Customer Reviews

Toy Story Collection Talking Sheriff Woody

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Hello to all of you Toy Story fans. I am here to create the very first review for Woody. I gave this a five star rating because let's be honest, this is the best Woody that will ever be made. And I do genuinly like the toy. It is quite durable, a great look alike from the movie, but there are some drawbacks.
We'll start off with the box. I LOVE the box as it is just what I would imagine Woody would be sold in when Andy's father went to buy him. However, the logo, 'Toy Story Collection' on the front throws that off. But altogether, great packaging.
Secondly, his face. Now his face is very Woody like. It looks just like Woody from the movie. My only complaint on this is that the Woody from the movie, when he is in 'toy mode' his eyes are wide open and his mouth is closed. None of the toys have ever replicated this. That is a definate con to me. I would like to see a Woody produced where it looks just like Andy's, closed smile and all. However, this is the most accurate Woody to date.
Thirdly, the feel of him. I really like the way he feels. He is a soft rag doll just like the movie and surprisingly light. This is a pro to the core. This makes him easy to carry around and even sleep with. However, when you first get him, there are loose strings all around his body that were left unattended. DON'T PULL ON THEM ON SOMETHING MIGHT COME OFF! Just cut them off. This was also true on his vest. There are loose white strings and when they are pulled, they come right off. I didn't like that at all because now he has holes on his chest.
Fourth, the star stand that comes with him. Don't use it because it dents his neck in. Obviously, we don't like that!
And finally, his voice. I love his voice as it is very true to the movie. When he is in live mode and his string is pulled, his says phrases just like the movie. My issue with this is that he doesn't say, "Somebody's poisoned the water hole!" That was always the saying that made me laugh. I also don't like that he has to be in live mode to say the movie sayings because he talks to you after that.
So all in all I gave this a top review because I really do like this toy. He is adorable and he is very close to the original Woody from the movie. I highly recommend getting this item, just heed my warning on the threads and Amazon is a great place to buy it. I look forward to getting Jessie, Bullseye, and the rest of the gang coming out early next year.

We got this version of Woody from Toy Story for our 4.5 year old son. He's a huge fan of the movie, and we thought he would love the pull-string talking Woody. We we're right, what we didn't count on is how the "talkback" function would work.

The pros: movie size, featuring Tom Hanks' voice, this Woody is the real deal. It looks exactly like the toy from the movie and sounds just like him as well. There are 50 phrases built in to this Woody, but when you pull the string and he will only say one of about 20 of them in the limited rotation of "demo" mode. Our son loves Woody, and plays with him endlessly, answering Woody's questions and responding to his statements. It's cute, and irritating, because in talkback mode Woody will simply talk and talk, repeating phrases over and over instead of responding to queries. The AI is lacking, the responses are non-sequitors, and Woody talks over our son most of the time.

The cons: this toy features a "talkback mode," which means the doll will spout off phrases non-stop, even when no-one is talking to it. "Hey, where are you guys?" Woody asks as soon as anyone stops talking to him when in talkback mode. While in talkback mode he talks and talks and talks and talks for 5 minutes, until he announces that he's going to take a nap.

Most of what he says is a complete non-sequitor, *except* for when our son gets excited or raises his voice while playing with Woody. Then Woody spouts off with "Oh brother, can you keep it down?" or "Oh yeah, that was loud," or "Woah, simmer down, no need to be so loud, partner." I did not realize we were buying the "Surrogate Parent Woody" and am offended by the audacity of a toy (maker) to simultaneously get my son fired up and then tell him to simmer down. Furthermore, our son isn't quite sure how to react when Woody chastises him (and some of the quotes are really in a chastising voice).

To make matters worse, the list of phrases Woody says in talkback mode are not available in the other "demo" mode. When in demo mode, Woody says the same 20 phrases in the same order, every time, omitting some of the key favorites in the talkback rotation.

Pandora's box is already open, and our son would know if we swapped it for a less talkative version, such as Talking Sheriff Woody. If I had it all to do over, however, that more simple version is what I would have bought.

ONE YEAR UPDATE: We've now had Talkback Woody in our house for close to a year, and I wanted to update my review. Our son recently put Woody in Talkback mode for the first time in four-plus months (his choice, I flip the switch for him whenever he asks), and I was interested in seeing how he responded to Woody now.

Short (Toy) story: I stand by everything I wrote above. If I had it all to do over again, I would have gotten the less expensive, less talkative doll. My son even notices Woody's non-sequitors now, and comments on how off-topic Woody gets. He left Woody in Talkback mode for about an hour, then asked me to "make it so Woody only talks when I want him to." Dude. Totally.

I was so excited to find this Woody for a good price, because I knew that my son was already getting the Toy Story Collection Buzz from someone else for Christmas. He loves the Toy Story movies, and actually prefers Woody to Buzz, so I thought he'd be so excited to get Woody. And he was... though, truthfully, just like in the movie, Buzz Lightyear is far superior to Woody.

Maybe I just don't have Woody figured out yet. It's kind of neat that he's a smart toy and responds to your voice, but it just seems like Buzz does a little bit more. Woody has a pull string. Buzz has buttons and a laser and a helmet that opens and closes (complete with sound effects) and can FLY. Maybe it's all deliberate; maybe, just like in the movie, Buzz is a just cooler toy. Not to say Woody isn't fun, but I don't think he should be the same retail price as Buzz.

Woody is very nicely made. He comes with a stand that we don't use because he's too busy being played with. His hat never stays on. He's lightweight and very durable, and his voice and sayings are just perfect. The pull string is nice and authentic, though it doesn't always make him talk. (I wonder if that would be fixed by new batteries; he still has his original batteries from when we bought him.)

Truthfully, the best part about Woody is that my 11 month old is IN LOVE with him, and it's made car rides a lot easier. (I don't know if that will work for all 11 month olds, though!)

Basically, if you're debating about whether to get a Buzz OR a Woody, I'd go with Buzz unless you have a die hard Woody fan.

Alright, just from looking at the box, I knew this was going to be something special, let's a address that first: it looked exactly like it should, continuing the Roundup Gang desgin seen on Stinky Pete's box. Of course, certain warnings and labels took away from the overall look, but they had to include those. Definately keep the box to display with him.
Anyways, he was packed pretty good, maybe even too good. My major concern is that they STILL have those annoying holes in the hat to hold it in. It was already held in the box by clear plastic, all that does is make it look less authentic.
The detail was great too, most of the fabrics are authentic, and the stitching is gorgeous. Even the hat has the stitching.
The face was a little bit off the original sculpt, but you can still definately tell it's Woody. Since metal parts couldn't be used, so this doll isn't 100% movie accurate, but it's good enough.
the pull-string is great, it's definately Tom Hanks (although they're forgetting the 'waterhole' phrase). I was originally skeptical about the talk-back feature, thinking it would take away from the authenticity, but they did it perfectly, with no speakers sticking out of him or anything. He responds well (it's always funny when he hears loud noises).
The extras (stand and certificate) are great extras that add to the great display.

The EXACT same product is $39.99 at Toys R Us. Not a similar Woody.....the very same one that is being sold for $73.99 here.

This is the greatest toy of all pixar. You will absolutly love it. Every thing is absolutly from the movie bendable hat, cloth shirt, pants, vest, bandana, plastic belt. ragdoll awssome replica for kids at lest 8 years and up. Go's great with my toy story collection buzz and toy story collection bucket o' army men

My 3-year old son received this from Santa Claus and he has played with it non-stop. Woody is made well and I am glad we opted to get the collector's Woody. He appears to be a higher quality doll from the others I have seen. The only negative is that when we pull the string on his back to make him talk, sometimes no voice comes out so we may have to pull it a couple of times to get him to talk.

My Boo (2 years old) got this for Christmas and has slept with it every night since. Ha! Woody only says a few things, not as many as the ad said, but that wouldn't deter me from buying this again. If you have a toy story fan as a child and you love it like a kid, I would definitely spend the money for this one. PS, I spent a lot of time reviewing the Woody's out there and am glad I did, because this one is great.

I'm 18, and Toy Story 1 was the first film I ever saw at the cinema when I was about 3 or 4 years old. Ever since then I wanted a woody toy, and finally, for my 18th birthday, I got one. It didn't disappoint. Took a while to figure out how to work him though, I was stuck on 'Demo' mode for a few days but when I finally read the instructions, I unlocked a whole new world of memories. There's nothing more satisfying that pulling that string and hearing woody say, in his authentic voice; "Reach for the sky!"

The interactive feature is great, but personally I prefer the 'classic' setting with all the old film phrases (there's a snake in my boot! etc etc) He can get a little irritating if left on interactive mode, as if you don't speak to him for a while he'll shout 'Hey! Where's everybody gone?' which is novel for a while, but as I say, I prefer classic woody.

Everything about him is just like the film, the sewing, the detail, even the way he moves and sits. My only minor complaint is that his pull-string is electronic, and doesn't 'whirr' back into his back like on the film (But perhaps that's just me and my film-nerdiness!)

I absolutely love my woody doll, and recommend it as a gift (or as a treat to yourself) for kidults of all ages!

I remember when I was 11 years old and saw Toy Story in theaters. Not only did I instantly choose my future profession, I also instantly wanted my own Woody and Buzz. Even back in 1995/96, I always had a beef with how inaccurate those two toys were in looks and design (in the Woody doll it was always his face and the fact the stitching on the shoulders and where the legs connect with his waist were inaccurate with a voice that didn't sound like Tom Hanks' voice and in Buzz it was always lack of features and crappy wingspan).

When I caught wind of the movie-accurate versions, my inner-child annoyed me to the point where I HAD to have these toys. Once I got a hold of this new and improved Woody doll, I was in love with it and was rejoicing. It was the Woody I always wanted to have.

All of the stitching was accurate in the shoulders, elbows, legs, and knees making him what he always was: a cowboy rag doll (I found myself letting him drop just to hear and see him do so). His hat even has actual stitching along the brim, making him that much more special and accurate. And his face actually looks like him this time! And the details on his hair are spot on with the film. The only thing that could make this doll more movie accurate would the the name "ANDY" scrawled sloppily under his right boot (which I admit I did).

As for features, being an old toy his features are limited to his voicebox...however the added addition of his talkback feature makes him almost engaging to mess with every now and then (and everyday for a child). His traditional pull-string mode has about 10 sayings before "taking a nap". But the remaining phrases reside in his talkback feature, and they are numerous. This toy can even gauge the level of your voice and can even tell you to quiet down a bit. Once you are quiet he even asks where you went. Eventually he'll "take a nap" whether active or inactive. And I think there are still a few phrases I haven't found yet (I'm occasionally surprised when he seems to come up with a new one).

Overall, I recommend this toy for both kids and adults, though I also recommend that due to the price tag on this thing that the child should be roughly 8-10 so the won't dirty or damage this toy too much. And the inclusion of the stand makes him the perfect collector's item. Definitely the best 50 bucks I ever spent on a toy (not to mention it's almost a steal to me since these toys specifically have a strong meaning to me).