Mr. Potato Head

## Woody

### Friends

Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bo Peep, Slinky Dog, Rex, Hamm (best friend), his wife Mrs. Potato Head, his adoptive children Little Green Men, R.C. Racer, Jessie, Bullseye, Stinky Pete (formerly and on Woody's Roundup), Ultra Buzz Lightyear, Barbie, Big Baby, Ken, Stretch, Chunk, Twitch, Sparks, The Monkey, Forky

### Enemies

Sid Phillips, Scud, Stinky Pete, Al McWhiggin, Emperor Zurg, Lotso, Big Baby (formerly), Ken (formerly), Stretch (formerly), Chunk (formerly), Twitch (formerly), Sparks (formerly), The Monkey (formerly), Gabby Gabby, The Bensons

## Appearances

### Appears in

Toy Story
Toy Story 2
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 4

### Debut

Toy Story

**Mr. Potato Head**, also known as **Potato Head**, is a major character in the *Toy Story* franchise. He is one of Woody's five best friends, Mrs. Potato Head's husband, and the Little Green Men's adoptive father. He is a major character in *Toy Story* and *Toy Story 2*, one of the main characters of *Toy Story 3*, and a minor character in *Toy Story 4*.

He was voiced by the late Don Rickles, who also voiced Cornwall in *Quest for Camelot.*

In Japanese dub from the film he was voiced by the late Akira Nagoya in Toy Story 1 and 2, then he is voiced by Kazunaga Tsuji in Toy Story 3 and 4.

## Personality

Potato Head is a rather cynical Mr. Potato Head doll, of the common design of Playskool. Andy often casts him as a villain in his games, which seems to be the reason he can be so cynical and irascible, being cast as the bad guy so often.

Even though he is smart-alecky, hard-boiled, rude, and has an acerbic point of view, he has a heart of gold deep down, he loves his wife Mrs. Potato Head, and is prepared to go to limitless lengths to save his friends. In the second film, when Woody was kidnapped, he showed some shock and later showed some sadness when Woody refused to go back home. Mr. Potato Head appears to be partners with Hamm as they are seen high-fiving each other whenever something exciting or victorious happens.

Despite being anti-heroic in *Toy Story*, Potato Head becomes much more amicable after Mrs. Potato Head's arrival.

## Biography

### *Toy Story*

Potato Head first appears in *Toy Story*, playing One-Eyed Bart. After Andy leaves his room, Potato Head wakes up to find a number of his parts scattered to the floor (Molly has earlier drooled on him and smashed him apart), also expressing irritation that Andy placed him in Molly's crib during their "playtime," as he is supposed to be only playable for children of ages three and up. He then shows Hamm his messed-up face (with all his facial pieces, except his mustache, in the wrong slots), pretending to be Picasso, but Hamm is confused and Potato Head berates Hamm for being uncultured.

When Woody holds a staff meeting, Potato Head asks if they have to hold hands when Woody tells everyone to get a moving buddy. Potato Head points out that Woody is, of course, not worried when he tells everyone not to panic when Andy's birthday has been moved to that day, only for Slinky to speak up to Potato Head when he has complained about that, and when Slinky is not looking, Potato Head takes off his mouth and "kisses" his butt while Slinky keeps talking. When Woody sends Sarge and his Green Army Men, Mr. Potato Head prays for Andy to get a Mrs. Potato Head.

During most of the first film, Potato Head is rude and mean to Woody, mostly because he's jealous of Woody being Andy's favorite toy. For example, when he becomes fascinated with all the features of the Buzz Lightyear action figure that Andy has received for his birthday, Mr. Potato Head also makes fun of Woody by accusing him of not having a laser like Buzz, describing Woody's sampled voice "like a car ran over it," and suggesting an attic as a special place Andy will have for Woody.

One evening, after Woody accidentally knocks Buzz out the window, Mr. Potato Head is quick to foolishly accuse Woody of being a murderer, having witnessed the chain of events that led to Buzz being knocked out the window, interrogates Woody as to if he will do the same to him as well if Andy started playing with him more, and leads a mutiny with the other toys to attack Woody. But before the toys can do so, they all retreat when they hear Andy approaching the room. While Andy searches the room for Buzz, Mr. Potato Head quietly gets Woody's attention and has Etch A Sketch draw a hangman's noose, threatening to hang Woody for harming Buzz, before Andy leaves with Woody for Pizza Planet.

That night, when Andy and his mother return home, Mr. Potato Head, along with Hamm, is feeling somewhat content when he learns about Woody's disappearance as he had insisted on Woody's guilt in the window incident.

The next day, Woody throws a string of Christmas lights from Sid's house to Andy's house; Slinky catches them, but Mr. Potato Head snatches the lights away and labels Woody a liar after he tells the other toys if they have forgotten what he did to Buzz regarding the window incident. Woody then tries to convince the toys to let him get back by pretending that Buzz is with him (using Buzz's severed left arm), but Mr. Potato Head remains suspicious of what Woody is actually doing and asks Woody what's he trying to pull. When Woody accidentally blows his cover by showing Buzz's arm, Mr. Potato Head foolishly jumpst to conclusions once again and snaps at Woody, calls him a "murdering dog," and tells him he hopes Sid will break his voice box. The toys then back away from the window, leaving Woody depressed and stranded in Sid's house.

On the night before the moving day, it was shown that Rex was his moving buddy, but only because everyone else was picked. Rex sticks his head out of the box to gasp for air, making Mr. Potato Head mad and wonder why they became moving buddies in the first place.

The next day, during the move to Andy's new house, Woody tosses RC out of the moving truck onto the street to rescue Buzz from Scud, and Mr. Potato Head, thinking that Woody is trying to get rid of another toy, rallies the other toys to ambush Woody and toss him overboard, despite that Andy already missed Woody. During the ambush, Woody hits Mr. Potato Head with RC's remote, making his left ear and entire face parts fall off and his mouth yells, "Toss him overboard!" after Woody tries to explain to the toys that they need to save Buzz. However, when Bo Peep reveals that Woody was "telling the truth" after the other toys see Woody and Buzz are on RC, Mr. Potato Head realizes his mistake and is horrified and guilty at what he had done. He attempts to compensate for his mistakes by holding onto Slinky's tail so Slinky can help Woody, Buzz, and C back into the truck. It fails, but Woody and Buzz use Sid's rocket and toss RC back to the van; the toys move out of the way as RC crashes into Potato Head, sending his pieces flying in all directions, possibly in an ironic payback for leading the mutiny against Woody in the first place.

At the end of the film, Potato Head seems to be in a better mood. He is excited to hear Molly receiving a Mrs. Potato Head as her Christmas present. When the toys congratulate Potato Head, he remarks that he had better shave, so he takes off his mustache.

### *Toy Story 2*

In *Toy Story 2*, he is first seen having found Mrs. Potato Head's missing ear. Woody thinks he found his hat, but he tells Woody the "Mrs. lost her earring" as he returns it to her. Potato Head, along with the other toys, witnesses Woody going down to the yard sale with Buster to rescue Wheezy from being sold and is shocked when Woody gets stolen by Al. After Woody is kidnapped, he and Hamm set up a crime scene, where Mr. Potato Head operates Exhibit F, in which he details the kidnapper's escape route, though he later snaps at Rex after the latter, when asking for the phone number for the FBI, inadvertently destroys his crime scene. He indirectly and inadvertently, helps Buzz come up with the answer to LZTYBRN (the license plate on the car of the man who has stolen Woody) when he sarcastically tells the others to "leave Buzz to play with his toys". As Buzz orders Etch to "draw that man in a chicken suit," Potato Head, along with the other toys, is horrified to learn that the man who has kidnapped Woody is the "chicken man", Al McWhiggin, who also happens to be the owner of Al's Toy Barn.

Later, Potato Head goes on a mission with Buzz, Hamm, Rex, and Slinky to rescue Woody, showing him in a much more positive light and suggesting that his relationship with Woody has greatly improved. Before they leave, Mrs. Potato Head packs her husband an extra pair of shoes and angry eyes, and the Mr. puts on his mustache he "shaved" from the first movie saying, "Let's roll." At one point, when the toys are reprimanded by Buzz for requesting a rest, Buzz mentions the time when Potato Head had Woody thrown "out of the back of that moving van," and Mr. Potato Head is still shown to be regretting this greatly, even though Woody has long since forgiven him. When the toys cross the street to Al's Toy Barn, they indirectly make a semi tractor-trailer jackknife, and the chains securing a large pipe on the semi break, freeing the pipe. The pipe subsequently rolls down the street, during which Potato Head gets one of his feet stuck on a piece of chewing gum on the pavement, and has to pull his foot off the gum before the pipe can squish him. Upon making it to the other side of the road, he commented on how well that went, just as the pipe rolls into and makes a lamppost fall down onto the street.

While the toys search Al's Toy Barn, they encounter a Barbie aisle, where Tour Guide Barbie hops into the car right next to Mr. Potato Head, who reminds himself he is a married spud, prompting Hamm to switch seats with him. He seems to be the most suspicious of a cocky attitude of the newer Buzz Lightyear action figure that the toys take with them from Al's Toy Barn. After the toys break into Al's apartment, Mr. Potato Head tries to scare Jessie by reaching into his back compartment for his angry eyes, but attaches his spare pair of shoes by mistake (especially after Mrs. Potato Head has given him his shoes and his angry eyes).

When the toys leave the apartment after Al leaves with Woody, Potato Head throws his hat like a frisbee to jam the apartment lobby's closing doors (similar to Oddjob in *Goldfinger*), letting the toys pass through. Outside, he is the first to spot an idling Pizza Planet delivery truck nearby, and is assigned by Buzz to operate the levers and knobs with Hamm. To make the truck accelerate, Potato Head shifts the lever of the truck while Slinky presses down the pedals. While the toys chase Al in the truck, Mr. Potato Head saves three alien toys from flying out the window. He becomes increasingly annoyed at the aliens' repeated expression of their gratefulness towards him. At Tri-County International Airport, he, Hamm, Rex, and the Aliens aim for a luggage, only to find flash cameras instead. They use the cameras to stun Stinky Pete before he can finish Woody off with his pick axe.

After the toys return home, Mrs. Potato Head, upon hearing that her husband has saved the aliens, decides to adopt them as their children, much to his dismay. Finally, he and his wife are seen standing together as they watch a fixed Wheezy sing (in a deep voice) "You've Got a Friend in Me."

### *Toy Story 3*

In *Toy Story 3*, Mr. Potato Head has become distrusting of Andy, believing he no longer cares for his toys as a result of growing up. Despite this, he tries to comfort his wife, while the Aliens try to find comfort in him as well—much to Potato Head's annoyance. Eventually, Woody declares it's time they "close up shop" and prepare to live the rest of their days in the attic, which Potato Head and the others lament. Unfortunately, they are mistakingly thrown out by Mrs. Davis, infuriating Potato Head and the others toys, who unanimously decide to donate themselves to Sunnyside Daycare.

Though things seem pleasant at first, the ruler of the daycare Lotso tricks the toys into becoming members of the Caterpillar Room, then get into a argument with Woody as Woody angrily had it, and berates everyone how selfish they are after everything, making Potato Head and everyone look down in shame. Then after Woody leaves, they get mangled and tormented by toddlers. After learning that Andy actually still wants them, and that Woody was right all along, Hamm starts scolding Potato Head for not believing him in the first place. The toys band together to return home, only to be stopped by Lotso, his gang, and a reset Buzz. Potato Head defends his friends by mouthing off Lotso, which results in the former being sent to the box as punishment. The next day, Potato Head is reunited with his wife, but is sandy and in a haze. Woody returns later that day, and Potato Head indirectly confesses that he was right about Andy.

They form an escape plan, in which Potato Head purposefully gets himself put into the box. He escapes by dismantling himself and assisting the others outside the daycare building. He uses a tortilla to replace his body, but it is eaten by a bird, forcing Potato Head to instead use a cucumber from the daycare's garden. After the rest of the toys are freed, however, Potato Head is reunited with his old body.

Together, the toys escape the daycare and Lotso's clutches, but are accidentally taken to the dump and nearly face incineration. They are saved by the Aliens, who Potato Head finally accepts as his children out of gratitude. Back at Andy's house, Potato Head and the others accept their future as attic toys, but Woody manages to get everyone donated to a little girl named Bonnie instead.

### *Toy Story Toons*

Mr. Potato Head appeared in the series of shorts, primarily playing a minor role.

In *Hawaiian Vacation*, he is shown to be excited with the rest of the gang since Bonnie is flying to Hawaii for a week for her winter break. When Buttercup asks if he is joining him, Hamm, and Chuckles in a game of cards, Mrs. Potato Head speaks for him and says that he's all hers for the vacation. Mr. Potato Head awkwardly states that the two will have fun weeks together, only to throw his eye and arm into the game so he can play. When Barbie and Ken arrive into Bonnie's room, they think they're in Hawaii, only for Woody to say they are in Bonnie's room and that Bonnie left her school backpack at home. While Ken hyperventilates, Mr. Potato Head questions his logic for thinking Bonnie would take her school backpack on vacation. Ken then cries inside Bonnie's backpack, while Barbie tells the gang Ken had been planning a romantic getaway for them for months. When she sadly says how they were planning to have their first kiss, Mr. Potato Head asks out loud they still haven't kissed yet, only to be shoved by Mrs. Potato Head. The gang then hatch a plan to give Barbie and Ken the vacation they deserve by making a make-shift Hawaiian resort in Bonnie's bedroom. Mr. Potato Head acts as the hotel's concierge and sticks his parts into a literal pineapple during a "Guided Nature Hike" with Barbie and Ken. He is then seen making a make-shift beach for Barbie and Ken to kiss by standing on top of Trixie and dumping cat litter in front of a picture of the beach. Slinky then yells out that Barbie and Ken are outside on the porch. The gang then watch happily as Barbie and Ken share their first kiss, only for the two to fall into the snow. The gang are then seen getting Ken and Barbie out of a frozen icicle, with Mr. Potato Head using a screwdriver as an ice pick.

In *Small Fry*, Mr. Potato Head is seen in the background, where he and his friends meet a miniature Buzz Lightyear.

In *Partysaurus Rex*, Rex accidentally pops the bubble Mrs. Potato Head was blowing, prompting Mr. Potato Head and the others to poke fun on Rex by calling him "Partypooper Rex." This also led to him being indirectly responsible for Rex holding a party in the bathtub and calling himself "Partysaurus Rex." After the plumber came over due to the water overflowing thanks to Rex (resulting in Mr. Potato Head removing his ears temporarily to let the water inside spill out), Mr. Potato Head was in disbelief that Rex could hold an effective party until the pool toys invited him to cause a rave.

### *Toy Story of TERROR!*

Mr. Potato Head returns in the Halloween special. He is shown watching an old movie on a laptop with Jessie, Buzz, Woody, Pricklepants, Trixie and Rex in the Andersons' trunk during a stormy night. Potato Head calls the movie boring, but Pricklepants explains that all great horror films start slowly, only for Potato Head to pull off his ears while Pricklepants goes on a lecture. He is later shown helping the other toys rescue Jessie out of a toolbox after she fell in from the impact of a flat tire. After the others comfort her due to her claustrophobia, Trixie quietly asks what is wrong with Jessie, to which Potato Head explains that she was abandoned and put into storage for years. After they run into Bonnie's bag, the see Bonnie and her mother walk into a hotel due to the car having a flat. Trixie eavesdrops the conversion with Mrs. Anderson on the phone, saying that the tow truck won't come until the morning, meaning that they'll have to stay at the hotel all night.

After Bonnie and her mother fall asleep, Potato Head sneaks out of the suitcase to look at the free amenities, claiming that he promised Hamm that he would bring back something nice. Pricklepants warns him to not go out there, since "the first to leave usually gets it", but Woody warns him not to leave since a hotel is one of the easiest places for a toy to get lost. Potato Head disagrees and leaves, making the rest of the toys walk out to check the free stuff. He then mysteriously disappears, being taken away by a mysterious creature.

After going under the hotel through a vent, Trixie, Pricklepants and Rex are taken by the creature, leaving Woody, Buzz, and Jessie to remain. The trio then find Mr. Potato Head's arm, which they use as a compass to find the way. Woody and Buzz are taken by the creature, with Potato Head's arm being swallowed by it. After snatching Combat Carl and cornering Jessie in a shower, it's revealed that the creature is an iguana named Mr. Jones. He snatches Jessie and brings him to his owner, Ron the hotel manager. Ron uses Mr. Jones to sneak into his customers' hotel rooms and steal toys and valuables, where Ron then sells them online.

After putting Jessie in a locked bookcase, she reunites with both her friends and another group of kidnapped toys. After a failed attempt to open the lock with a paperclip, Ron's computer gives an alert, saying that he has a sale. It's revealed Woody has been bought online for a large price, causing Ron to package him and puts him with other packages. After Jessie is also bought, she is left outside the case after Ron gets distracted with the tow truck company. Jessie cannot reach the lock, and says she'll get Woody so they can reach the handle together. But before she can, a delivery lady arrives and takes the package Woody is in. Combat Carl then encourages Jessie to sneak into a box so she can rescue Woody out of the truck. After accidentally getting sealed into the box by the delivery lady, Potato Head gives up, saying that they're never going to get out of there. After a while, Trixie doubts that they're coming back, but Pricklepants claims to be patient, using a movie's tension as an example. This causes Potato Head to snap and say that life isn't a movie and that Jessie and Woody were not coming back, only for them to run in through the vent moments later.

Before Jessie stacks herself on top of Woody, she sees Bonnie and her mom checking out behind the curtains. She then comes up a plan to pull the curtains to reveal the toys in the shelf, but gets stopped by Mr. Jones. During a struggle, Jessie realizes that Mr. Jones has a weak gag reflex after puking up Combat Carl's arm. She then throws herself into his mouth, where she pulls out Potato Head's slobbery arm. As Mr. Jones pulls Jessie away, she uses the arm as a grip for the curtain, making it fall down. Bonnie sees her toys inside the case before she can walk out and runs into the back to grab her toys. After Mrs. Anderson threatens to call the police, she grabs Bonnie's toys and walks out with her daughter. The gang thank Jessie once back in the trunk. But Rex asks frantically if anyone has seen for Potato Head and Pricklepants says that Mr. Jones must have claimed "one final victim", only for Jessie to calmly say he is still here. He is shown kissing his arm, saying they will never be separated again, only for the force of the car starting to have all of Potato Head's parts to scatter, making the gang laugh.

### *Toy Story: That Time Forgot*

Potato Head returns in the Christmas special. He spends Christmas with Bonnie and her toys. His role is smaller than his role in the films and Halloween special.

### *Toy Story 4*

Mr. Potato Head returns in the sequel. He goes on a road trip along with Bonnie and her other toys and family. Despite Don Rickles' passing, he is still voiced by him through archived audio (though he only has very limited dialogue).

He is first seen in the flashback nine years prior to the fourth film, where Andy dumps him and the other toys while he goes downstairs for dinner. The gang rise up in a panic as Andy left R.C. outside in the storm. Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and Slinky run to Molly's room where they rescue R.C., but also witness Bo Peep being given away. He is seen throughout the "You've Got a Friend in Me" sequence, being played with Bonnie.

Nine years later, Mr. Potato Head now lives with the rest of the gang as Bonnie's toys. He is first seen being cluttered with the other toys in Bonnie's closet while they wait for Bonnie to finish breakfast. He is heard snickering as he plays with Buzz's voice box buttons, much to Buzz's annoyance. Bonnie soon comes to her room and takes all the toys out except Woody. She plays "Hat Shop" and uses Mr. Potato Head's hat as one to try on for Bullseye.

After Woody returns from Bonnie's kindergarten orientation, he is scolded by the rest of the gang for sneaking out, with Mr. Potato Head saying he knew Woody would disobey the rules. But Woody alleviates the situation by saying that not only did Bonnie have a great day in in class and the gang is going on a road trip, but Bonnie also made a literal "new friend": A spork named Forky.

Mr. Potato Head is seen throughout the RV trip while Woody keeps an eye on Forky. But one night, Forky hops out the RV window to escape from Bonnie. Woody says that he and Forky will be meet the gang at the RV park in the morning before jumping out the window as well.

The next morning, the gang tries to substitute Forky with a spoon by sneaking it into Bonnie's hand while she's asleep, but to no avail; Bonnie is heartbroken that her favorite toy is gone. Buzz then volunteers to rescue Woody and Forky while Jessie and the gang keeps the Anderson family from leaving the park.

After no luck finding Forky, Bonnie's parents are prepared to leave the RV park. The gang goes into a panic, with Rex knocking off Mr. Potato Head's pieces with his tail while having a panic attack. Jessie then hops out the window and pops a tire with a nail, much to the gang's relief.

That night, Forky sneaks into Bonnie's backpack (that she had forgotten at the Antique Store) and explains to the gang that Woody wanted them to meet him at the carousel back at the carnival. Jessie devises a plan to have Mrs. Potato Head, Trixie, and Buttercup rig the gas pedals and GPS of the RV to get back towards the carnival (which causes the Andersons to be chased by police).

After arriving at the carousel, the Andersons are locked out by Forky after dealing with the police. The rest of the toys stack themselves up to press the button to open up the awning. The older toys reunite with their old friend, Bo Peep, and say goodbye to Woody (who decides to leave with Bo to help other lost toys) with a group hug. Forky comes up to also say goodbye, but leaves the doors unlocked. The RV begins to drive off and the two groups run in separate directions. The gang lands on a bed and quietly watches Bo and Woody waving goodbye on top of the carousel.

In the post-credits scene set a year later, Jessie returns from Bonnie's first grade orientation with another surprise: A knife named Knifey.

## Trivia

* Mr. Potato Head's phrase "Ya hockey puck!" is a tribute to his late voice actor Don Rickles back when he would regularly call people hockey pucks in his stand-up routines.
* Mr. Potato Head is the first character in the series to appear on-screen.