Stinky Pete

**Stinky Pete** is one of the two main antagonists of the 1999 film Toy Story 2.

## Background

Stinky Pete was never bought or played with by a child and spent a lifetime on a dime-store shelf, watching every other toy be sold to their new owners, which caused him to grow bitter, selfish, and angry. He was later sold to Al McWhiggin, who never took him out of the box for unknown reasons, which made him even more insane and angrier. Since Al was grown up, he planned to sell Stinky Pete to a toy museum in Tokyo. Stinky Pete found this to be good news, if kids didn't want him, they can't have him once they change their minds. However, Al learned that the museum wanted the entire Woody's Roundup Gang toys and went to collect them all, so Stinky Pete had to wait. After he met Jessie and Bullseye, Stinky Pete befriended them while they waited for Woody.

### Personality

When he first appeared, Stinky Pete was initially a kind, wise, well-spoken, and grandfatherly mentor-like character, giving support and advice to Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye throughout the first half of the film. However, this merely hid his true nature, which was intelligent, sneaky, and embittered. This was most likely caused by the years of emotional pain he had endured during a lifetime in a dime-store shelf and not being sold to any children due to their preference of space toys after the launch of Sputnik, as well as the fact that his character was the least popular Woody's Roundup character. Along with the shift of interest to space toys, the fact that this resulted in Woody's Roundup getting cancelled further contributed to his own hatred of space toys and children. Even while he shrouded his nature, he secretly planned to prevent Woody from returning to his owner Andy at any cost, sabotaging Woody's escape by secretly turning on the television to wake Al up and putting the blame on Jessie without hesitation.

When Woody finally decided he would return to Andy and take the other Roundup toys with him despite the warning Stinky Pete gave him about Andy outgrowing and forgetting him, this finally prompted the Prospector to snap and reveal his true nature and intentions. The fact that he was willing to spend years of eternity sealed inside a museum away from contact with children also showed that he had developed solitariness traits due to spending most of his time within his box. He was also hypocritical, as he was willing to harm or tear apart other toys so his goal of toys escaping harm from children in the eternal museum life would be fulfilled, as evidenced by him reopening the old rip in Woody's arm and threatening to tear him apart.

His own inexperience of being played with by a child, along with hearing Jessie's story of being outgrown by her previous owner Emily lead to him feeling that children were only destroyers of toys whose ultimate fate will be spending an eternity rotting in landfills. He also believed that rare, unpopular, and collectible toys like him and the other Roundup toys were doomed to either always ending up in storage or remaining unsold to any children similar to his fate before Al found him. These beliefs further motivated his desire to spend an eternity in the museum, accepting it was the only salvation for all toys.

Despite his villainous nature, he has redeemable traits as the character stated in his online interview after the film that he liked his new owner Amy's face paint decorations even though he initially feared it after Andy's toys placed him in Amy's backpack. This can demonstrate that Stinky Pete was wronged by rejection and unappreciation and that he most likely would not have ever been bad if he had simply been owned by a child from the start.

Stinky Pete's TV counterpart on Woody's Roundup was a regular recurring protagonist. Though depicted mostly as an accident-prone, stereotypical, simple-minded hillbilly and comic relief, Pete was established on the show as an overall good-natured friend and ally of Woody, Bullseye, and Jessie.

## Film Appearances

### Toy Story 2

This Prospector is still "mint in the box," making him sought after by collectors. He always carries a pick around like a real prospector and had lived his entire life in his box, which has never been opened. Thus, he was greatly valued for still being in mint condition. He spends much time in storage with Jessie and Bullseye and eventually meets Woody after Al stole him. Stinky Pete is excited as this meant he and the gang could finally reside in the Konishi Toy Museum without the fear of destruction by children. Unfortunately, Woody still had an owner, prompting Stinky Pete to stop him from returning to Andy at any cost.

When Woody tries to retrieve his severed arm from Al, Stinky Pete secretly leaves his box, steals the remote, and turns on the television, waking up Al. He frames Jessie with the remote so he could not be blamed for the incident. When Woody and Jessie begin to fight, Stinky Pete breaks it up, saying he does not know how the television turned on, but fighting about it will solve nothing. After getting repaired, Woody decides to leave the gang for home, but Stinky Pete convinces him to make amends with Jessie first. After hearing Jessie's sad story of how she was abandoned by her former owner Emily, and learning from Stinky Pete that Andy would eventually grow up as well, Woody decides to stick with the gang to join them in the museum.

However, Buzz and his friends arrive in the apartment room to save Woody from being sold. Buzz leaves Woody to contemplate his decision, saying he would never be loved again if he spent eternity behind glass. Stinky Pete tries to commend Woody after Buzz leaves the room, but is unable to cheer him up, as he is disappointed about what he had said to Buzz and the other toys. Stinky Pete watches Woody, who comes to realize his mistake and declares to Buzz he would return with him and the others. While Woody invites an uncertain Jessie and an eager Bullseye to come along, Stinky Pete decides to take the matter into his own hands, so he leaves his box, traps Woody and the others by shutting and sealing the grate leading to an air vent, and reveals he was the one who turned on the television the night before to sabotage Woody's escape. He then swears that Woody and the gang are to go to Japan with him, where they would spend eternity with him in a protected exhibit, away from children's reach.

Woody and Jessie try to stand up to Stinky Pete, only to learn he was never sold to anyone after he had spent a lifetime on a dime-store shelf and was therefore resentful. Stinky Pete declares that the museum is his only chance of finally becoming appreciated and he would have no "hand-me-down cowboy doll" mess up his only chance of going. When Woody yells for Buzz's help, Stinky Pete discourages Woody by making fun of Buzz's name, telling him he cannot help him as Woody angrily corrects him. He also reveals how much he hated those upstart space toys. Al then arrives and packs his Roundup collection, including Woody, into his case and heads out of his penthouse.

At Tri-County International Airport, when Buzz finds and opens the case to free Woody, Stinky Pete angrily punches him off the ramp. Furious by this, Woody fights back for harming his friend. Using his pickaxe, Stinky Pete reopens an old rip on Woody's arm (although Woody could still move it this time) and offers him a choice of going to Japan together or in pieces, assuring if he has been fixed once, he can be fixed again. He orders Woody to get back into the case, to which Woody angrily refuses, leaving an infuriated Stinky Pete now with no choice but to raise his pick, ready to tear him to pieces. But before he can, Buzz (who has survived the fall) and the others manage to save Woody's life by stunning Stinky Pete with flash cameras that they had acquired from another luggage where they had accidentally found them earlier.

After Buzz grabs him, Stinky Pete calls them idiots and warns them they would be tortured by children, abandoned, and end up spending eternity rotting in a landfill. Woody can still move his arm because the old tear Stinky Pete had reopened is just a little rip. Then the toys decide, per Woody's decision, to teach Stinky Pete "the true meaning of playtime" to prove his assumptions wrong and they shove him into off-screen luggage.

Stinky Pete ends up in the backpack belonging to a young girl named Amy, who loves to paint the faces of her toys. At that point, Amy decides to give Stinky Pete a makeover. Horrified at this thought (especially after seeing her Barbie's face), Stinky Pete sobs in defeat as he is taken to his new owner's home as Woody happily bids farewell to him.