Toy Story 3 Intl Talking Woody

This Woody is the TS3 version, and comes in movie based packaging. The other main Woody Toy you will see in shops in the "Woody's Roundup" version, which comes in a more traditional looking box, and says more phrases. I noticed on the box in ELC that it mentioned five phrases from the movie that Woody says, such as "I'm going to college. Look at me, I'm big toy on campus" and "You've got a date with justice, one eyed Bart". What I didn't realise was, that the phrases on the box were the ONLY phrases that this toy says, and that the manufacturers have dropped all of Woodys more traditional phrases from the first movie, such as "There's a snake in my boot". I didn't notice this until I got home and to be honest, it was a big disappointment, and my little five year old boy said that our Woody can't be the REAL Woody, because he hasn't got a snake in his boot (kids notice these things!). This made me wish that I had waited for the Disney store to restock their Woody supply, as those dolls had the original phrases included!

Apart from this minor blip, Woody is the absolute favourite toy in our house, and my little boy really loves him and drags him around everywhere with him. Visually, the toy is an extremely close representation of the movie version, with the face and features being almost identical. The doll has a plastic face and hair, with a smile that revelals his white teeth. His body, arms and legs are soft, apart from the fact that the body contains the battery compartment and voice box, so you can feel some hardness in the chest area. The toy has a pull string on the back, although of course, as this is a modern toy, the voice box is electronic, unlike the authentic old pull string toys of the past. Because of this, the pull string is very, very short, and although it hasn't snapped off yet, I do worry that it will eventually. I would have preferred a longer pull string as, again, I feel that it would have made the toy look more authentic and similar to the Woody in the movie.

The clothes on the toy are really nice quality and are made from a variety of different textures and materials. Woody wouldn't be Woody without his hat and the hat is made of soft plastic with stitching detail around the outside. it fits really well onto his head, so that, while you can take it on and off easily, it doesn't fall off when you are playing with it. Woody has a red kerchief reound his neck, which my little boy keeps unfastening and I am constantly having to tie it back on again. He wears a yellow and red checked shirt, with soft plastic buttons, and a "Cowskin"waistcoat, which has a lovely contrasting texture, and feels like suede. Round his waist is a plasic belt and holster, but of course, no gun! His long droopy legs bend in the middle, due to a clever bit of stitching on his denim jeans, and no cowboy would be complete without his cowboy boots, with cute cactus detail on the side and bright yellow spurs. A really nice touch is the name "Andy" on the bottom of the boot, just like in the film. As my son's name is Andrew, he thinks the toy was made especially for him!

You can access the battery compartment by mens of a velcro panel in the back Woodys trousers! I get the feeling that you don't have to change the batteries very often, as we have had the toy for several months and the voice is the same as when we bought it. I think a major problem with electronic toys such as this, is if the toy gets dirty, which inevitably, all toys do at some point, especially if they are played with a lot. You can't just pop Woody in the washing machine because he has wires inside him, so the best you can do is surface clean him only.

There are no small bits on the toy, so it would be safe for young children to play with. He has worn pretty well over the last few months, despite the amount that he is played with, and the only damge, apart from the fact that his shirt is a bit sticky, is a ripped belt loop and a couple of scuff marks on the face and head. I personally think this is quite a well made toy that would last for many years. The voice of the toy is Tom Hanks, who provides the voice for Woody on the movie.

My son adores Woody and he always comes with us when we go to nans house or visiting friends. If my son has him out and about, other children are drawn to the toy like a magnet. Woody is always the hero in my sons imaginative games, and at the moment, his enemy is "Doc Tox" an ELC toy crocodile, which we have has for ages! My son loves to line up Woody and all our other toys on the floor and call the "Woodys Roundup gang" and then we count the toys together. My daughter has the Jessie doll, and he likes to pretend that Woody loves Jessie. As my son has speech and language problems,, I really feel that this toy has helped him to develop his sppech and language through play, and I love to see the creative ways that he uses his imagination. He gets quite upset if we are going somewhere and we can't take Woody with us.

In conclusion, I think this is a great toy and a good representation of the character. The only drawbacks are the very short pull string and the fact that Woody only says a few phrases, and none of the original ones that you would associate with the character. If you were looking to buy a Woody toy for your child, then I would suggest looking at the Disney Store version rather than this one, as it has the original phrases and is £12 cheaper.

My 7 year old absolutely loves Woody! I often hear him playing with him just as Andy did in the film! It is expensive, but gettin lots of use.

What can I say seeing my Grandson's Face when He opened his present was wonderful, who cares if it is educational or not,
children learn from play and their imagination. Coupled with his Buzz Lightyear he is in seventh heaven.