Mr. Spell

Mr. Spell is an educational toy for children made by Texas Instruments. He appears in Toy Story and Toy Story 2 as a supporting character and one of Andy's many toys.

Background Information

Mr. Spell is a yellow, hand-held, computer keyboard-like toy based on the popular 1970s Speak and Spell toy by Texas Instruments. Mr. Spell is able to talk by spelling the words he is saying and revealing them on the screen. Much like See 'n Say and Etch A Sketch, Mr. Spell gets around by waddling. He also frequently holds or has held seminars on a variety of topics such as plastic corrosion awareness and what to do if you or part of you is swallowed.

He did not play a particularly large role in the first film, but appeared in many background scenes.

Toy Story

Woody: "Tuesday night's plastic corrosion awareness meeting was, I think, a big success. And we wanna thank Mr. Spell for putting that on for us. Thank you, Mr. Spell."
Mr. Spell: "You're welcome."

—Woody thanks Mr. Spell for holding the aforementioned successful meeting

In Toy Story, when Woody assembles the toys for their first staff meeting in Andy's room, he thanks Mr. Spell for holding a successful "plastic corrosion awareness meeting."

At the end, Mr. Spell spells out the lyrics for "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," while Mr. Potato Head uses Mr. Mike as a karaoke machine.

Toy Story 2

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Buzz, OK. Here's your list of things to do while I'm gone. Batteries need to be changed. Toys at the bottom of the chest need to be rotated. And make sure everyone attends Mr. Spell's seminar on what to do if you or a part of you is swallowed. OK? OK. Good, OK."

—Woody tells Buzz the duties Buzz must do while Woody is away with Andy at Cowboy Camp

In Toy Story 2, Woody tells Buzz Lightyear to make sure all the toys attend the seminar held by Mr. Spell on what the toys should do if they (partially or wholly) get swallowed. After Andy's dog Buster bursts into Andy's room and finds Woody, Mr. Spell displays 13.5, the amount of time in seconds elapsed for Buster to find Woody since entering the room, setting a new record for the dog.

Later, after Woody is stolen, Buzz uses Mr. Spell to decipher the hidden message encoded on the license plate on the vehicle of the man who stole Woody, which to the other toys' surprise turns out to be "Al's Toy Barn" and that Al McWhiggin, the chicken mascot of his toy store, is the culprit.

Mr. Spell appears one more time at the end when Wheezy is singing "You've Got a Friend in Me."

Toy Story 3

Mr. Spell did not appear in Toy Story 3, he was one of the only toys not present in the old home videos. He was most likley either donated, handed down to Molly, or thrown away sometime shortly after the events of Toy Story 2.