Why Lotso is a Terrifying Villain [Toy Story 3]

Any villains you guys want me to analyze in the future? and also, don't forget to Head to squarespace.com/rockotar to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code ROCKOTAR

Lotso is what more villains should be. You can sympathize with his past, but they pull a perfect twist where he doesn't redeem himself. Usually, those type of villains are "misunderstood" or "has reasons to act the way they do", but that's not how the real world works.

"Idiots! Children destroy toys! You will be ruined! Forgotten! Spending eternity rotting in some landfill!" I wonder if this line from Stinky Pete was just a happy coincidence, or if the writers intentionally took this line and used it for the conflicts in this movie.

It's interesting how selfish Lotso is for wanting to live at a daycare. He wants an endless supply of kids to play with him, showing that he sees both humans and other toys as a means to an end, just to serve him.

To put it simply: Latso created a cult. Manipulating the hurt toys going through such emotional suffering and making sure they rely on him and if they don’t… punishment.

He smells like beef and cheese and sits on a throne of lies

I like how Woody says maliciously "forget it guys, he's not worth it" really shows how he'll never forgive Lotso if they see him again, I also like in the credits montage we see Chuckles smile knowing that Lotso's reign is over and knowing that Big Baby is doing fine too

The fact that the writers of this movie could take a concept of a daycare and turn it into a terrifying dictator run prison for toys is so goddamn genius, I will never stop gushing about it. And it’s made even more genius by Lotso himself. Honestly this is what a great villain is. You totally understand why they are the way they are, while at the same time not excusing the horrific actions they’re doing. And it’s made even better by the fact that he doesn’t get to redeem himself and ends up as powerless as the toys whose spirits he broke. He may not be the best Pixar villain (in my opinion that’s Syndrome), but Lotso is a very close second. He’s terrifying, a serious threat, strangely charismatic and at times funny, and a true representation of what Woody could have been if he had continued being the jealous and petty toy he was in the first movie.

"Where's your kid now sheriff?" is the single most haunting and and evil lines I have ever heard in a film.

Lotso's design is *perfect*. His bigger build and thick eyebrows help him to come off as menacing when his true colors are revealed but he still completely looks the part of "sweet, lovable teddy bear."

Lotso reminds me of the original woody character, someone meant to be a sly, sneaky and cruel leader to people not in the hierarchy, even threatening slinky with andy not loving him if he didn't behave. They were even planning on making the original toy story 1 set in a daycare instead of andy's room back when woody was meant to be one of those string puppets instead of his cowboy design.

Lotso is the definition of a sympathetic/tragic villain going too far for their actions.

I heard that originally, Lotso was going to actually save Andy's toys and redeem himself, however, somebody who was watching an early iteration of the film told the producers that Lotso saving the toys wouldn't make sense considering how he was a dictator, so they changed the ending to now, where Lotso doubles down, and refuses to save the other toys.

“You’re wrong. And you think you’re right. That makes you dangerous” -Tony Stark/ Peter Parker, 2016

I miss when sympathetic villains were still punished like villains. Everyone has crappy stuff to deal with in life, but it’s not an excuse to be a bad person. When I first saw Toy Story 3, I thought Lotso was meh because it’s another toy who doesn’t trust humans and tries to force our cast to stay with him. But then I saw Toy Story 3 for the first time in years, after a friend had done everything they could to paint me as evil for not tolerating their abuse, and always, ALWAYS used their past as an excuse for their toxic views and actions towards me. And it’s like you know what? This villain is pretty scary. And he got what was coming

Can we talk about how his "walking stick" looks like a judges gavel? He appears as though he needs this crutch to properly walk and fucntion - he relies on this supportive tool just as he relies on the cooperation of the toys within the kindergarten. But he doesnt actually need it. He can walk and run just fine without it. He fakes his disability and instead uses it as a farce for command and control. He is not a frail bear - he is the judge, jury, and executioner.

I like how Lotso’s defeat is not only everyone realizing how wrong he is, but also him pushing his power by pushing Big Baby which not only gets a reaction out of everyone, but makes you realize just how all it took for him to lose power is to try and stretch it to where no one would listen

honestly i think Lotso has the same kind of “tricks people into thinking he’s the good guy” vibes as Tigerclaw from Warriors. not only did he trick everyone and cause terrible trust issues with his revealed betrayal, he seemed to not think of himself as a villainous traitor, or worse, didn’t care that he was evil and heartless.

Lotso is the most evil toy story villain, the best twist villain, and he's not afraid to turn sunnyside into a concentration camp

I compare Lotsos abandonment more to Woody and Buzz from the first movie, honestly. They were lost toys. The biggest deal was Lotso when he finally got home found out he was replaced. By comparison, Jessie wasn’t lost, she was forgotten. It still ties into the rest of the trilogy just on a different connection. Jessie by comparison fell under the bed, and like you said, Lotso goes back to his issue with Stinky Pete, that it’s not going to last. So Lotso connects to BOTH movies if you connect his backstory to Woody and Buzz’s then Jessie’s.