TOY STORY 4 [CHARACTER SPOILER]
Toy Story 4 brings back long time favorites like Woody, Buzz, and Bo Peep, but also introduces new characters like the adorable Gabby Gabby. Like Woody, she is a pull-string toy from the 1950’s and is voiced by the brilliant Christina Hendricks.
CREEPY DOLL IN THE CORNER
At a press event, director Josh Cooley explained how the filmmakers created the character of Gabby Gabby and discovered Christina Hendricks was perfect for the role. “I love this character. We went to a lot of antique stores for reference in this film and there’s always a creepy doll in the corner. And, never fails, at least two ventriloquist dummies spread around, inside these stores. And so, Gabby became– We were like, ‘Well that’s a perfect place– perfect villain. We’ve never done a female villain before. We’ve never done a baby doll, that I can remember, in the Toy Story of films. It just was kind of perfect.”
HENDRICKS’S GABBY GABBY
“And then we heard Christina’s voice and like, ‘That’s even more perfect.’ And we met with her, and her first recording session, I pitched the whole story and she said, ‘This is really great. I actually, I didn’t want Barbie dolls when I was a kid. I used to play with ventriloquist dummies.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ And she said, ‘Yeah, I did. I also, I have a lot of doll heads in my house right now.” And I’m, ‘Wait, just the heads?’ [LAUGHS] ‘Yeah.’ So, she’s perfect.”
“It became obvious right away that Christina was the perfect actress to play Gabby Gabby,” said Cooley. “She has the ability to sound inviting and friendly, then subtly become cold and terrifying in just a few words. It still gives me chills when I see Gabby’s introduction in the film.”
ABOUT TOY STORY 4’S GABBY GABBY
While Gabby and Woody are both pull-string toys, the two characters have had very different lives. She is a forgotten toy, hidden in the depths of a jam-packed antique store. Toy Story 4 screenwriter Stephany Folsom explained, “Gabby Gabby and Woody have the exact same philosophy, which is to be there for your kid no matter what. But unlike Woody, Gabby’s never actually had that experience, so she clings to the fantasy of what it would be like to be with a kid.”
TOY STORY 4 hits U.S. theaters June 21, 2019. Advance Tickets Now on Sale.
