Abstract

Disney-Pixar’s animated films are found to offer ideological lessons to audiences; however, limited research exists on the ideologies of friendships that the films promote. This qualitative study combines cultural studies with a critical media literacy (CML) framework to examine one film text, specifically how dyadic friendships are depicted through the characters of “Buzz” and “Woody” in Disney-Pixar’s Toy Story films, and explores how Toy Story can be used as a CML tool to discuss friendships with children. Using a text analysis to examine the ideologies of Buzz and Woody’s friendship, five themes emerged: friendship formation is influenced by (1) internal, (2) external, and (3) interpersonal factors; (4) maintained by affective reciprocity; and (5) face a fate of friendship. An audience reading included two girls and one boy (13 years of age) of ethnically diverse backgrounds, from Canada (N = 2) and the United States (N = 1). Participants were interviewed individually and asked about their perceptions of Disney and friendship. Participants then participated in a focus group interview and collectively watched five purposefully chosen excerpts of Buzz and Woody from the series; they were asked open- ended questions informed by elements of CML about their perceptions of friendship after each scene. Four findings emerged on children’s conceptualizations of Buzz and Woody’s friendship: (1) a gradual progression from enemies to close friends, (2) comprised of reciprocal efforts, (3) a context to negotiate identity and ambitions, and (4) an unknown fate and future. This study concludes with Toy Story’s potential as a pedagogy of friendship.