Toy Story 3 and The Incredibles 2 Villains Article

         How Toy Story 3 and Incredibles 2 have similar villains

            Before Pixar decided to dive into the deep end (negatively speaking), it was

cranking out animated hits and earning money. Indeed, Pixar has touched people with

heartfelt stories and winning characters. They also created complex villains as well. The

villains I will be discussing about are Lotso from Toy Story 3 and Evelyn Deavor from The

Incredibles 2. If you haven’t watched either of these films in a long time or at all, a huge

spoiler warning is in effect.

            For Toy Story 3, Lotso is first introduced as a sweet huggable bear at Sunnyside

Day Care. Andy’s toys are thrilled with him, much to Woody’s dismay. Even though Buzz

and Co are excited to get played with, that feeling diminishes when toddlers in the

Caterpillar Room treat them like rag dolls and color on them. When Buzz asks Lotso to

transfer him and his friends to the Butterfly room (the slightly older kids’ room), the former

only wants the space ranger.

            “I can’t accept, we’re a family, we stick together,” Buzz declares.

          Lotso’s face shifts from smiling to coldness. “Family man, huh? I understand. Put him

back in the time out chair.”

            Lotso instructs his cohorts to switch Buzz’s settings from play to demo. This puts

Buzz into defensive mode, locking his friends up under Lotso’s command. Lotso then steps

up onto a platform, delivering a laydown of how Sunnyside works.

            “Listen up, folks. We’ve got a way of doing things at Sunnyside. If you start at the

bottom, pay your dues, life here can be a dream come true. But if you break our rules, step

out of line, try to check out early, well you’re just hurting yourselves.”

            A bit later, Woody who was taken home by a sweet girl named Bonnie, is thrilled to

be going home to Andy. But when he drops that he escaped from Sunnyside, Bonnie’s toys

are shocked.

            “How did you escape?” Trixie (a toy dinosaur) inquires.

            “What do you mean escape?” Woody presses.

            Toy hedgehog Mr. Fickle Pants walks forward. “Sunnyside is a place of ruin and

despair, ruled by an evil bear who smells of strawberries.”

            It’s then that clown Chuckles launches into Lotso’s backstory. He was friends with

the bear up until the day that Daisy (their previous owner) forgot them and replaced Lotso

with another bear model. Lotso didn’t take it well, assuming she replaced them all, when it

was only him.

            After nearly escaping Sunnyside, Woody and Co are caught by Lotso and his gang.

Before they are pushed into the trash dumpster, Woody brings up Daisy.

            “You used to do everything with her?” Woody quizzes.

            “Yeah, then she threw us out,” Lotso replies bitterly.

            “She replaced you, and if you couldn’t have [Daisy], then no one could. You lied to

Big Baby and you’ve been lying ever since!” Woody declares.

            Big Baby picks up the heart tag, but Lotso rips it out of his hand, belittling him. He

crushes it, then delivers this chilling phrase.

            “This is what happens when you dummies try to think. We’re all just trash, waiting to

be thrown away. That’s all a toy is.”

            I didn’t realize it then, but seeing the current state our society is in, that phrase hit

hard. Although Toy Story 3 was released in 2010, it still stuck with me. Now, the film serves

as a parallel to the events in 2024. We have government leaders and communities

threatening to censor our free speech, expecting us to fall in line or they will destroy our

careers or way of life. However, most of the population is against the intimidating threats,

and we are fighting for our freedoms.

            Here’s what someone will most likely say when you are considering leaving a

position when you find out about their shady dealings: “You must never utter a word about

this, or I will fire you.” In other words, stick with the status quo, or no one will speak to you

anymore. People who are in power want to control everyone, especially those that are

weak. They think “As long as I pay people to keep silent, no one can stop me.”

            This mindset is perilous because not only is it unrealistic, but people will eventually

find out about our misdeeds. Numbers 32:23 (NIV) states “But if you fail to do this, you will

be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” Proverbs

17:8 (NCV) declares “Some people think they can pay others to do anything they ask. They

think it will work every time.”

            Both Bible verses are clear here: powerful people who abuse their power will be

brought down. Lotso eventually finds himself tied to a garbage truck, ending his controlling

ways.

            Evelyn Deavor from The Incredibles 2 is almost like Lotso except her methods are a

bit more subtle. When first introduced in the film, she’s the tech savvy sister of Winston

Deavor a wealthy tycoon who wants superheroes to be legal again. When someone named

Screen Slaver begins hijacking screens and hypnotizing people, Helen Parr (Elastagirl)

suspects something is up. It isn’t until Helen digs deeper that Evelyn drops a bombshell:

she is the Screen Slaver. Once Helen wakes up, Evelyn smirks in satisfaction.

            “I counted on you,” Helen slightly growls.

            “That’s where you failed,” Evelyn counters.

            Evelyn proceeds to tell Helen about how her parents died. “My mom wanted to

hide, begged my father to use the safe room. But Father insisted they call his superhero

friends. He died, pointlessly, stupidly waiting for heroes to save the day. …Our sweet

parents were fools to put their lives in anybody else’s hands. Superheroes keep us weak.”

            Evelyn’s speech is full of hatred and it’s easy to see why: she wanted her parents to

be alive instead of dead. But because of her father’s dependence on superheroes, they

died anyway. She concluded that superheroes can’t be trusted and therefore can’t be free

again.

            But there’s something else to consider as well. Like Evelyn, we have suffered losses

whether it’d be through jobs, people and finances. The world tells us to blame others, shut

them out and refuse help. But that strategy leads to hatred, prejudice and bitterness. We

never fully heal from our past, instead our plan is to paint people as if they’re the reason for

the mess we created.

            Evelyn failed to realize that superheroes weren’t perfect people. Just like our

government isn’t perfect either. But that doesn’t mean we overthrow it. If we didn’t have

laws in place, anarchy would reign, and no one would be safe. That is why, despite the

chaos surrounding us, we must remember our country is great. Not perfect, but it’s better

than other countries out there.

            Helen spares Evelyn’s life and Evelyn ends up in prison for the destruction she

caused. In doing so, The Incredibles 2 conveys that loving our enemies, even the people

we disagree with is better than harboring bitterness in our hearts. Matt. 5:43-44 (NCV) says

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.’ But I say to

you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.”

            Even though Toy Story 3 and The Incredibles 2 aren’t perfect (some content

concerns such as violence and name-calling appear in both), they do touch on the issues

of government and mental health. Though the villains are somewhat despicable, their

actions are not excused. If you haven’t watched these films yet, I’d encourage you to do so

and talk with your kids and or friends about the themes shown. All in all, these two Pixar

movies are golden animated masterpieces.