Perhaps more than any other films in the Disney and Pixar franchises, the Toy Story series is about as close as the animated titans have gotten to making small scale superhero movies. Obviously, there is nothing small about The Incredibles. With characters like Woody Pride and Buzz Lightyear leading the charge, everyone's favorite pint-sized toy heroes find themselves facing off against foes, regardless of whether they are toy or human.
Over the course of the three films that have been released so far, as well as some of the animated shorts shown on television, Toy Story has introduced some of the most fearsome villains in Disney history. Only time will tell how the villains in the forthcoming Toy Story 4 will compare to those who came before. But for now, we take a look back at the eight most intimidating villains we've met so far.
Ken Carson (Toy Story 3)
Ken is by far one of the silliest characters introduced in Toy Story 3. While his secret status as a villain is played as a shock, given his immediate love connection with Barbie, Ken ultimately turns out to be a pretty ineffectual villain in the end. He is a loyal member of Lotso Huggin Bear's gang of henchmen toys.
His vanity, and in particular his pride about his endless wardrobe, prove to be his downfall. Barbie, far more resourceful than she lets on, winds up manipulating Ken into giving her everything she needs to help the good toys get the upper hand in Sunnyside Daycare. Over time, Ken's affection for Barbie grows, and he ultimately betrays Lotso entirely, joining the good guys in the end.
Emperor Zurg (Toy Story 2)
Emperor Zurg is Buzz Lightyear's nemesis, and also clearly the Toy Story franchise's interpretation of the iconic Star Wars villain, Darth Vader. At first, when he's introduced in Toy Story 2, he's a one-dimensional villain, set on destroying and defeating Buzz Lightyear in any way he can.
But a later confrontation between Emperor Zurg and the secondary Buzz Lightyear, who originated in Al's Toy Barn, reveals a more complex and tongue in cheek backstory for Zurg's character. In a total tribute to Star Wars, Zurg reveals that he is, in fact, Buzz Lightyear's father, leading to a spur of the moment redemption arc that culminates in the duo playing catch.
Lotso Huggin Bear (Toy Story 3)
Lotso Huggin Bear is one of the most complex villains Toy Story ever introduced. He's the all-powerful leader of the toys at Sunnyside Daycare, charismatic and domineering and fully supported by his own little gang of henchmen. He is revealed to have a tragic backstory, too - one that is not entirely different from Jessie's.
His first owner, Daisy, adored him, but her family left him and a few other toys behind. After traveling all the way to her home, they found that she had moved on to other toys, including an exact replacement of him. Growing hateful from that moment onward, Lotso became a total control freak, hating children and turning Sunnyside Daycare into a makeshift prison.
The Cleric (Toy Story That Time Forgot)
Toy Story That Time Forgot isn't the best of the Toy Story shorts or short films by any measure, but it does introduce one of the creepiest Toy Story villains of them all. As the fearsome leader of the Battlesaurs, The Cleric is an elderly dinosaur who refuses to allow his obedient subjects to learn that they are in fact toys.
He is incredibly hostile to Bonnie's toys, Rex and Trixie in particular, and tries to turn his many Battlesaur subjects against them, even encouraging combat and battles to the (toy) death. It's a really dark storyline - especially in what is meant to be a holiday special.
Ronald Tompkins (Toy Story Of Terror!)
Toy Story of Terror! is another one of the televised Toy Story short films, but this one introduces a villain that may seem familiar to longtime fans of the franchise. Motel manager Ronald Tompkins is a compulsive toy collector, much in the vein of Al from Toy Story 2. He buys as many collectible item toys as he can online, but he goes one step further in his collecting.
As it so happens, that step further is a truly villainous one. Ronald uses his pet iguana to steal toys from patrons of the motel, including Bonnie and her family, which causes him to cross paths with our beloved toy heroes. Making matters worse, he then tries to sell the toys he steals online, hoping to make a quick profit off them.
Al McWhiggin (Toy Story 2)
As we've already described, Ronald Tompkins is not the only greedy villain that Andy's toys are forced to encounter. Long before Ronald, the toys had to face the nefarious Al McWhiggin, the greedy owner of the toy store Al's Toy Barn. After spotting Woody at a yard sale at the Davis family house, Al steals the beloved toy and sets about restoring him to as good quality as possible.
Al had arranged for a sale of the complete set of Woody's Roundup toys with a generous foreign investor, and since he was desperately in need of money, he was willing to go to any lengths to complete this expensive sale. Of course, Woody and the gang are saved in the end, leaving Al heartbroken over his loss of unearned riches.
Stinky Pete (Toy Story 2)
While Al McWhiggin may have been framed as the villain of Toy Story 2 from the beginning, the true threat of the movie was hidden in plain sight all along. Kelsey Grammer's Stinky Pete begins the film as a seeming ally to Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye; however, a late in the film twist reveals that he's been orchestrating the plot to keep the toys together all along.
Stinky Pete hates children and wants the toys to be safe from the threat of grimy hand and mistreatment. If this requires stealing a few toys away from their loving families, as long as it ensures his own safety and happiness in the end, then so be it. While Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye are saved by the rest of the toys, Stinky Pete is given a particularly cruel fate, as he winds up in the hands of a little girl who loves to make over her toys with finger paints.
Sid Phillips (Toy Story)
Toy Story has introduced some truly fearsome villains over the course of the lengthy, beloved franchise. But none of them have ever compared or been more psychotic and villainous, than the original Toy Story villain: Sid Phillips. As Andy's neighbor, Sid couldn't be more different than the loving owner of the beloved toy heroes. He relishes in taking toys apart and fashioning them into other creepy hybrids.
When he finally gets his hands on Woody and Buzz, Sid raises his psychopathy to a whole new level, deciding to send the toys into the air on a model rocket. Thankfully, the toys give Sid a taste of his own medicine, revealing their true abilities to talk and moving on their own, traumatizing him and preventing him from ever interfering with or harming any other toys ever again.