packaged in a dark cardboard box along with Prospector and Bullseye, and was permanently scarred with claustrophobia and nyctophobia as a result, thrusting herself into horrible panic attacks when in confined spaces or faced with the threat of being stored away again. For years, she also was marked with a strong sense of feeling unloved, which she masked with her extreme playfulness, which was pacified after having been adopted by Andy. However, in the third film, when Andy was preparing to leave for college, she says "I should have seen this coming! It's Emily all over again!".

She has green eyes, red yarn hair pulled into a braid, pale plastic skin, and a small nose. She also has a yellow ribbon tied to the bottom of her braided hair, a white long-sleeved western-style shirt that includes a bright yellow bodice and cuffs complete with swirling red designs, blue jeans, a pair of white chaps with cow spots all over, brown boots, matching belt with gold buckle, red cowgirl hat, and a pullstring on her back with a white loop attached to it.

Relationships[]

Woody and Jessie share a sibling-like relationship. Since meeting each other in Al's penthouse, the two share a close bond. The two are shown to have pretty heated arguments from time to time, mostly where Andy is concerned, as Woody is fiercely loyal, while Jessie is more reluctant to trust due to her past; nevertheless, they deeply care for each other.

Bullseye and Jessie share a close relationship. The two are almost never seen without the other being close behind.

Her relationship with Buzz was only hinted at the end of Toy Story 2 when Buzz became instantly infatuated with her looks. In Toy Story 3, their relationship had not evolved much since Toy Story 2, but it is shown that Jessie is fond of Buzz, and he is protective of her. After their "Operation: Playtime" plan failed, Buzz gives an exceptionally sad look to Jessie as she climbs out of the box, and he also gives her sympathetic looks when she has panic attacks and when they argue about going to Sunnyside. Before getting taken to Sunnyside, Buzz is shown being a little more concerned over Jessie when she goes into a panic attack and says "We're being abandoned!". Even later, in the demo mode which he is put in by Lotso and his henchmen, he remains attracted to Jessie, calling her a "temptress" with "bewitching good looks." Then again, after being reset into Spanish Mode, Buzz is still shown to be attracted to her, and openly expresses this, calling her (in Spanish) "my desert flower", dancing around her and asking her to join him in his adventures exploring the galaxy, shielding her from Mr. Potato Head when he saw him as a threat, getting jealous when she hugged Woody, showing an obvious desire to impress her, and saving her from not only being pinned under the trash, but from being crushed by a falling TV set. Jessie first shows signs of strong feelings for Buzz during this rescue and when he is first thought to have perished after the TV set falls on him, she is clearly in despair. She even kisses him on the cheek when Buzz wakes up. As Andy's toys are about to be destroyed by a trash incinerator, Buzz and Jessie are the first to hold hands, and after the group is rescued, only Buzz and Jessie continue to be holding hands after the claw delivers them all to safety. During the end credits of Toy Story 3, the two perform a Pasodoble dance.

Merchandising[]

Disney heavily promoted Jessie following the release of Toy Story 2, as she gave them a character that they could market to girls, something the original film did not really provide. Among the items released were:

• Several 10" and 12" fashion-style dolls
• Several plush and rag doll-type dolls
• Action figures in the Toy Story 2 and Toy Story and Beyond lines.
• Wallets, purses and other accessories for girls
• Nightlights and other bedroom accessories
• Costumes and dress-up sets
• High-end sculptures and collectibles

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jessie (Toy Story).

• Official character page
• Jessie on IMDb