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| “ | You, my little cowboy friend, are gonna make me big, buck-buck-bucks! [laughs greedily] Buck-buck-bucks! [continues laughing] Buck-buck-bucks! | „ |
| ~ Al telling Woody about his plans for him, and his most famous quote. |
| “ | And now, the main attraction! | „ |
| ~ Al 's second most famous quote. |
| “ | Geri: [after fixing Woody] He's for display only. If you handle him too much he's not gonna last. Al: [pushing Geri aside] It is amazing, you're a genius! He's just like NEW! |
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| ~ Al describes Woody "as new" after Geri repairs him. |
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 greedy and treacherous owner of 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 saw Al steal their friend and went 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, The Penguin in Harley Quinn, Baron Von Sheldgoose from The Legend of the Three Caballeros, and Dennis Nedry from Jurassic Park.
Personality and Traits[]
Al is a funny, greedy, obnoxious, ill-tempered, sleazy and high-strung man who has little or no patience for anyone or anything that gets in his way. He is also intelligent and a shrewd businessman, being 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 do not 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 goofy yet persistent fashion, he then quickly thinks to create 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 steals Woody without her looking.
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 have 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 to his pajamas.
Al also appears to be very rude and arrogant when interacting with other people; such as when he unceremoniously (and violently) 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.
On top of being self-centered and an overzealous businessman, he is extremely silly and childish 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; 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 makes him less of a traditional villain and much more of a selfish jerk compared to Zurg and Stinky Pete, two overarching villains whose villainous actions are taken much more seriously than Al himself regardless of his underhanded actions as a thief and some of his crimes 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, 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 could not play with toys when he was young, which soon led to his toy-collecting nature, unlike Sid (who breaks toys and uses them for scary experiments). Al prefers to keep any toys and related merchandise 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.
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. While filming commercials for Al's Toy Barn, he wears a large white chicken suit with his face visible through the yellow 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. After searching through yard sales, Al was able to find and buy three of the characters: Jessie the Cowgirl, Bullseye the Horse and Stinky Pete the Prospector. The only toy 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 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. Woody tells Rex to turn the TV off so that Andy and his family won'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, 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 it 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 backward into something, destroying it and distracting Mrs. Davis in the process. With her back turned, Al quickly steals Woody by putting him in his bag without letting her find out. Al then leaves the Davis's 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 steal their friend where Buzz chases him and jumps into the trunk, trying to open it up in order to free Woody.
However, Buzz fails when he falls off, but only manages to catch a feather. Buzz 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 him, 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.
Al shocked to find Woody's right arm ripped.
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 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 couches 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 from 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 and 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 "crime doesn't pay".
Toy Story of TERROR![]
Years later, after Andy has grown up and given Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex, Hamm, Slinky and Mr. Potato Head 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 and that his pet iguana Mr. Jones had taken from one of his patrons (ironically the same Woody doll Al had stolen all those years ago). This is revealed on the shipping on Woody's box. Though Ron packages Woody in a box to sell him to Al, Jessie escapes and rescues Woody in time.
Al was originally going to appear in the special but was cut from the final version. He is 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: 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! |
„ |
| ~ Al's first lines when he finds Woody at Andy's garage sale, and exclaims happily that he found the cowboy. |
| “ | 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. |
| “ | It's showtime!! Ohoho, money baby! Money money (Chortling laughter) | „ |
| ~ Al being overexcited to take pictures of the Woody band dolls and make money off of it to the point of mumbling about money and laughing in glee. |
| “ | Welcome to Al's Toy Barn. We've got the lowest prices in town. Everything for a buck-buck-buck. [sobs] | „ |
| ~ Al's final words during a commercial breaking down crying about his failed plan to sell Woody in Japan and because he's broke and sells toys in low prices (as always). |
| “ | Listen fly boy, you better put that in, you got that sport!? Careful, their fragility will sting myself- | „ |
| ~ Al talking down on the airport employee to make him comply. |
| “ | 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. But they were all cut from the final film.
- Al looks very similar to a popular Internet toy critic Mike Mozart. This has become a recurring in-joke on websites (such as YouTube); for the most part, it is good and Mozart doesn't seem to object.
- Al's suitcase has the word "KRUMM" on it. This same said word is the Garbage truck that Lots-O' Huggin' Bear ends up in Toy Story 3.
- Al's last name "McWhiggin" was never mentioned in the film, but is shown on the nameplate on his office desk, as well as in the credits.
- 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 though he thought the police were in the room.
- 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 was scrapped for being too coincidental.
- Due to the flight length from US to Japan being at least 18 hours, it is somewhat unknown how Al was able to get back to America quickly after having found 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 two days after the rescue.
- In an early concept art, Al was originally going to have a full head of hair.
- His 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 archnemesis Emperor Zurg in the spinoff TV series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.
- Knight was bearded at the time when he voiced Al at the age of 44 during the production of Toy Story 2.
- 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 aswell pretty strange as to why Al didn't recieve a compensation for the loss of his luggage (the Roundup Gang) as the airport staff would likely be accused for being responsable of the loss of the toys.
- He could be considered to be a villainous counterpart to Rex via compare and contrast, as they are both share similar personality traits such has being dramatic, hysterical, and overall geeky, except Rex is often stays true to his word despite his cowardice and insecurities, meanwhile Al is a money-grubbing opportunist who would do anything to get his way or gain profitable benefits.
External Links[]
- Al McWhiggin on the Disney Wiki
- Al McWhiggin on the Pixar Wiki
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 Villains
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