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| “ | You, my little cowboy friend, are gonna make ME big buck-buck-bucks! [laughs greedily] Buck-buck-bucks! | „ |
| ~ Al's rise to power, telling Woody about his evil plans for him, and his infamous quote. |
| “ | It's showtime!! | „ |
| ~ Al's second famous quote as he is preparing to take pictures of the Roundup Gang dolls and make money off of it. |
| “ | *chuckling* It's like printing my own money. | „ |
| ~ Al's third famous quote, right after taking pictures of Woody and the Roundup Gang in his room and getting a call from the IRS. |
| “ | Welcome to Al's Toy Barn. We've got the lowest prices in town. Everything for a buck-buck-buck! [sobs] | „ |
| ~ Al's sad breakdown and last words during a last TV commercial, crying about his failed plan to sell Woody in Japan and because he's broken and sells toys in low prices at last. |
Albert "Al" McWhiggin, also known as The Chicken Man, is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Stinky Pete) of Pixar's 3rd full-length animated feature film, Toy Story 2, the second installment in the Toy Story franchise.
He is the avaricious and treacherous owner of his toy store, Al's Toy Barn, and an avid toy collector who steals Woody in hopes of selling him and the Woody's Roundup gang to Tokyo for money. However, Woody's friends, Buzz Lightyear, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Rex, and Hamm see Al steal their friend, and they head out to rescue Woody and bring him home.
He was voiced by Wayne Knight, who also played Newman from Seinfeld, Emperor Zurg from Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, Krudsky from Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King, King Tut from Batwheels, The Penguin in Harley Quinn, Jong Sung in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Baron Von Sheldgoose from The Legend of the Three Caballeros, Jack O'Lantern from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, and Dennis Nedry from Jurassic Park.
Personality[]
Al is a funny, greedy, obnoxious, ill-tempered, sleazy, selfish, slovenly, high-strung, sarcastic, and socially inept man who has little or no patience for anyone or anything that gets in his way. He is also intelligent and a shrewd businessman, despite his arrogance. He is the owner of the successful Al's Toy Barn toy store, as well as a seller of rare and vintage toys on the side, whom seeks to be rich and uses questionable means to do so.
However, when things don't go his way, Al resorts to dirty tricks to get what he wants. After failing to convince Andy's mom to sell Woody to him over deals, he attempted to make with her in a awkward but persistent fashion. He then quickly creates a distraction at the garage sale by kicking a skateboard, drawing her attention away long enough for Al to pick the lock of her money box and steal Woody without her looking.
Al also appears to be very rude and arrogant when interacting with other people, such as when he unceremoniously shoves Geri aside, goes off on the package shipping service clerk on the phone about the pricing in Japan with six packages, and talks down to the airport staff. He will only act a little polite if he has to schmooze with potential buyers that call him such as Mr. Konishi.
Al is also shown to be rather lazy, such as when he complains about "driving all the way to work on a Saturday", even though his apartment is only across the street from the store, and he could've easily walked there instead. He also sleeps on his couch at night rather than in his bed, still wearing his work clothes rather than changing into his pajamas.
On top of being self-centered and an overzealous businessman, he is extremely silly, childish and something of a goofball as a person, many of his traits are so incredibly exaggerated and over-the-top, it makes the viewers find him rather easy to laugh at or otherwise find him generally ridiculous and even goofy; examples of these include his lively chicken persona hatching eggs of toys in the commercials, his exuberance and chortling, his occasionally awkward (if expressive) movements when he talked to Andy's mom and when he was on the phone, his hammy overreactions to stuff like Woody's arm coming off, his poor hygiene like not taking a shower and falling asleep with cheese puffs all over the couch, his complaint about going over to work on a Saturday, and his humorous failures at convincing Andy's mom to give Woody in the manner of an incompetent buffoon. Despite Al being viewed as a unnerving and loathsome mascot to the toys whom stole Woody without Andy's mom knowing, these factors make him less of a traditional villain and much more of a selfish jerk who deserved karma at the end for his greed and deception compared to Emperor Zurg and Stinky Pete, the two overarching villains whose villainous actions are taken much more seriously throughout the film than Al himself, regardless of his underhanded actions as a thief. As a bonus, some of Al's misdeeds makes him more slimy, reckless, and petty outside of seeming comical and weird.
Despite many of his negative traits, he is genuinely grateful to Geri for fixing Woody when his arm is ripped off (even though he slammed into said repairment prior to Al's overexcitement). He is also a scapegoat despite getting karma for his arrogant behavior, since he lost hundreds of dollars on the plane ride and Geri and nearly lost his whole business even though he only stole one toy, which he didn't even know was alive, and his business is now reduced to a dollar-store business (much to Al's displeasure).
According to a Disney Adventures magazine, Al couldn't play with toys when he was young, which soon led to his toy-collecting nature, unlike Sid Phillips (who breaks toys and uses them for scary experiments). Because of this, Al prefers to keep any toys and related merchandise that he owns as pristine as possible, keeping them clean and packed away safely, as well as repairing any damage done. This is more to increase their selling power instead of any sense of personal joy gained from toys. Which also explains why he likes to collect toys, and insists on keeping them in mint condition instead of playing with them due to Al himself being materialistic and emotionally repressed enough to outright steal from strangers.
Appearance[]
Al McWhiggin is a balding, overweight, middle-aged man who wears glasses, a bowling shirt, black slacks, leather shoes and a brown wristwatch and he also sports a goatee. His brown hair is done in a combover, and his sideburns have patches of gray hair., beard While filming commercials for Al's Toy Barn, he wears a large white chicken suit with his face visible through the yellow beak. He is also incredibly unhygienic, strongly implying that he has never once showered in his life, as evidenced when he smells his own body odor.
Al is a middle-aged, stubby, fat man with balding brown hair turning to gray. He has a mustache and goatee and wears thick-rimmed glasses. He is usually seen wearing solid bowling shirts, a white undershirt, navy pants, black shoes, and a wristwatch. During his company commercials, he wears a white chicken costume consisting of a red comb, giant white eyes with small black pupils, and a yellow-orange beak.
History[]
Beginnings[]
Before the events of the film series, Al opened his toy store called Al's Toy Barn and made a profit in selling toys (including the famed Buzz Lightyear action figures) from there, proving to be quite a successful business venture. He also turns out to be very obsessed with a TV show called Woody's Roundup from the 1950s. As such, he made a deal with the Konishi Toy Museum in Tokyo to sell them the doll versions of the series' main characters. This was due to the fact that the former was BANNED from Woody's Roundup as a child. After searching through yard sales, dime and antique stores, Al was able to find and buy three of the characters: Jessie the Cowgirl, Bullseye the Horse, and Stinky Pete the Prospector. He also bought all of the show's known merchandise. The only toy that he was missing was Sheriff Woody.
Toy Story[]
Al and his store were mentioned in the first Toy Story film in a Buzz Lightyear action figure commercial, in which Buzz was watching at Sid Phillips' house, making him realize that Woody was right all along that he is just a toy rather than an actual Space Ranger. It also can be possible that Buzz was bought from Al's store by Andy's mom as a birthday present earlier in the film.
Toy Story 2[]
Al dressed up as the Chicken Man.
Al makes his sole appearance in the second film, as he is first seen as the Chicken Man in an Al's Toy Barn commercial on the TV in Andy Davis' bedroom. At that moment, Woody tells Rex to turn the TV off, so that Andy and his family wouldn't hear.
Rex has trouble in turning the TV off (due to his tiny arms and big feet), but Hamm manages to turn the TV off himself, and he states that he hates the Chicken Man so much. Al is later seen attending the Davis' yard sale when he spots Woody on a table saying, "There's a snake in my boot!", after he is rejected by an unnamed mother, who tells her daughter that she can't buy Woody, due to his ripped arm, claiming him to be broken.
Gasping at this, Al immediately runs up to Woody, picks him up, and examines him (as well as noticing a rip in his arm, which he would have fixed). He then sees Woody's hat, puts it on him, and becomes overjoyed that he finally found him. Al initially offers to pay 50 cents to buy Woody after Mrs. Davis comes up to ask him about some problem, but Mrs. Davis (unaware of how Woody came to the yard sale) declines by taking Woody away. Al tries to offer $50, but Mrs. Davis replies that he's not for sale while she locks Woody in the money box as he still belongs to Andy. Al offers to trade his watch in exchange for Woody, to no avail.
Refusing to take no for an answer, Al slides a skateboard backwards into something, distracting Mrs. Davis in the process. With her distracted, Al quickly steals Woody by putting him in his bag without letting her find out. Al then leaves the Davis' yard sale and drives away in his car back to his apartment, but Buzz Lightyear, Bo Peep, Hamm, Lenny, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, and Rex watch Al kidnap their friend, where Buzz chases him and jumps onto the trunk, trying to open it up in order to free Woody.
However, Buzz fails when he falls off, and he only manages to catch a feather. And then, he watches as Al keeps driving back to his apartment. Once he arrives at his apartment, Al takes Woody up to his room. After Al leaves, Buzz learns about Al's identity as the Chicken Man and he, Hamm, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky and Rex head to Al's Toy Barn to save Woody.
Later, Al is in his chicken costume getting into an argument with someone on the other line for his next commercial. After hanging up in frustration, Al turns his attention to Woody, chuckling and telling his "little cowboy friend" that he is going to make him big "buck buck bucks". He proceeds to laugh greedily, leaves the apartment, and then drives to Al's Toy Barn to do his commercial, all while complaining about having to drive "all the way" to work on a Saturday.
Al is shocked to see that Woody's right arm has been ripped off.
After the commercial is over, Al walks into the apartment with a camera, as he attempts to take photos of the cast of Woody's Roundup. He then finds out that Woody's right arm has been ripped off (similar to Buzz losing his left arm from the first film), which upsets and shocks him. Panicking, Al picks up the phone, asking a cleaner to fix Woody the next day while he says that it will be the first thing to do in the morning. That night, Al is seen sleeping on the couch, with Woody's torn arm in his pocket.
Wanting to reclaim his arm and get back to Andy's, Woody climbs up to the couch while Bullseye helps him get up. Bullseye starts licking Al's fingers until Woody commands him to stop. Woody then grabs his arm. But as he is about to leave, the TV turns on, causing Al to wake up, knocking Woody over and then putting him back to where he was. Al finds the remote and turns off the TV before going to bed. Stinky Pete then convinces Woody to wait until morning after Woody confronts Jessie for turning on the TV (even though Jessie didn't do anything wrong) and proceeds to fight her (similar to how Woody and Buzz fought at the gas station in the first film).
Al sleeping on his couch after eating cheese puffs.
The next day, the cleaner arrives at Al's apartment and fixes Woody's arm (similar to Buzz having his arm reattached by the Mutant Toys from the first film), much to Al's delight, describing Woody to be "just like new". Al then takes pictures of the Woody's Roundup cast and happily heads down to his store office to fax the pictures to the museum, just as Buzz, Hamm, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky, and Rex arrive the store to find Woody. As the toys, along with another Buzz Lightyear action figure search through Al's office, they are forced to take cover when Al arrives to fax the pictures to the museum, where they heard about his plan to sell the Roundup gang to the museum.
They manage to follow Al back to his apartment to find Woody, but Stinky Pete has blocked Woody's chance to leave by sealing the vent door shut, revealing that he framed Jessie for turning on the TV last night. He also reveals that he was never sold for years and wants to go to the museum to be appreciated. This allows Al to collect the Roundup toys in a case as he leaves for the airport. However, Buzz and the gang manage to catch up and rescue Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye, while Stinky Pete is stuffed into a little girl's backpack to teach him a lesson about "playtime", much to Stinky Pete's dismay.
Al's defeat, as his store got converted into a dollar-store business.
As Andy's toys head back home, Al finds out that the toys are gone, much to his shock. As a result, Mr. Konishi calls the deal off, and Al's store begins to suffer financial troubles. The next day, Al is last seen in another Al's Toy Barn commercial sobbing over his loss, saying that his store has "the lowest prices in town; everything for a buck-buck-buck". This seems to delight Hamm and Rex as they watch the commercial, with Hamm happily saying that "I guess crime doesn't pay".
Toy Story of Terror![]
Years later, after Andy has grown up and given Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex, Hamm, Slinky, Mr. Potato Head, Mrs. Potato Head, and the Aliens to a young girl named Bonnie Anderson in Toy Story 3, Al is still determined to sell the Roundup Gang to Japan. And in the 2013 television special, Toy Story of Terror!, although Al doesn't physically appear, he is the winning bidder of Ronald Tompkins' auction for a Sheriff Woody doll that his pet iguana, Mr. Jones, had taken from one of his patrons (ironically the same Woody doll that Al had stolen all those years ago). This is revealed on the shipping on Woody's box. And even though Ron packages Woody in a box to sell him to Al, Jessie escapes and rescues Woody just in time.
Al was originally going to appear in the special, but he was cut from the final version. However, he was included in a deleted scene on the Toy Story of Terror! Blu-ray.
Quotes[]
| “ | Hey, kids! This is Al from Al's Toy Barn, and I'm sitting on good deals. Ow! I think I'm feeling a deal hatching right now. Whoa! Let's see what we got. We got boats for a buck. Beanies for a buck... For a buck-buck-buck! And that's cheap-cheap-cheap! So hurry on down... | „ |
| ~ Al during a commercial for Al's Toy Barn on TV, advertising him toys before Hamm turns off the TV. |
| “ | Woody in voice box: There's a snake in my boot! Al: [Gasped twice] Original hand-painted face. Natural-dyed, blanket-stitched vest! Hmm, a little rip. Fixable. Oh, if only you had your hand-stitched, polyvinyl... [gasps as seeing Woody's hat] A HAT! I FOUND HIM! I FOUND HIM, I FOUND HIM! [Chortling] |
„ |
| ~ Al's first lines when he finds Woody at Andy's garage sale, and exclaims happily that he found the cowboy. |
| “ | Ehhh, I'll uh, pay 50 cents for this junk. | „ |
| ~ Al to Andy's mom. |
| “ | Al McWhiggin: E-Everything's for sale! We'll trade! You like my watch? Andy's Mom: Sorry. |
„ |
| ~ Al's attempt at bribery and trading backfiring. |
| “ | Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll be right there and we're gonna do this commercial in one take, do you hear me, because I am in the middle, of something really important! | „ |
| ~ Al talking on the phone with his employee to shoot the commercial of Al's Toy Barn. |
| “ | I can't believe I have to drive ALL the way to work on a Saturday. All the way to work! | „ |
| ~ Al drives to work in car, ironically only across the street from his apartment. |
| “ | And now, the main attraction! | „ |
| ~ Al's second most famous quote. |
| “ | No! His arm! Where's his arm? Oh, no! No, no, no, no! Oh, what am I gonna do? Oh, I know. I know. Come on, come on, come on, pick up the phone. It's me. It's Al. I got an emergency here. Yes, we're all busy, but... Look, it has to be tonight. All right, all right! But first thing in the morning. | „ |
| ~ Al |
| “ | Nuuughgh! Ah, ah! Wha!? WAIT! NO, officer I swear!!! Ah che, *jabbers* Wha? AH!! *breathing hard* Ohh, oh get in there, there you go, cheap case. | „ |
| ~ Al waking up and seeing Woody on the floor. |
| “ | Where is the remote? D'oh, now, WHERE is the REMOTE? Dehh, arggh, WHY do I put this in the wrong place every time- Oh, there it is. | „ |
| ~ Al looking for his TV remote |
| “ | Geri: [after fixing Woody] He's for display only. You handle him too much, he's not gonna last. Al: [pushing Geri aside] It's amazing! You're a genius! He's just like NEW! |
„ |
| ~ Al describes Woody "as new" after Geri repairs him. |
| “ | *rudely:* Yeah, what? *immediately nice:* Oh, oh, Mr. Konishi! Yes, uhm, *stutters* I have the pictures RIGHT here. *awkwardly:* In fact, I'm in the car RIGHT NOW, on my way to the office to FAX them to ya! I'm going through a tunnel! I'm breaking up! | „ |
| ~ Al realizing Mr. Konishi is interested in the merch and was calling him, he goes from rude and immediately schmoozes by lying to play smooth for a good sale. |
| “ | No. It was a big pile-up. But, I don't want to bore you with the details. *chuckles:* Yes, now lemme confirm your fax number. [He goes to his fax machine and starts typing in the number] W-W-Wait. Slow. That's a lot of numbers. *chuckles again* No. I got it. | „ |
| ~ Al talking to his buyer Mr. Konishi. |
| “ | Al: And, the pièce de résistance! I promise the collection will be the crown jewel of your museum! Slinky: [gasps] It's Woody. Al: And now that I have your attention, imagine with we added another zero to the price, eh? Mr. Konishi: I don't care! Yes, yes, yes, yes! Al, shocked: What? Mr. Konishi: I pay anything you want. Anything. Al, excited: YES!! Ye-heh-he-HES! You got a DEAL! I'll be on the next flight to Japan! |
„ |
| ~ Al faxing the number to Mr. Konishi, earning a sale's pitch. |
| “ | No-nu-ne-ne, don't touch my mustache!~ (scats with joy) | „ |
| ~ Al playfully says before hanging up and dancing a little. |
| “ | Al, you are gonna be rich! Rich! RIIIICH!!!! (cackles) | „ |
| ~ Al. |
| “ | Al: To overnight six packages to Japan is how much? What? That's in yen, right? Woman: No, dollars. Al: Dollars?! D'OH! You are deliberately taking advantage of people in a hurry! You know that?! ...All right. *stammers* I don't. I don't. I. Look. I'm. *stops stuttering* I'll do it. All right. FINE! I'll have the stuff waiting in the lobby. And you'd better be here in 15 minutes. Because I have a plane to catch! Do you hear me?! |
„ |
| ~ Al on the phone. |
| “ | Look at the time. I'm gonna be late. Oh, figures. I can't miss this flight! I've gotta pack. All right. Let's see. Uh, wallet, keys, tickets. Uh. Passport, beef jerky. Very expensive over there. Shower? (sniffs his armpit) Oh, I can skip the shower. I just gotta get outta here NOW! I'm gonna put this and this in the car! And then in the truck I'll be DEAD and then I'll be... | „ |
| ~ Al. |
| “ | Al: Listen, flyboy, the contents of that case are worth more than you MAKE in a year. You got that, sport?! Airport attendee: We understand sir. Al: You be careful! Do you have a fragile sticker or something to put on that? Cause I know what goes on back there, I-I had a box of cookies once that came back as crumbs! |
„ |
| ~ Al talking down on the airport employee to make them comply, and then going frantic. |
| “ | Give me that! Those are MY toys! Those are mine! Mine! Mine! My toys! MY TOYS! Toynappers! Toynappers! I HATE KIDS! | „ |
| ~ Al in the original script of Toy Story 2 with some kids who thought Al's products were lame and was angry of being mocked by said boys for his obsession with toys while the two boys took some of the toys in his store without paying. |
Trivia[]
- Al was originally going to have his family, consisting of a father, a mother, a brother, a wife, and a son, help him take the Woody's Roundup gang to Japan. However, they were all cut from the final film.
- Al McWhiggin is the only human villain in the Toy Story franchise without a pet. Sid has a dog named Scud in the first film, and Ronald Tompkins has an iguana named Mr. Jones in the TV special, Toy Story of Terror!
- Al's suitcase has the word "KRUMM" on it. The same word can actually be seen on the garbage truck that Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear ends up getting attached to in Toy Story 3.
- Al's last name, "McWhiggin", wasn't mentioned in the film, but it was shown on the nameplate on his office desk, as well as in the film's end credits. As a bonus, Al's full first name, Albert, wasn't mentioned either.
- Despite having a collection of Woody's Roundup merchandise, Al doesn't actually refer to the Roundup Gang members by their names.
- Al is partially based on Pixar animator and storyboard artist Matthew Luhn's father, Mark, who is a toy store owner and collector. A group of animators shadowed Mark Luhn for days to study his mannerisms and learn about toy collection.
- Al may have feared of being caught for stealing Woody (and possibly other valuable toys) because when Stinky Pete turned on the television, he jumped up from his sleep yelling, "No officer! I swear!", as if he thought that the police were in the room. However, it's likely that he may have had a nightmare where the police caught him.
- In a deleted scene, Al was intended to steal Woody shortly after he lands in the yard sale after an accident while playing with Rex, but it was scrapped for being too coincidental.
- In a way, Al could be seen as the overarching reason behind Buzz meeting Woody in the first place. This is because he's the owner of Al's Toy Barn, which sells Buzz toys in both Toy Story and Toy Story 2, and it advertises in the same region as both of Andy's houses in both films. This means that it's highly probable that Andy's mom went to Al's Toy Barn and bought a Buzz toy for Andy on his birthday in the first film. If Al had never founded Al's Toy Barn and sold Buzz Lightyear toys, then Buzz and Woody likely would've never met and become best friends.
- Due to the flight length from US to Japan being at least approximately 13 hours (implied since the franchise possibly takes place in California), it's somewhat unknown how Al was able to get back to America so quickly after finding out that the toys escaped. This is because Japan's timeclock is barely ahead of America's timeclock, making it confusing. It could somewhat be implied that his recent commercial may have been 48 hours after the rescue. Either that or the plane that Al was on was low on fuel and had to return to the airport or stopped over at an island territory that was possibly either Guam or Hawaii, to the point where Al may have found out that the toys were gone (if this was to happen in real life). However, due to how films exceed reality, this was basically done for time purposes, and that the flight in-universe may have either taken an hour or at least 7 hours than 13.
- In an early concept art, Al was originally going to have a full head of hair. In the final version of the film, his head only has short hair.
- Al's voice actor, Wayne Knight, was one of the multiple actors who were originally considered for Buzz Lightyear's role before Tim Allen was ever cast.
- Ironically, Knight himself would later go on to voice Buzz's arch-nemesis, Emperor Zurg, in the spinoff TV series, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, as well as the film of the same name.
- Al's theft of Woody ironically became a contributing factor to Jessie's mental health recovery from being left behind by her original owner, Emily.
- It's uncertain and pretty strange that Al didn't receive a compensation for the loss of his luggage (the Roundup Gang) as the airport staff would likely be accused for being responsible of the loss of the toys. Unfortunately, If they checked for his luggage (the Roundup Gang) and didn’t see it, it was mysteriously inconclusive in the airport luggage room.
- While Al was the one who started the main plot of Toy Story 2, he's actually less of a threat when compared to Stinky Pete, whose persuasive actions towards the rest of the Roundup Gang, as well as his own ambitious attitude, have built greater tensions throughout the story itself.
External Links[]
- Al McWhiggin on the Disney Wiki
- Al McWhiggin on the Pixar Wiki
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 Villains
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