Playmate

Ages: 5-11
Contributor:
Sam Collins

The story of a boy and his favourite toy. How does their relationship change as the boy grows up?

Watch this video with your children, and then try some of our teaching and activity ideas below.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

The quote at the beginning of this film is from John Lasseter, the director of Toy Story. What are the similarities and differences between this film and Toy Story?
What other books do you know about the relationship between children and their toys? Can you make any comparisons between them and this film?
Stop the film at various points (For example, 0:21, 0:40, 0:53, 2:05, 2:53). What is the relationship between the boy and the robot? How does it change over the course of the film?
Stop the film at 01:24, 01:29 and 01:36. What is the girl thinking at each of these points?
Write a description of a dream with an important message.
Can you think of any books or films where dreams play an important role? (e.g. Alice in Wonderland, A Christmas Carol, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)
The books on the desk play an important part in the story. Why did the directors choose to squash the robot with James and the Giant Peach? Make a list of books you would like to have on your desk.
Write the dialogue between the boy and girl from 2:07 – 2:15.
Write the story of how the boy came to own the robot.
Make a list of adjectives to describe the setting.
Write subtitles to describe the action in the film.

The children play chess in the film. Do you know how many squares are on a chessboard? Try this popular investigation.
Make a graph of the favourite toys of the children in your class. Which type of toys is most popular?
Watch the film carefully. How many toys has the boy got? What different criteria could you use to classify them?
Try out some dartboard investigations like this one.

Stop the film at 1:00. Who is that? Why is the robot holding his picture up? Research Einstein and find out why he is such an important scientist.

Look at some paintings influenced by dreams (E.g. Salvador Dali, The Dream) and make your own artwork based on them.
Draw a picture of the room from the perspective of the toy.

Listen to the soundtrack. How does it change at different points in the animation?
Compose some music to accompany parts of the story.

What kind of toys did you play with when you were younger? What kind of toys do you play with now?
Research the history of toys.

Make a list of the sports equipment in the boy’s room – rackets, basketball, darts etc. Find out how to play any sports that are new to you.

The film has a gap of one year in the story. What do you think has changed in that year? How are you different from a year ago? How might you change over the next year?
In the film, the robot tries very hard to get the boy’s attention (e.g. 01:51). Why is that?
The boy has lots of toys. Why is the robot his favourite? Do you have a favourite toy? Why is it your favourite?
Find out about Einstein – why is he an inspiring person?