AN ANALYSIS OF IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS FOUND IN TOY STORY 3 MOVIE

This study was conducted to identify the types, percentages, and contextual meanings of idiomatic expressions in the movie “Toy Story 3.” This is an important topic to study because the meanings of idiomatic expressions cannot be understood by interpreting each word separately. However, idiomatic expressions are commonly found in everyday spoken English, including in the movie “Toy Story 3.” This study employs a qualitative descriptive method, using “Toy Story 3” as the data source and the idiomatic expressions found in the movie as the research data. Data were collected through observation, in which the researcher watched the movie, identified the idiomatic expressions spoken by the characters, and coded them for further analysis.
The idiomatic expressions identified were then classified according to the theory proposed by McCarthy and O’Dell (2010), in which idiomatic expressions are divided into six (6) types: verb + object/complement (and/or adverbial), prepositional phrase, compound, simile, binomial/trinomial, and whole clause or sentence. The results show that there are 35 idiomatic expressions found in the movie, consisting of 10 (28.57%) verb + object/complement, 6 (17.14%) prepositional phrases, 5 (14.28%) compounds, 2 (5.71%) similes, 2 (5.71%) binomial/trinomial, and 10 (28.57%) whole clauses or sentences. The most common types of idioms in the movie “Toy Story 3” are “verb + object/complement” and “whole clause or sentence,” because these two types of idioms use structures that best suit the movie, which features spontaneous, expressive, and fast-paced dialogue throughout. Meanwhile, similes and binomial/trinomial idioms are the two types of idioms used least frequently in “Toy Story 3,” due to their more rigid structural patterns.
The contextual meaning of each idiomatic expression identified is interpreted based on the situations experienced by the characters in the movie “Toy Story 3,” and most of the meanings can be understood through the dialogue, context, and visuals in the movie. This study is expected to have an impact and be beneficial to teachers, students, and future researchers in understanding and teaching idiomatic expressions using movies.