Ken

Ken, also known as Ken Carson and Kenneth is a toy based on the popular real life toy from the famous Mattel Barbie franchise.

He was the secondary antagonist in Toy Story 3, initially being the head of Lotso's henchmen, apparently he was second-in-command. He is one of the toys from Sunnyside Daycare Center, who falls in love with Barbie.

Ken is considered a "softy" by the other daycare toys, and because he's a girl's toy, he's not well respected. He ultimately chooses between his old life and the girl he has fallen in love with.

Toy Story 3
thumb|right|300px|Interview with Ken

Ken is first introduced when his master Lotso tells him that new toys have arrived. Shortly afterwards, Ken catches sight of Molly's old Barbie doll and falls in love with her, becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. Little do Barbie and Andy's toys know that Ken is allied to Lotso as one of his henchmen. When Buzz Lightyear exits the Caterpillar Room, he sees Ken spending some more time with Barbie, declaring love for each other, before he is taken away by Chunk and Twitch. Following them into the vending machine, Buzz spies on Ken and the other Sunnyside toys at the top of the machine, but Ken catches sight of Buzz and orders the others to capture him. With Buzz being reset to his demo mode and brainwashed to become one of Lotso's henchman, Ken and the rest of Lotso's gang have Buzz capture the toys and imprison them in their cells in the Caterpillar Room. After Barbie finds out what Ken has done to Buzz and her friends, she angrily breaks up with him (she snatches the scarf away from him), and Ken has her imprisoned as well.

The next night, Ken and Buzz, take roll call to ensure all the toys are present. Seeing that Mr. Potato Head is not in his cell, the two go off with Big Baby to bring him back, but Mr. Potato Head tries to stand up to Ken and kicks him in the shin, prompting Ken to have Big Baby imprison Mr. Potato Head back inside the sandbox. When Ken returns to the Caterpillar Room, Barbie calls out to him and begs him to let her be with him in his Dreamhouse in the Butterfly Room. At first Ken is suspicious, then becomes puzzled, but he reluctantly gives in to Barbie's plea and makes her promise to follow his orders. At the Dreamhouse, Barbie is awestruck at Ken's vast collection of clothes, but Ken coldly expresses disapprobation to those clothes, only for Barbie to sweet-talk him into modeling his outfits for her, to which he obliges to. As Ken shows off his various outfits to Barbie, she fakes being impressed by them. As Ken finally shows off his martial arts moves in his karate outfit, he sees that Barbie is nowhere to be seen, only to be tackled by her from behind. Barbie demands him to tell her what Lotso has done to Buzz and how to get Buzz back to normal, to which Ken initially protests, but notices her fierce gaze and reluctantly decides to see her try. Barbie then ties up Ken to a racket and makes fun of his favorite outfits as she tears them in half. At first, Ken decides not to care about it and to let Barbie rip whatever she wants, but when she brings out his Nehru jacket, he begins confessing. As Barbie begins to rip the Nehru, Ken mentions about the instruction manual. Falling over in the racket to which he is tied, he finally confesses to Barbie that Lotso has switched Buzz to demo mode as he breaks himself into tears. When Barbie asks Ken where the manual is, Ken directs her to Bookworm.

Ken is not seen again until much later in the film when Lotso and his gang stop Andy's toys from escaping Sunnyside. Upon hearing Barbie telling Lotso, with her surprising understanding of civics, about how it's better to have the toys be treated fairly than be ruled by a dictator, Ken realizes that the Barbie he has initially fallen in love with is not just another ditsy Barbie doll, but intelligent and strong-minded as well. Defecting from Lotso's command, he tries to stop Lotso from ordering his henchmen to push Barbie and her friends into a dumpster. Lotso mocks Ken for loving Barbie, stating that there are a hundred million Barbie dolls everywhere, but Ken smiles at Barbie and tells her that there is no other Barbie dolls as intelligent and strong-minded as she is--not to him--making Barbie sigh with love again. Realizing that Ken has betrayed him, Lotso forcefully throws him across the dumpster, but Woody catches Ken in mid-fall and pulls him up. Barbie runs over and hugs Ken, making him astonished to see that she loves him once again, then Ken reveals himself to be intelligent and strong-minded like Barbie is by declaring how fair treatment of toys can make Sunnyside a cool and groovy place, thereby supporting Barbie's understanding of civics. He also exposes Lotso as the one who has placed himself on top of a pyramid that he has made the Sunnyside toys into. After Big Baby throws Lotso into the dumpster and closes the lid, Ken assists the toys in escaping Sunnyside, but the toys end up being loaded into a garbage truck. Ken then stops Barbie, who wants to save her friends, from risking her life.

In the end credits, Ken is once again in a relationship with Barbie, and they both revolutionize Sunnyside, becoming its new leaders. Together, they turn the daycare center into a true toy paradise for all toys. When another box full of toys to be donated, including Emperor Zurg, arrives at the Butterfly Room, a dump truck pulls up in front of the newcomers. On the truck are Barbie and some smaller toys holding up a paper to greet the toys to a now cool and groovy Sunnyside, and Ken rips the paper in half to present himself and to welcome them in a more enthusiastic manner with Barbie at his side. While the Sunnyside toys enjoy a "beach party" at the sandbox, Ken spots Sarge and his two last paratroopers parachuting down into the playground, and he and Barbie walk over to greet them. Ken salutes the soldiers as Barbie directs them to the sandbox, inviting them to join the party. That night, a disco is held at the Butterfly Room. Ken, in his white outfits, walks among the toys until he reaches his Dreamhouse, where he sees Barbie coming down in an elevator. Ken is awestruck to see Barbie in her sparkling dress as the two walk toward each other, then Ken sheds his clothes to reveal his equally sparkling tuxedo and trousers. Big Baby, in his sparkling diapers, walks over to the two and holds them up in his arms as he dances around in the spotlight. The next day, Andy's toys, who are now living at Bonnie's house, receive a message telling them that Sunnyside has become sunny once again. They read the message, thinking that Barbie has written it (based on a nice handwriting as remarked by Buzz), but they surprisingly find Ken's signature at the end.

Toy Description
From Official Website:

"Grab your binoculars and join Ken for a safari! A swinging bachelor who's always on the lookout for fun, Ken sports the perfect outfit for his eco-adventure: light blue shorts and a leopard-print shirt with short sleeves sure to keep him cool in the hot sun. And after his exciting expedition, Ken will be ready to hit the dance floor in style. His accessories include matching scarf, sensible loafers, and a fashion-forward gold belt. Dozens of additional Ken outfits sold separately."

Trivia

 * Ken wears 21 different outfits in the film.
 * Ken is based on a real toy from the Barbie toyline back in in 1988 called Animal Lovin’ Ken.
 * Ken appears to be offended whenever he is referred to as a "girl's toy", which is a similar trait as Francis from A Bug's Life.