Toy Story Characters Who Never Meet
Imagine drawing a diagram that shows how the characters of "Toy Story" are connected. You would need a lot of paper, that's for sure. But what would such a diagram look like once it was completed?
Obviously, Woody would be at the center of it. Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Slinky, and other lead toys wouldn't be too far away. Other characters would appear at the fringes, like the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots from "Toy Story 2" or Trixie's dinosaur pal Velocistar237 from "Toy Story 3." Here and there, surprising amounts of blank space would lie between certain characters, indicating what toys, kids, and adults never actually meet.
Since there are four movies and a bunch of animated shorts in the "Toy Story" franchise, it's hard to find characters who never once cross paths. But it does happen, if only occasionally. These 11 pairs of characters from the "Toy Story" franchise never meet — but we think they probably should.
Sid is the anti-Andy
Andy and Sid represent two very different types of playtime, to say the least. Perhaps it's not a surprise, then, that they never interact. Sid may live next door, but he might as well be on another planet (a pizza planet, perhaps?). Most notably, Sid isn't invited to Andy's birthday party. Though this might seem strange, given their proximity, it makes storytelling sense: It isn't strictly necessary for Andy and Sid to cross paths. Sid is the toys' archenemy, not Andy's.
In fact, we have no idea how Andy feels about Sid. Is Andy terrified of Sid? Does he try to avoid him at all costs? Does he think Sid is an annoyance or a weirdo? For all we know, he might see Sid as the cool kid next door! Sure, Andy's mom, able to sniff out a bad egg, might have told Andy to stay away from him in the past. But if Andy is like most kids, telling him that someone is off-limits only makes him even more curious.
Maybe it's a good thing, then, that Andy's family moves away — otherwise, Andy might have been corrupted by Sid's bad influence. Perhaps Andy was already starting to go in that direction. After all, what kind of kid has the twisted imagination necessary to subject their toys to "death by monkeys"?
Buster is man's best friend, while Scud is a toy's worst enemy
If Sid is the anti-Andy, then Buster is the anti-Scud. The first time Buster appears in "Toy Story 2," the movie actually tricks viewers into thinking he'll be just like Scud. All the toys duck for cover the moment they hear Buster coming, but Buster turns out to be all yap and no bite. The moment he sees Woody, the puppy rolls over and shows his belly. Each dog is a mirror image of his owner: Buster is innocent and friendly, while Scud is ... less friendly.
Andy only gets Buster after the move at the end of "Toy Story," so unless Buster and Scud come from the same litter, shop, or shelter, there's no way they could have met. It makes you wonder how things might have played out if they did, though. Who would be the alpha male? Those of you placing your bets on Scud would do well to remember that Buster can sniff out Woody, snatch him up, and shake him violently, all in 13.5 seconds. Buster can be a formidable foe when he wants to be.
Lotso and Stinky Pete both crave immortality
Lotso (short for Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear) and the Prospector known as Stinky Pete are the villains of "Toy Story 3" and "Toy Story 2," respectively (and some of the best Pixar villains, period). At a glance, they both seem like gentle souls, but deep down, they're manipulative and cynical. We can't be the only ones who want to see them form an epic supervillain team-up.
Interestingly, Lotso and Stinky Pete have the same objective: immortality. Not like "elixir of life" immortality, because in theory, toys from this world can live forever, so long as they aren't utterly destroyed. Rather, they want to make sure they'll never be abandoned. Stinky Pete's idea of immortality is a life preserved behind glass at the Konishi Toy Museum in Tokyo. Lotso, in contrast, wants to be played with, but only by the gentle kids from Sunnyside Daycare's Butterfly Room. Lotso is counting on a constant supply of new preschoolers to stream in each year, sparing him the heartbreak of watching a kid outgrow him.
If we're being honest, were these two antagonists to join forces, they'd probably turn on each other. Villains tend to do that when they team up, after all, and Lotso and Stinky Pete have very different ideas of what a toy's life should be.
Stinky Pete and Gabby Gabby share the same tragic backstory
Gabby Gabby from "Toy Story 4" never crosses paths with Stinky Pete, but they share a tragic backstory: Neither has ever been played with. After years of sitting on the shelf in his unopened box, Stinky Pete gives in to resignation. Nobody wants to play with him, so he decides to take himself out of playtime equation altogether by becoming part of a museum display. To Stinky Pete, life as an artifact is a kind of nirvana for toys, where he imagines he'll be able to escape the endless cycle of love and abandonment, and never need to compete for attention again.
Gabby Gabby starts out in the same boat as Stinky Pete. She's another '50s-era toy who missed her chance at playtime when she was brand new, due to a defective voice box. That's where the similarities stop, however. The more Gabby Gabby is deprived of play, the more she longs for it, until her loneliness grows into a single-minded obsession with a girl named Harmony. With Woody's help, Gabby Gabby manages to escape her self-destructive spiral. Maybe it's a good thing, then, that Gabby Gabby meets Woody, instead of Stinky Pete — she needed the help of a good friend, rather than a like-minded sufferer.
Barbie and Giggles are more alike than you think
The irrepressible Barbie never crosses paths with Giggles McDimples, a tiny plastic police officer toy from "Toy Story 4." If they were to meet, though, they'd make quite a pair. Barbie is the epitome of traditional femininity, while Giggles rejects gender conventions — she's constantly reminding Bo Peep that she doesn't need a man in her life. At a glance, they might seem like polar opposites. But there's actually more potential here for a friendship than you might realize.
Although Barbie might be a bubbly fashion plate, she's no ditz. Jodi Benson's performance makes it clear that she has a backbone, and a surprisingly thorough knowledge of political science. "Toy Story 3" initially leans into viewers' expectations of Barbie's airhead status, which means the tough, intelligent edge that emerges when she needs to get information out of Ken is a satisfying surprise. If you underestimate Barbie, she'll twist your head around backward. For this reason, we think that if Barbie and Giggles ever met, they'd become inseparable gal pals.
Wheezy and Chatter Telephone have both been broken
The "Toy Story" franchise spends a lot of time exploring what it means to be a broken toy. In fact, Woody's fear of becoming a broken toy looms over the entirety of "Toy Story 2." But there are two broken toys in this saga who never get to meet: Wheezy the penguin and the Chatter Telephone from Sunnyside Daycare in "Toy Story 3." They're both kind of battered-looking, and Woody finds each of them in a forgotten corner where no child bothers to look. By the end of "Toy Story 3," Chatter Telephone ends up shattered in more ways than one: He admits that he "broke" under Lotso's interrogation, in what's probably the darkest pun in Pixar history.
Though these two toys' stories are similar, they end up in different places. Wheezy has accepted that his days in the sun are long gone, but he still longs to be played with. Being played with is the last thing Chatter Telephone wants, however. Judging by his stains and his chipped paint, he's had enough playtime for a lifetime.
Wheezy and Chatter may not agree, but we'd like to think that if they ever met, they'd bond over their shared experience of collecting dust in a corner.
Ducky and Bunny completely forget about Bonnie
In "Toy Story 4," Ducky and Bunny want nothing more than to meet Bonnie. That's the whole reason they stop attacking Buzz and agree to help Woody, in fact: He promises to take the two of them to Bonnie in exchange for their services. Ducky and Bunny hardly pull their weight, though — all they do is steal a key, which turns out to be laughably easy.
Strangely, this plot thread never actually comes to fruition. The closest they get to meeting Bonnie is when they see the awning of Bonnie's RV during the tear-jerking goodbye scene at the end of the movie. Suddenly, Ducky and Bunny forget all about her. They seem to be content with giving up their chance at playtime, and instead decide to stay behind at the fairgrounds to liberate other toys.
You can interpret this as meaning that Ducky and Bunny have simply reached the same realization as Woody: There's more to life as a toy than being played with. Or hey, it's possible that it's just a plothole Pixar didn't bother to patch up.
Jessie would have totally kicked Zerg's butt
Out of all the pairs of "Toy Story" characters who never share the screen, perhaps the most bizarre is Jessie and Zerg. We suspect that most "Toy Story" fans aren't exactly dying to see them meet, but hear us out. Seeing the Yodeling Cowgirl face off against Emperor Zerg could have been completely awesome.
If you recall the famous battle between Buzz and Darth Vader — oops, we mean Zerg, we definitely mean Zerg — Jessie isn't around for it. At the time, she's at the bottom of Al's suitcase, buried under a layer of Styrofoam. But if Jessie had been able to help against Zerg, she would have made quick work of him. Unlike Buzz Lightyear, subtlety is more her style. Jessie would have used her noggin — we imagine her taking advantage of Zerg's top-heavy design to knock his feet (or rather, wheels) out from under him. Or maybe she would have realized that, y'know, Zerg's ion blaster only shoots plastic balls and is otherwise perfectly harmless. Either way, this is the showdown we need.
Mrs. Potato Head and Rocky could have been a couple
Knowing Mrs. Potato Head's taste in men, we think she'd really hit it off with Rocky Gibraltar. Confused? Let's back up a moment. Rocky is the muscular strongman toy from "Toy Story" who helps lower the moving van's ramp. You can see him standing next to Mrs. Potato Head in a couple of group shots in "Toy Story 2." Yet the two never exchange a single word. So why on Earth are we arguing they'd make a great couple?
Well, "Toy Story 3" makes it clear that Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head's marriage is occasionally a little strained. (Recall Mr. Potato Head saying, "No one takes my wife's mouth, except me!") No doubt Mrs. Potato Head sometimes wonders if she might be better off with some other man (or potato). Plus, once the toys reach Sunnyside Daycare, a giggly Mrs. Potato Head gropes the bicep of a muscular insect-headed toy while Mr. Potato Head stands right next to her.
It doesn't require a huge stretch of the imagination to believe that Mrs. Potato Head might have been into the equally-muscular Rocky, had she met him first. For all we know, Rocky might have even treated her better!
Sid's mom is a disembodied voice
Adults are on the sidelines in "Toy Story" — oftentimes, their heads are even cut off by the top of the screen. But while we get to see plenty of Andy's mom's feet, hands, and even the occasional glimpse of her face, we don't get a single peek at Sid's mother.
Technically, Sid and his mom do have a brief interaction: She interrupts her son's interrogation session with Woody to tell him that his Pop-Tarts are ready (apparently, Sid is so lazy, he can't even toast his own Pop-Tarts). But his mother never appears on-screen — she's always in the other room, just out of sight. It's no wonder, then, that Sid is able to use his dad's power tools unsupervised and order explosives in the mail. Even Sid's sister Hannah is left to fend for herself.
To be fair, Sid's mom might be making the best of a bad situation. It seems like Sid's dad doesn't lift a finger to help her with much of anything, so she's probably completely overworked. Something had to slip through the cracks, and that something ends up being Sid's sadistic creativity with his toys.
Sid might be afraid of his dad ... or he might look up to him
One "Toy Story" character doesn't really interact with anybody: Sid's father. Unlike Sid's mom, Sid's dad actually appears on-screen, however briefly. He's asleep in his armchair during the scene in which Buzz sees the Buzz Lightyear commercial. His sock-clad feet are kicked up on a foot rest, and discarded cans are scattered on the floor. It's strongly implied that this is what Sid's father does all day. This might explain a thing or two about Sid.
Since Sid and his dad never interact, it's hard to say what their relationship is like. Does Sid's father simply ignore his son? Or do they fight every time they're in the same room together, which is why Sid avoids him? You'll notice that Scud retreats from the room the moment he sees Sid's dad — if even Scud is afraid of him, he's probably not a very nice guy.
Of course, it's also possible that Sid looks up to his dad. He might have even gotten all his twisted ideas of playtime from him, in fact. After all, Sid's father has a deer head mounted on his wall — perhaps Sid's mutant toys are his attempt to do a bit of at-home taxidermy, just like daddy. For all we know, Sid and his dad spend their father-son bonding time creating Franken-toys.