Best Pixar "background" characters?

Cafe Society
#1

I was just thinking, on my drive home last night from my second viewing of Cars, what was the most amusing background character to date…

in Toy Story/TS2 there were the 3-eyed Alien squeezy toys that worshipped “The Claaaaawwww!!!”

in Finding Nemo, the Seagulls with their neverending chorus of “Mine?”, Pixar got the brainless greed of the Herring Gulls absolutely spot-on perfect with that one, if you’ve never encountered Herring Gulls before, they are exactly as mindless and greedy as presented in Finding Nemo

in Cars, the Tractors represent domesticated cows, and once again, the characterizations are absolutely perfect, the Tractors have an absolutely perfect, mindless bovine stare, and are easily startled by the simplest things, Frank the Combine Harvester was a bit over the top, but the Tractors themselves were spot on…

I don’t really recall any background characters in A Bugs Life or Monsters, Inc. though…

so, of the three background characters listed, I think the Tractors are my current favorite, not because they’re the newest character, but because Pixar captured the “essence” of the domesticated cow so perfectly in the Tractors…

well, that and the fact that Tractor-Tippin’ just looks like fun… :wink:

#2

My favorites were the surfer-dude, hippie turtles in Finding Nimo. :cool:

#3

Not sure what counts as a “background” character, but I’ll cast a tentative vote for the crane-game aliens too. The only reason those guys appeared in Toy Story 2 was because the Japanese audience loved them like nobody’s business… :wink:

#4

I’ll vote for the aliens too, if only because their commentary during the settop claw game on the 2005 Toy Story DVD made me laugh out loud the first time I played it. “The potato man has been chosen!”

#5

Frozone’s wife in “The Incredibles.”

Doesn’t appear on screen. Truly voice only.

#6

“I am your wife! I am the greatest good you’re ever gonna get!”

#7

There’s probably several other “favorites” that I have, but the quickest ones I remember off the top of my head are:[ul]
[li]Toy Story (1 and 2) - alien squeezy dolls - honorable mention to the army soldiers[/li][li]A Bugs Life - does the bird count? (and the “animatronic” bird breaking down in the “outtakes” at the end is hysterically funny)[/li][li]Monsters Inc - the “geeky” guys on the scare floor[/li][li]Findings Nemo - surfer turtles - honorable mention to the fish in the tank who thinks her reflection is another fish[/li][li]The Incredibles - The Underminer (“I am beneath you! But nothing is beneath me!”) - honorable mention to Gazerbeam, even though he doesn’t have any lines, just because[/li]Cars - haven’t seen it yet, hopefully next week[/ul]

#8

The clerk in Monsters, Inc that turns out to be an undercover agent----you didn’t fill in your paaaaaperwork.

#9

Roz, the slug-woman

#10

In Monsters, Inc.:
I liked the hazmat-suited SWAT team - such odd shapes, made you speculate on what they looked like under the suits.

Another vote for the TS aliens and toy soldiers

In Finding Nemo, in addition to the gulls, I liked the other schoolkids - all short bus material…

#11

[QUOTE=Waenara]
[li]The Incredibles - The Underminer (“I am beneath you! But nothing is beneath me!”) - honorable mention to Gazerbeam, even though he doesn’t have any lines, just because[/li][/QUOTE]

Is Gazerbeam the one we hear doing the stay-in-school PSA on the Incredibles DVD? That’s one of my favorite Super files. “Hi, this is Gazerbeam. I didn’t like school, but you probably will…since you won’t have the same teachers I did.”

#12

I liked Mrs. Potato Head in Toy Story 1 & 2 (gotta love the Estelle Costanza voice), and the costume lady from The Incredibles.

#13

No, Gazerbeam is the guy who has no sense of humor, and talks about how he has to avert his gaze when he’s having a conversation, so that the other person doesn’t burst into flames.

Anyway, my vote is for Kari (“With a K instead of C and only one R and an I instead of an IE”, the babysitter in The Incredibles. She was too cool. I’m glad they did the short film with her and Jack Jack on the DVD.

#14

The shrimp in Finding Nemo that cleaned the tank. “I’m ashamed.”

The henchmen in The Incredibles watching the TV newcasts in the trailer. “OK, every time they run, you take a shot.”

#15

Bomb Voyage!

Ahh, Monsieur Incroyable!!

#16

There were many tertiary characters in A Bug’s Life, like Mr Soil “Ah, this is nothing compared to the twig of '92!” or Tuck and Roll, or the mime in the bug city, or the mosquitoes serving the drinks in the sombrero.

#17

My favorite on the PSA was Thunderhead. “Stay in school kids! Thunderhead supports you!”

#18

Another vote for costume maven Edna “E” Mode in The Incredibles: “You are ElastiGirl! Snap out of it!”

And another vote for the shrimp in Finding Nemo (accordion music and all).

#19

Edna Mode is, hands-down, the greatest creation in the vaunted history of Pixar. I may despise the fashion world of the glitteratti and everything they stand for, but I’d voluntarily hack off a limb for the chance to have her design my house.

That being said, my (other) favorite Pixar background characters are (in no particular order):

  • Bruce, Anchor and Chum
  • Crush’s son Squirt
  • Honey (AKA Mrs. Frozone)
  • The little kid on the tricycle (that was so totally wicked) - yes, I know it’s the same voice as Squirt
  • George Sanderson (2319!)
  • Roz
#20

I loved Mr. Ray from Finding Nemo.

“Is there anything I can do to help, I am a scientist…”