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Wilson the volleyball Wilson First appearance Cast Away Created by William Broyles Jr. Information Nickname(s) Wilson the Volleyball Species Anthropomorphized volleyball Date of death c. April 2000 Occupation Sidekick Fate Lost at sea In the film, Wilson the volleyball serves as Chuck Noland's anthropomorphized friend and only companion during the four years that Noland spends alone on a deserted island. 5][6 7] Wilson is listed at No. 97 among "The 50 Greatest Cinema Sidekicks", 8] and has been a subject of humor in literature, film and television. The character has been parodied in Mad Magazine and in such films and television shows as Scary Movie 2, Family Guy and Saturday Night Live. edit]Character development The character was created by screenwriter William Broyles Jr. While researching for the film Cast Away, he consulted with professional survival experts, and then chose to deliberately strand himself for one week on an isolated beach in the Sea of Cortes, to force himself to search for water and food, and obtain his own shelter. During this time, a volleyball washed up on shore. This was the inspiration for the film's inanimate citation needed] companion. From a theatrical view, Wilson also serves to realistically imply dialogue in a one-person-only situation. 9] [edit Storyline After being castaway on a desert island, Chuck Noland (Hanks) finds a Wilson Sporting Goods volleyball in one of the FedEx boxes that he salvages from the plane crash. When he tries to make a fire, he cuts his hand and angrily palms the volleyball and throws it, leaving a hand-shaped blood mark on the ball. He then bandages his hands and wipes away some of the blood, which results in a vaguely recognizable "face" on the ball. Because of the company's name stamped on the ball, he names it after the company, "Wilson", and places the ball in various locations on the island as though it is a companion.[7 10] Wilson plays the role of a mute, infinitely patient, non-living listener in the movie, providing Chuck with a companion for the 1,500 days he spends on the island. 7][11 12] Chuck is frequently seen talking to Wilson in the movie, and responds as though Wilson is talking back. At first, Chuck only jokingly talks to Wilson. When Chuck is attempting to build a fire, he turns to Wilson and asks, "You wouldn't happen to have a match, would you?" After years of isolation, Chuck begins to see Wilson as an actual being, and not an inanimate object. 7][13 11] In one scene, Chuck gets into an argument with Wilson and ends up kicking him. He also reveals that it was Wilson who "suggested" Chuck test his rope before attempting suicide, an act which later proved to save him from severe injury, as the log which held the rope could not have supported the weight of a dummy or, therefore, a person. 13][11 After four years on the island, a weathered Wilson is shown which has been further modified by Chuck, with a section of the volleyball above the face removed and a bunch of leaves inserted, to be seen as hair. Chuck loses Wilson after the volleyball washes off his escape raft and drifts too far out to sea for Chuck to be able to retrieve it. He weeps after failing to save Wilson and throws away his oars, seemingly losing the will to live after losing his friend. Chuck is eventually rescued, but Wilson is lost forever. However toward the film's end, Chuck is seen driving a car, with a brand new volleyball sitting in the passenger seat.[7 13] [edit]Cultural impact The specific instance of this theatrical device has itself become the subject of humor, parody, imitation and direct reference in other literary, film and television projects.[13][11][14] In the DreamWorks Animation 2004 film Madagascar, Alex yells "Shut up, Spalding!" to a Spalding basketball, imitating the way Chuck yells at Wilson in Cast Away.[15] At legendary jam band Phish's comeback show on New Years Eve, 2002, they opened their decade-older track "Wilson" with footage played over the jumbotron of Hanks yelling at Wilson (The song typically begins with double-notes dividing the audience chanting the song's name, which occurred here regardless).[16] "Tom Hanks" also seemed to appear to sing part of the song's ending, although it was simply keyboardist Page McConnell's brother in disguise.[16] In Family Guy episode "A Fish Out of Water," a flashback shows Peter stranded on a raft, talking to a volleyball.[17] Peter yells at the ball saying, "Wilson! Wilson! What are we gonna' do now!?", to which the volleyball shouts back, "My name is Voit, dumbass!", as a reference to the sporting goods company Voit.[17] The Stargate Atlantis episode "Epiphany" makes a reference to Wilson when Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, stranded in a cave, says into his radio, "This is Sheppard. I'm pretty sure you can't hear me, but I don't have a volleyball to talk to, so what the hell."[18] The original film's director also chose to spoof his own film. In Monster House, which was produced by Cast Away director Robert Zemeckis, the haunted house, after having "eaten" one character's Wilson basketball, spits it out, but this time the ball has a drawing of a demonic face on it.[19] Shortly after the film's release in 2001, the World Wrestling Federation parodied the Wilson Volleyball character in "Moppy," Perry Saturn's inanimate mop whom he falls in love with after receiving (kayfabe, or non-reality wrestling storyline) head trauma in a match.[20] Moppy even had a somewhat similar face to the Wilson Volleyball.[20] After the movie's release, NASCAR stock car driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. drove several races with a volleyball in his car, whom he called "Wilson."[21][22] Wilson was also spoofed in an episode of Lilo and Stitch: The Series when Pleakly made friends with a coconut he named Coco.[23] Alton Brown made a spoof of Wilson on an episode of Good Eats when he befriends a coconut named Coco who he says "didn't like him very much," however, he ends up ditching him in the oven for complaining about the food.[24] On the Canadian animated series Total Drama Island, Owen, before meeting up with the rest of the cast during the castaway challenge, made himself an imaginary friend out of a coconut he found on the island, naming him "Mr. Coconut," but Mr. Coconut is later voted off in the same episode.[25][26] Imitation continuing online, in the MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot, a player who runs away in 8v8 combat once he realizes his group has lost is considered to be Wilsoning. In the MMORPG Kingdom of Loathing, a player can create a blood-faced volleyball using the bloody hand effect.[27] To promote a bit of creativity, it is not allowed to be named "Wilson."[27] In the Kids Learning MMORPG "Poptropica", Wilson can be seen sitting on a Crate on the Deserted Island on the Level Shark Tooth. The only difference is that his "Face" is Orange, not red, probably due to the fact that his "Face" is really Blood in the movie.[28][29] Wilson is also the team mascot for the Panthers volleyball team.[30] [edit]Fate of the prop One of the original volleyball props was sold at auction after release of the film for $18,400.00, and now rests in a display cabinet in FedEx Kinko's CEO Ken May's office in Dallas, Texas.[31] In addition, many near identical replicas of Wilson are available for sale,[10][32][33] and the Wilson company manufactures a volleyball with the handprint face on one side.[34] this article is a stub. help us by expanding it
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Wilson the volleyball
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Wilson
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First appearance Cast Away Created by William Broyles Jr. Information Nickname(s) Wilson the Volleyball Species Anthropomorphized volleyball Date of death c. April 2000 Occupation Sidekick Fate Lost at sea In the film, Wilson the volleyball serves as Chuck Noland's anthropomorphized friend and only companion during the four years that Noland spends alone on a deserted island.
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Wilson is listed at No. 97 among "The 50 Greatest Cinema Sidekicks",
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and has been a subject of humor in literature, film and television. The character has been parodied in Mad Magazine and in such films and television shows as Scary Movie 2, Family Guy and Saturday Night Live.
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edit
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Character development The character was created by screenwriter William Broyles Jr. While researching for the film Cast Away, he consulted with professional survival experts, and then chose to deliberately strand himself for one week on an isolated beach in the Sea of Cortes, to force himself to search for water and food, and obtain his own shelter. During this time, a volleyball washed up on shore. This was the inspiration for the film's inanimate
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citation needed
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companion. From a theatrical view, Wilson also serves to realistically imply dialogue in a one-person-only situation.
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9
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edit
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Storyline After being castaway on a desert island, Chuck Noland (Hanks) finds a Wilson Sporting Goods volleyball in one of the FedEx boxes that he salvages from the plane crash. When he tries to make a fire, he cuts his hand and angrily palms the volleyball and throws it, leaving a hand-shaped blood mark on the ball. He then bandages his hands and wipes away some of the blood, which results in a vaguely recognizable "face" on the ball. Because of the company's name stamped on the ball, he names it after the company, "Wilson", and places the ball in various locations on the island as though it is a companion.
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7
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10
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Wilson plays the role of a mute, infinitely patient, non-living listener in the movie, providing Chuck with a companion for the 1,500 days he spends on the island.
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7
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11
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12
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Chuck is frequently seen talking to Wilson in the movie, and responds as though Wilson is talking back. At first, Chuck only jokingly talks to Wilson. When Chuck is attempting to build a fire, he turns to Wilson and asks, "You wouldn't happen to have a match, would you?" After years of isolation, Chuck begins to see Wilson as an actual being, and not an inanimate object.
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7
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13
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11
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In one scene, Chuck gets into an argument with Wilson and ends up kicking him. He also reveals that it was Wilson who "suggested" Chuck test his rope before attempting suicide, an act which later proved to save him from severe injury, as the log which held the rope could not have supported the weight of a dummy or, therefore, a person.
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13
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11
A
After four years on the island, a weathered Wilson is shown which has been further modified by Chuck, with a section of the volleyball above the face removed and a bunch of leaves inserted, to be seen as hair. Chuck loses Wilson after the volleyball washes off his escape raft and drifts too far out to sea for Chuck to be able to retrieve it. He weeps after failing to save Wilson and throws away his oars, seemingly losing the will to live after losing his friend. Chuck is eventually rescued, but Wilson is lost forever. However toward the film's end, Chuck is seen driving a car, with a brand new volleyball sitting in the passenger seat.
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7
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13
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edit
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Cultural impact The specific instance of this theatrical device has itself become the subject of humor, parody, imitation and direct reference in other literary, film and television projects.
A
13
A
11
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14
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In the DreamWorks Animation 2004 film Madagascar, Alex yells "Shut up, Spalding!" to a Spalding basketball, imitating the way Chuck yells at Wilson in Cast Away.
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15
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At legendary jam band Phish's comeback show on New Years Eve, 2002, they opened their decade-older track "Wilson" with footage played over the jumbotron of Hanks yelling at Wilson (The song typically begins with double-notes dividing the audience chanting the song's name, which occurred here regardless).
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16
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"Tom Hanks" also seemed to appear to sing part of the song's ending, although it was simply keyboardist Page McConnell's brother in disguise.
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16
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In Family Guy episode "A Fish Out of Water," a flashback shows Peter stranded on a raft, talking to a volleyball.
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Peter yells at the ball saying, "Wilson! Wilson! What are we gonna' do now!?", to which the volleyball shouts back, "My name is Voit, dumbass!", as a reference to the sporting goods company Voit.
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17
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The Stargate Atlantis episode "Epiphany" makes a reference to Wilson when Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, stranded in a cave, says into his radio, "This is Sheppard. I'm pretty sure you can't hear me, but I don't have a volleyball to talk to, so what the hell."
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18
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The original film's director also chose to spoof his own film. In Monster House, which was produced by Cast Away director Robert Zemeckis, the haunted house, after having "eaten" one character's Wilson basketball, spits it out, but this time the ball has a drawing of a demonic face on it.
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19
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Shortly after the film's release in 2001, the World Wrestling Federation parodied the Wilson Volleyball character in "Moppy," Perry Saturn's inanimate mop whom he falls in love with after receiving (kayfabe, or non-reality wrestling storyline) head trauma in a match.
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20
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Moppy even had a somewhat similar face to the Wilson Volleyball.
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After the movie's release, NASCAR stock car driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. drove several races with a volleyball in his car, whom he called "Wilson."
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Wilson was also spoofed in an episode of Lilo and Stitch: The Series when Pleakly made friends with a coconut he named Coco.
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Alton Brown made a spoof of Wilson on an episode of Good Eats when he befriends a coconut named Coco who he says "didn't like him very much," however, he ends up ditching him in the oven for complaining about the food.
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24
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On the Canadian animated series Total Drama Island, Owen, before meeting up with the rest of the cast during the castaway challenge, made himself an imaginary friend out of a coconut he found on the island, naming him "Mr. Coconut," but Mr. Coconut is later voted off in the same episode.
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25
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Imitation continuing online, in the MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot, a player who runs away in 8v8 combat once he realizes his group has lost is considered to be Wilsoning. In the MMORPG Kingdom of Loathing, a player can create a blood-faced volleyball using the bloody hand effect.
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To promote a bit of creativity, it is not allowed to be named "Wilson."
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In the Kids Learning MMORPG "Poptropica", Wilson can be seen sitting on a Crate on the Deserted Island on the Level Shark Tooth. The only difference is that his "Face" is Orange, not red, probably due to the fact that his "Face" is really Blood in the movie.
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Wilson is also the team mascot for the Panthers volleyball team.
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edit
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Fate of the prop One of the original volleyball props was sold at auction after release of the film for $18,400.00, and now rests in a display cabinet in FedEx Kinko's CEO Ken May's office in Dallas, Texas.
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In addition, many near identical replicas of Wilson are available for sale,
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and the Wilson company manufactures a volleyball with the handprint face on one side.
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this article is a stub. help us by expanding it