The Cleric is a main character of Toy Story That Time Forgot. He is an anthropomorphic Ludodactylus and the spiritual leader of the Battlesaurs, and also the only one who knows about them being just toys. He has taken advantage of the fact Mason is distracted by his Optimum X console to keep the Battlesaurs in their ignorance and remain their leader and in complete control of their fate.
He is always accompanied by three acolytes, which are apprentices in training.[1] The Cleric is headquartered in the tower of the "dream elders," which is supposedly in communication with mysterious superior beings, but which is actually controlled by the Cleric.
Toy Story That Time Forgot[]
He is first seen when Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex, Trixie and Angel Kitty arrive at the Battlesaur playset. At first he orders Rex and Trixie to leave, but upon the insistence of Reptillus Maximus, he allows them to enter, and has them endorse Battlesaur weaponry. At the same time, he has Woody, Buzz and Angel Kitty being taken as prisoners.
However, the Cleric is upset that Trixie talks with Reptillus, as she may lead him to realize they are toys. As a distraction, he activates the dream elders' call for battle. He then takes place at the Arena of Woe as the arbiter of the combats, deciding of the life and death of the toys pitted against Reptillus Maximus.
When Trixie tries to save Woody and Buzz, all the Battlesaurs realize she has the name of Bonnie on her paw, which the Cleric identifies as "the mark of obedience", a sign that she has surrendered to someone. As a result, the Cleric deems Trixie unworthy of being a Battlesaur and an enemy. He then sends Reptillus after her when she escapes the arena.
Once the combats are finished, Woody and Buzz discover the Cleric's true nature as he prepares to dispose of them in "the pit", an aeration vane leading to a shredding fan. His plans are eventually foiled, as Trixie succeeds to get Mason and Bonnie interested in their new toys, thus revealing to all Battlesaurs their true nature.
As Mason and Bonnie play with the Cleric, they release a pair of wings. Following this, it appears the Cleric had a change of heart, and enjoys their new situation.
Trivia[]
- The Cleric bears a striking resemblance to the Skeksis from the 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal.
- Prior to redemption, he was very similar to Lotso in many ways:
- Both toys are antagonists, both use other toys as their minions, and both use a certain place as their lair (for Lotso, Sunnyside Daycare; for the Cleric, Mason's room) while children are busy or not present. The only difference is how they use it: Lotso uses Sunnyside Daycare as a prison camp, while the Cleric uses Mason's room as the Battlesaurs' tribe.
- Both of them had a henchman who fell in love with a friend of Woody, Buzz and Rex: Ken was Lotso's servant and fell in love with Barbie; Reptillus Maximus was the Cleric's servant and fell in love with Trixie.
- Both of them also turned one of Woody's friends against the gang: Lotso reprogrammed Buzz and made him part of his gang, forcing him to lock up Rex and Andy's toys, while The Cleric turned Rex into his slave against his will and also made him drop Woody and Buzz into the pit. Also, the Cleric is implied to have reformed in the short's ending, whereas Lotso has never reformed nor met Bonnie and/or Trixie (though in early versions of Toy Story 3, Trixie was going to be Lotso's henchwoman before being replaced by Stretch).
- In addition to acting like Lotso, both the Cleric and Lotso also parody Emperor Palpatine, the main antagonist of the original and prequel Star Wars trilogies.
- The way Big Baby turned on Lotso mirrors the way Darth Vader turned on Palpatine in Star Wars: Return of The Jedi, while the Cleric's voice sounds similar to Palpatine's. This makes the Cleric the second Toy Story villain to parody Palpatine after Lotso.
- The Cleric also parodies Darth Vader as he parodies one of Vader's lines in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, making him the third Toy Story antagonist to parody Vader after Zurg and Big Baby.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Toy Story That Time Forgot, Full Panel - #SDCC 2014 on YouTube (6:20 - 7:00)