The history of the western genre has created several famous archetypes, with some even bleeding over into completely different genres. Some horror movies, animated children’s films and sci-fi classics all have western characters who seem a little out of place, but these characters are often played for laughs. Western characters often represent a more traditional or rugged way of life in these contexts.
Throughout the western genre, certain archetypes pop up over and over again, such as the stoic gunslinger, the grizzled lawman and the wise old judge. Even if these types of characters are dropped into different genres or given new aesthetics, it’s clear to see their western roots poking through. Western characters have invaded plenty of movies, and this is likely to continue for many years to come.
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The Cowboy – The Big Lebowski (1998)
Sam Elliott’s Character Heightens The Absurdity Of The Crime Comedy
Many of the best Coen brothers movies focus on specific American regions. Aside from their great westerns, True Grit and No Country For Old Men, they also weave the mythology and imagery of the landscape into the narratives of films like Raising Arizona and Fargo. The Big Lebowski takes place in Los Angeles, and it’s a strange amalgam of film noir detective stories and older Californian allusions. This is where the enigmatic Cowboy character comes in.
The Cowboy seems completely out of place, but it’s important to note that he also breaks the fourth wall and narrates parts of the story.
Sam Elliott has some pedigree in the western genre, of course, and his surly, mustachioed character in The Big Lebowski evokes his performance in Tombstone. The Cowboy seems completely out of place, but it’s important to note that he also breaks the fourth wall and narrates parts of the story. This has sparked theories that he’s some sort of omnipotent presence, or a figment of the Dude’s imagination. Why else would an old gunslinger be posted up in a Los Angeles bowling alley?
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Woody – Toy Story (1995)
Woody Is A Western Archetype In More Than Just Appearance
Woody is a toy based on a popular western TV show intended for children, as he discovers in Toy Story 2 when he meets Jessie, Bullseye and the old prospector, Stinky Pete. This makes sense, because he embodies the role of a sheriff in the Wild West in more than just his appearance. He’s the de facto leader of Andy’s toys, at least until Buzz Lightyear arrives to shake up the dynamic.
The diversity of Andy’s creates the potential for some bizarre cultural crossover. Buzz and Woody’s back-and-forth highlights this idea, but Woody also has to contend with plenty of other characters who wouldn’t fit into a western setting, like Rex, Mr. Potato Head and the green army men. Woody manages to corral these characters together with his undeniable charisma, carving out a niche for a western lawman. Toy Story 5 is set to continue Pixar’s biggest franchise.
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Doc Hudson – Cars (2006)
Woody Isn’t The Only Pixar Character Inspired By Western Archetypes
Particularly in the original Cars movie, Doc Hudson is a western archetype who clashes with Lightning McQueen’s fast-paced way of life and brash atтιтude. Doc is the respectable old lawman who may have retired from his post but still has a moral duty to protect and serve his townspeople. He has the wisdom to try and let Lightning off when he sees that he’s a race car, knowing that he could cause even more trouble.
Paul Newman’s low, authoritative voice sells Doc’s status as a highly-respected member of the Radiator Springs community. Like many old hands in western movies, he also has an action-packed past and a traumatic secret that he’d rather not talk about. He represents the total anтιтhesis to Lightning’s personality, and this makes him the perfect mentor for the young H๏τsH๏τ. Doc shows how many of the best Pixar movies toy with movie genres and tropes.
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Joe Buck – Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Joe Buck Is A Western Character Thrust Into The Modern World
Even at the start of Midnight Cowboy, when Joe Buck is idling around his hometown, he seems like a man in the wrong time period. This becomes even more apparent after a long bus ride to New York City, where he’s soon overwhelmed by the rapid pace and cynical nature of the modern world. This reflects how Midnight Cowboy interrogates the suitability of old movie archetypes at the dawn of New Hollywood.
Although he arrives with big dreams of taking the city by storm, Joe finds himself living with Ratso in a filthy condemned building, lying and stealing to scrape together enough money for food. As the story gets progressively bleaker and less centered, Joe’s simple western charms begin to look even more comedically out of place. He finally ditches his hat and boots after a long, miserable bus ride to Miami, suggesting that he may start an entirely new life in the real world.
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Montana – Asteroid City (2023)
Wes Anderson’s Absurd Sci-Fi Comedy Takes Place In A Western Setting
Wes Anderson’s movies often play with western character archetypes, like Owen Wilson’s character in The Royal Tenenbaums, or the way that Mr. Fox reflects the idea of a sentimental outlaw struggling to leave his old life behind. Asteroid City is the closest that Anderson has come to making an out-and-out western, although it’s really a sci-fi comedy wrapped in several layers of artifice.
Many of the characters in Asteroid City seem completely out of place in the desert setting, to reflect the way that it’s merely a successful playwright’s imagining of the region. At the other end of the spectrum is Montana, the leader of a cowboy band who romances a school teacher. Although he’s a shallow stereotype in some ways, he adds a different perspective to Asteroid City‘s romantic subplots, and his music is a charming bonus.
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The Judge – The Frighteners (1996)
The Judge Is Completely Out Of Place In The Modern Era
The Frighteners stars Michael J. Fox as a man with the ability to see ghosts, which he initially uses to run a lucrative con as a phony exorcist. One of his regular co-conspirators is the Judge, a western gunslinger whose skin is gradually peeling off due to decomposition. The Judge is much older than the other ghosts, both in terms of his age at his time of death and his cumulative age, including the centuries he has been wandering the land as a spirit.
Frank is often forced to look after the Judge as if he’s a toddler, since he’s so divorced from reality that he struggles to understand what’s going on around him. This doesn’t seem to bother him, however, as he seems perfectly content living in his own bubble, where he believes he’s still a revered gunslinger in the Old West. By taking this archetype completely out of context, The Frighteners makes the western genre look bizarre.
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Boba Fett – Star Wars
Beneath The Surface, Boba Fett Is A Western Hero
Star Wars takes plenty of cues from old westerns. While many of the characters could be compared to prevalent western archetypes, Boba Fett is one of the clearest examples. He’s a stoic bounty hunter with a mysterious past, as dedicated as he is skilled. Wearing a mask at all times highlights his lack of emotion, likening him to iconic western characters like Clint Eastwood’s “Man With No Name“.
Star Wars takes plenty of cues from old westerns.
The slate of upcoming Star Wars movies promises a deeper exploration of the franchise’s western influences, starting with The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is based on a TV show that often resembles a serial western. Other sci-fi characters have taken inspiration from the western genre ever since Star Wars, like Deckard in his long trenchcoat in Blade Runner or Mad Max‘s lone wanderer.
