Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney Opens The Toy Box and today we are taking a look at perhaps the nastiest villain in the entire Toy Story trilogy as he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. He may smell like sweet strawberries but his attitude is rotten to the core. Join me as we look at Lots-o' Huggin' Bear. As always, this'll include Voice Actor, Entrance, Personality, Most Evil Deed, Lackeys, demise, & finally, Is Lots-o' a good villain. Let's begin.
Voice Actor
Ned Beatty
I'll be honest here and say that this is the only role of Mr. Beatty's that I'm familiar with. And overall with his voice performance, he does a good job of switching from southern gentlemen to a prison warden as the film progresses and the true nature of Lots-o' is revealed.
Entrance
If you want to get technical, we actually see Lots-o' in the very first Toy Story. Or at least an early version of him.
You see Lots-o' originally was going to be in the first Toy Story but the technology needed to animate his fur was not yet available at this time.
He also had a quick cameo in Toy Story 2 in Andy's room but knowing that we can assume that this is not the same Lots-o' that serves as the main antagonist for Toy Story 3. And the Lots-o' bear would also appear in Up. Which came out one year before Toy Story 3.
We still aren't done yet with appearances outside the movie. You see as part of a viral marketing campaign, two Lotso commercials were released online. A simple '80s looking one and more out there Japanese style commercial.
I remember a lot of people were duped with the "80's" commercial into thinking that Lots-o' Huggin' Bear was an actual toy of the '80s and people started posting online about how they totally had one of these as a kid but their parents threw him out. And quite honestly, looking at this commercial, I could see how people would fall for it and believe that such a toy existed. As for the Japanese commercial, that too is pretty believable.
Though I prefer the '80s style commercial and will admit to being of the people that was duped by it. Now, we finally come to the movie. When we first see Lots-O' in the movie, he gives off the vibe of being a kindly old man, who only has the best interest of the toys at heart. Two of the biggest elements that he uses here in giving the facade of being a frail old man are that he uses a toy mallet as walking cane and something else that I picked up was we see him enter on a dump truck. And he seems to be using it in the same style as say an elderly person in a wheelchair.
The emphasis here is on replaced. We don't know how long ago, Daisy lost Lots-o' but we can assume that it had been a long time because Lots-o' has quite a bit of built-up resentment and anger towards other toys and kids. Underneath the lie that he wears hides the most evil of all Pixar villains. He may look soft and cuddly but that only works to further hide the monster inside of him.
Lackeys
Now seeing as Lots-o' runs Sunnyside as a prison, he has most of the toys under his thumb, err paw. However, there are only two in particular that I want to touch upon. Though, who's idea was it cast Whoopi Goldberg in such a bit part.
I mean seriously, we know from The Lion King that Whoopi can play a good henchmen type character. So, why didn't the guys at Pixar give her more to do? This is one decision that baffles me. But let's move on to the two characters from Lots-o's gang that are worth talking about. Starting with his second-in-command, Ken.
Ken is perhaps one of the funniest Pixar characters ever. He's not much of a serious threat and that does make me wonder what Lots-o' saw in this girl's toy to make him, the second-in-command. Oh sorry, I hit one of Ken's nerves. He is a true highlight in the film but as far as villainy goes, Discorded Fluttershy was more evil. Now, we come to the other character that is more interesting in terms of their relationship with Lots-o' Huggin' Bear.
Big Baby
Big Baby at first appears to be nothing more than Lots-o's muscle but as we learn from their back-story, they were friends once. But Lots-o' lied to Big Baby and continued to use him for his own selfish reasons and hid the truth from him. Which is one of the most heartbreaking aspects of Toy Story 3, when it comes to Lots-o' Huggin' Bear as a character.
Most Evil Deeds
Yeah, I couldn't narrow it down to just one So, instead of the usual detailed choice of his most evil deed. I'm going to give you a list of Lots-o's evil deeds.
Demise
Now, Lots-o' Huggin' Bear at first had what I'd like to call a fake demise. And that is when Big Baby throws him into the dumpster. Which is our second Star Wars reference in this trilogy.
However, he survives this and ends up with Andy's Toys at the dump and despite being saved by Buzz and Woody from dying, he leaves them to die.
And he leaves the toys with one parting line.
This shows that Lots-o' is a monster to the very end. Which makes his demise quite fitting. As you see, Lots-o' is found by a garbage man, who had a Lots-o' Huggin' Bear as a kid and he decides to place Lots-o' on the front of his garbage truck.
Lots-o' being tied to the grill of this garbage truck is quite fitting as it represents his fall from grace. He went from being in charge of Sunnyside and ruling it with an iron fist to now being placed on this truck, where he is nothing more than a mere stuffed animal among others. He's a nobody. Maybe, Lots-o' did finally get that love that he thought no toys ever got but I'm not so sure here.
Is Lots-o' Huggin' Bear A Good Villain?
Absolutely and I would argue that out of all the the Toy Story villains, he is the most well-developed. You truly get a sense of what makes him such a monstrous character. He is truly evil and any trace of goodness that was once in him has been erased by all the evil deeds that he has done. While he not may not be my favorite villain from Toy Story, he is the strongest. Join me tomorrow as we look at Woody's Aqua Adventure.
Voice Actor
Ned Beatty
I'll be honest here and say that this is the only role of Mr. Beatty's that I'm familiar with. And overall with his voice performance, he does a good job of switching from southern gentlemen to a prison warden as the film progresses and the true nature of Lots-o' is revealed.
Entrance
If you want to get technical, we actually see Lots-o' in the very first Toy Story. Or at least an early version of him.
You see Lots-o' originally was going to be in the first Toy Story but the technology needed to animate his fur was not yet available at this time.
Lotso was originally supposed to appear in the first film, but the technology needed to create his fur had not existed until the third film. A pink teddy bear that appears to be an early design of Lotso makes a brief appearance in Toy Story.
He also had a quick cameo in Toy Story 2 in Andy's room but knowing that we can assume that this is not the same Lots-o' that serves as the main antagonist for Toy Story 3. And the Lots-o' bear would also appear in Up. Which came out one year before Toy Story 3.
We still aren't done yet with appearances outside the movie. You see as part of a viral marketing campaign, two Lotso commercials were released online. A simple '80s looking one and more out there Japanese style commercial.
I remember a lot of people were duped with the "80's" commercial into thinking that Lots-o' Huggin' Bear was an actual toy of the '80s and people started posting online about how they totally had one of these as a kid but their parents threw him out. And quite honestly, looking at this commercial, I could see how people would fall for it and believe that such a toy existed. As for the Japanese commercial, that too is pretty believable.
Though I prefer the '80s style commercial and will admit to being of the people that was duped by it. Now, we finally come to the movie. When we first see Lots-O' in the movie, he gives off the vibe of being a kindly old man, who only has the best interest of the toys at heart. Two of the biggest elements that he uses here in giving the facade of being a frail old man are that he uses a toy mallet as walking cane and something else that I picked up was we see him enter on a dump truck. And he seems to be using it in the same style as say an elderly person in a wheelchair.
Giving the impression that while he can still get around, he needs some help to go to one place from the other because he's an older bear and he can't stay on his feet too long. He uses this as a part of his facade to further the lie that he is a kind and caring creature. It plays on the other toys' sympathy.
Personality
To first understand, Lotso's personality, we need to look at his past.
Thanks to Chuckles, we understand that Lots-o' wasn't always the monster that he became. The two biggest factors that led to this are the sense of abandonment and that Daisy replaced him with another Lots-o' Huggin' Bear. Which led to his belief that no child truly ever loved a toy.
I didn't throw you out. Your kid did. Ain't one kid ever loved a toy, really.
The emphasis here is on replaced. We don't know how long ago, Daisy lost Lots-o' but we can assume that it had been a long time because Lots-o' has quite a bit of built-up resentment and anger towards other toys and kids. Underneath the lie that he wears hides the most evil of all Pixar villains. He may look soft and cuddly but that only works to further hide the monster inside of him.
Lackeys
Now seeing as Lots-o' runs Sunnyside as a prison, he has most of the toys under his thumb, err paw. However, there are only two in particular that I want to touch upon. Though, who's idea was it cast Whoopi Goldberg in such a bit part.
I mean seriously, we know from The Lion King that Whoopi can play a good henchmen type character. So, why didn't the guys at Pixar give her more to do? This is one decision that baffles me. But let's move on to the two characters from Lots-o's gang that are worth talking about. Starting with his second-in-command, Ken.
Ken is perhaps one of the funniest Pixar characters ever. He's not much of a serious threat and that does make me wonder what Lots-o' saw in this girl's toy to make him, the second-in-command. Oh sorry, I hit one of Ken's nerves. He is a true highlight in the film but as far as villainy goes, Discorded Fluttershy was more evil. Now, we come to the other character that is more interesting in terms of their relationship with Lots-o' Huggin' Bear.
Big Baby
Big Baby at first appears to be nothing more than Lots-o's muscle but as we learn from their back-story, they were friends once. But Lots-o' lied to Big Baby and continued to use him for his own selfish reasons and hid the truth from him. Which is one of the most heartbreaking aspects of Toy Story 3, when it comes to Lots-o' Huggin' Bear as a character.
Most Evil Deeds
Yeah, I couldn't narrow it down to just one So, instead of the usual detailed choice of his most evil deed. I'm going to give you a list of Lots-o's evil deeds.
- Lying to Big Baby
- Breaking Big Baby's Heart
- Reprogramming Buzz
- Torturing Chatter Telephone
- Leaving Andy's Toys to die
Demise
Now, Lots-o' Huggin' Bear at first had what I'd like to call a fake demise. And that is when Big Baby throws him into the dumpster. Which is our second Star Wars reference in this trilogy.
However, he survives this and ends up with Andy's Toys at the dump and despite being saved by Buzz and Woody from dying, he leaves them to die.
And he leaves the toys with one parting line.
Where's your kid now, sheriff?
This shows that Lots-o' is a monster to the very end. Which makes his demise quite fitting. As you see, Lots-o' is found by a garbage man, who had a Lots-o' Huggin' Bear as a kid and he decides to place Lots-o' on the front of his garbage truck.
Lots-o' being tied to the grill of this garbage truck is quite fitting as it represents his fall from grace. He went from being in charge of Sunnyside and ruling it with an iron fist to now being placed on this truck, where he is nothing more than a mere stuffed animal among others. He's a nobody. Maybe, Lots-o' did finally get that love that he thought no toys ever got but I'm not so sure here.
Is Lots-o' Huggin' Bear A Good Villain?
Absolutely and I would argue that out of all the the Toy Story villains, he is the most well-developed. You truly get a sense of what makes him such a monstrous character. He is truly evil and any trace of goodness that was once in him has been erased by all the evil deeds that he has done. While he not may not be my favorite villain from Toy Story, he is the strongest. Join me tomorrow as we look at Woody's Aqua Adventure.
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