- Woody: "Hey, where's Lenny?"
- Lenny: "Right here, Woody!"
- ―Woody calls for Lenny[src]
Lenny (a.k.a. Lenny the Binoculars) is a small wind-up binocular toy who appears in Toy Story and Toy Story 2 as a recurring character.
Basic Information
Lenny is a pair of small, bright blue binoculars with orange feet. He is used as binoculars by the other toys in various situations and is talkative when he warns and reports the toys what he sees on his watch. Since Lenny doesn't have a mouth, it is always assumed that he cannot talk. However, when a scene focuses on him, his voice can be heard. He speaks in a stereotypical New York accent. Lenny also appears to walk very slowly since he is such a small toy. Although, Lenny is not a major character, he is probably one of the most notable supporting characters, as he is usually seen alongside many of the main toys, such as Woody, Bo Peep, Buzz, etc. It is shown in the first film that Lenny lives on Andy's bookshelf in behind some of his books.
Toy Story
In Toy Story, Lenny was one of the first toys to come out into the open room when Woody signaled that the coast was clear. Lenny also appears at the staff meeting before Andy's birthday party in shock that his party was moved to that day, even though Andy's birthday was not until the following week. Woody explained to all the toys that Andy's mother wanted to have the party before they move to their new house. When Hamm alerts the toys that the birthday guests have arrived, Lenny, along with basically every other toy, except Woody, runs to the window to see what kind of sized presents his friends are bringing, in fear that Andy may get bigger toys and that they will all be given away. Lenny, in particular, showed great fear when Sarge and his army reported what presents Andy was receiving. Then, when Sarge warns the toys that Andy and his friends are coming back upstairs, Lenny and the rest of the toys scramble and position themselves back in their original places. He saw Woody climb onto the bed to greet Buzz and then watched in amazement when Buzz "flew" around the bedroom on Andy's model plane, not knowing that the plane was keeping Buzz in the air. After Buzz arrives, Lenny, just like the rest of the toys all take an immediate liking towards him. One afternoon, when the toys hear Sid in his backyard, Buzz uses Lenny to watch him and his dog Scud mess around with one of his army toys. Lenny warns the toys when he sees Sid light up the fuse on the Combat Carl toy just before it explodes. On that same night, Woody accidentally knocked Buzz out the window. While most of the toys thought that Woody did this intentionally, Lenny was one of the few that didn’t accuse him of doing this on purpose. However, he lost his trust in him when he saw Woody holding Buzz’s severed arm during the middle of the film. The toys then proceed in tossing Woody out the back of the truck as well. Lenny warns the toys when he sees Woody riding on RC with Buzz and approaching the truck. Bo Peep uses him to get a closer look and informs everyone that Woody was telling the truth. Lenny alerts the toys again when RC, Woody and Buzz approach the truck fast by Sid’s rocket taped to Buzz’s back, just before Buzz and Woody drop RC back into the moving van. Lenny appears again at the end of the film in Andy's room at the Christmas present meeting, appearing alongside Slinky, Robot and Troikas before hearing what presents Andy receives for Christmas.
Toy Story Treats
Lenny appears in the Toy Story Treats short called Staring Contest.
Toy Story 2
Lenny did not speak in Toy Story 2. However, since the story didn't focus on the toys in Andy's bedroom, he had a smaller role than the first film. Buzz uses Lenny to keep watch on Woody during the events at the yard sale until Al McWhiggin of Al's Toy Barn steals Woody. When Al’s car takes off, Lenny, along with many of the other toys, watch in horror, in thinking if they will ever see Woody again. Lenny also attends the crime session on identifying Woody’s kidnapper and is very shocked upon discovering that it was Al from Al’s Toy Barn, as no one knew who it was at the time of the theft.
In an outtake of Toy Story 2, he is seen being used by Buzz and the binocular-marker trick is pulled by Woody.
Toy Story 2 ABC Interstitials
Lenny appears in multiple of the shorts including Sportscaster and Good Morning America.
Toy Story 3
In Toy Story 3, Lenny only appears in the home videos Andy's mother recorded of Andy playing with his toys.
Video Games
Toy Story Racer
Lenny appears as one of the playable characters in Toy Story Racer.
Trivia
- Lenny's name comes from a play on the word "lens".
- Lenny was the third toy to see come alive. First being Woody and RC.
- Lenny only speaks in Toy Story.
- Lenny is the only Andy’s other toys to not appear in the end of Toy Story 2.
- A non-anthropomorphic version of Lenny is seen in Inside Out 2.