Albert "Al" McWhiggin, also known as the Chicken Man, is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Stinky Pete) of Pixar's third full-length animated feature film Toy Story 2 and the unseen overarching antagonist of the 2013 Halloween television special Toy Story of Terror!.
He is the greedy 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.
Biography[]
Beginnings[]
Sometime before the events of Toy Story, Al opened his own toy store, called Al's Toy Barn, where he sold a ton of toys (including the famous Buzz Lightyear action figures), and made a lot of profit, showing be a successful store. He also becomes obsessed with a TV show called Woody's Roundup from the 50's, and he collected many things from this series. As such, he made a deal with the Mr. Konishi Toy Museum in Tokyo to sell them toy versions of the main characters. After searching through several garage stores, Al manages to get hold of 3 of the characters: Jessie the cowgirl, Bullseye the horse, and the prospector Stinky Pete. The only one missing to complete the collection was Woody, the protagonist of the show.
Toy Story 2[]
Al makes his only appearance in the second film. He is first seen during a TV commercial of Al's Toy Barn, advertising toys, which is seen by Rex and Hamm. To prevent Andy and his family from hearing the TV on, Hamm quickly turns it off before cursing Al, since he doesn't like him.
Al later attends Andy's garage shop looking for Woody, finding him on a table once his voice box says "There's a snake in my boot". Excited, Al grabs Woddy and examines him, noting that his right arm is broken, but it can be fixed. He then finds his hat and puts it on, while he laughs anxiously that he finally found it. Al tries to make a deal with Andy's mother by offering her 50 cents in exchange for her selling Woody to him, but Andy's mother rejects his offer as Woody is still Andy's toy. Al then tries to offer him his watch in exchange for Woody, but to no avail. With his offer rejected, Al manages to create a distraction in the yard by kicking a skateboard into something, distracting Andy's mom in the process, giving Al enough time to open his box and steal Woody. Once with the stolen cowboy, Al puts it in his briefcase and takes it to his apartment. Buzz Lightyear sees this action and rushes to rescue his friend, but fails when Al ends up leaving.
Later, at his apartment, Al is dressed as a chicken and gets a call from work to do a commercial. Once he hangs up the phone on him, Al looks over at Woody, and with a greedy laugh, he tells his "little cowboy friend" that he'll make him a lot of money. Al then leaves his apartment and drives to his store (which is only across the street from his home) to do his commercial.
After the commercial ends, Al returns to his apartment to take pictures of Woody and his Rondoup Gang cast, but notices that Woody's entire left arm is broken. Al screams in panic, and phones a cleaner named Geri to come and fix Woody for him, demanding that he come in early tomorrow. Later, Al sleeps on his couch at night, with Woody's arm in his pocket.
Woody tries to retrieve his arm and get back to Andy, and with Bullseye's help, climbs onto the couch to try to grab it. However, his attempt is frustrated when Stinky Pete secretly turns on the television, causing Al to wake up. Seeing Woody on the ground, Al picks him up and puts him back where he was. He then turns off the TV before going to bed to sleep. On the other hand, Woody believes that it was Jessie who turned on the television, and fights with her.
The next day, Geri arrives at Al's apartment and fully repairs Woody, much to Al's joy, who defines Woody as "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. When Al receives a call from Konishi, the Japanese man tells him that he will give him as much money as he wants for the collection, which excites Al cause he will become rich.
Back at his apartment, Al begins to pack his bags and catches the first flight to Japan. Meanwhile, when Andy's toys find Woody, his exit is blocked by Stinky Pete, who reveals his true evil nature, and that he was the one who framed Jessie for turning on the TV last night, and forces both Woody and Jessie to go to the Tokyo museum with him. This allows Al to collect the Roundup toys in a case as he leaves for the airport.
At the airport, Woody is later rescued by his friends, alongside Jessie and Bullseye, while Stinky Pete is stuffed into a girl's backpack to learn what means "playtime", much to the prospector's dismay. As the toys return to Andy's house, Al takes his flight to Japan, but discovers that the toys are missing, much to his surprise. As a result, Al's plans are foiled and Konishi calls off the deal. Then Al's Toy Barn begins to suffer from financial problems and Al starts selling toys at low prices.
The next day, Al appears for the last time in a commercial for Al's Toy Barn, this time crying over the loss of the toys, saying that his store has gone bankrupt and he's "broke-broke-broke", and he can't help but hold himself back through hysterical sobs. This seems to delight Hamm and Rex as they watch the commercial, with Hamm happily saying that "crime doesn't pay".
Al may have started selling cheap toys after his failed plan to sell the Woody Roundup in Japan, and been bankrupt for the rest of his life.
Personality[]
Al is a greedy and impatient salesman who owns a successful toy store called Al's Toy Barn, where he sells valuable and vintage toys, like Buzz Lightyear action figures. He is also a collector who is obsessed with selling Woody and his Roundup Gang to Japan to get rich.
However, Al resorts to every dirty trick when things don't go his way: After his failed attempt to convince Andy's mom to sell Woody to him, he manages to create a distraction by kicking a skateboard into the street. garage sale, drawing attention away from Andy's mom, long enough for Al to open her box and steal Woody.
Al is a bit immature, as he acts childish when advertising toys on TV, and acts impolite and rude when contacting other businesses. He is also very lazy, as he complained about having to "drive all the way to work on a Saturday", even though his apartment is across the street from the store, when he could perfectly walk. However, despite his negative traits, Al was genuinely grateful to Geri for fixing Woody.
According to a Disney Adventure magazine, the reason Al was obsessed with toys is because his parents didn't allow him to play with these toys as a child, which led to his nature as a collector. Unlike Sid, (who smashes the toys and blows them up to the point where they lie around broken), Al keeps the toys clean and well stored, as well as repairing any damage done, so he always takes care of his collection.
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