Gabby Gabby in Toy Story: Who She Is, Who Voices Her and Her Fate

Gabby Gabby is a doll in Toy Story 4 whose one wish is to have a child of her own to love. Christina Hendricks voices her, and the credits list the part as Gabby Gabby (voice), seventh in the billing behind Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key and Madeleine McGraw.

Woody has spent the earlier films looking after the toys in Andy's room, so a doll chasing a child of her own arrives with a goal that mirrors his, though it pulls him in a different direction. He crosses her path in the middle of his search for Forky, the handmade toy that Bonnie built from a spork and craft supplies.

If you are choosing a film for the family, Toy Story 4 carries a G rating in the US. Gabby Gabby's wish is gentle, but the way she pursues it is not, so she is the character most worth a quick chat afterward if you are watching with younger children. For everyone else in the cast, the Toy Story characters page lists every main toy.

Gabby Gabby's story is shaped by her ties to Woody, Forky, Harmony and, in the end, a lost girl at the carnival. Each one shows a different side of what she wants.

With Woody, she begins as a rival and ends as someone who owes him. He gives up his voice box to get Forky back, and later he is the one who persuades her to try for Bonnie instead of the girl who turned her away. Forky is the bargaining chip in their first deal, and his belief that he is trash is a useful contrast with her wish to be chosen.

Harmony is the heart of her disappointment. She is the girl Gabby hoped would choose her, and her rejection is what turns the plot. Bo Peep and her lost toy friends then help Woody and Gabby try again. Bo is a lost toy herself, and she and Woody spend their time helping prize toys find children to love.

In my opinion, Gabby Gabby is a villain by function and a sympathetic character by design, and that split is why she stands out in Toy Story 4. She takes Woody's voice box as the price for returning Forky, which is plainly a harmful act. But, her reason is a wish for love that most toys in the series share, so the film asks us to understand her rather than simply fear her.

The best moment, to my mind, is the carnival choice, when she comforts the lost girl and ends up with her. After Harmony's rejection it would be easy to expect another disappointment, and the film chooses kindness instead. It also reverses that rejection, since Gabby gets what she wanted from a child who needed her.

The comparison with Lotso in Toy Story 3 is worth making. Lotso rules Sunnyside Daycare like a dictator and ends strapped to the front of a garbage truck, so his story is a warning. Gabby ends with a child, so hers is a second chance, and that contrast is a big part of why Toy Story 4 feels warmer toward its antagonist. For more on how the series treats its antagonists, see our guide to Toy Story villains.