Few Disney franchises are as beloved as “Toy Story,” starting with the feature film that helped launch Pixar into Hollywood history and forever changed the world of cinematic animation. In 2010, the “Toy Story” franchise looked to be coming to an end (spoiler alert: it didnt) with the release of “Toy Story 3.” As a soon-to-be grown up Andy gets ready to leave for college, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the rest of Andys favorite toys originally find themselves heading for a life in attic storage, when theyre mistakenly brought to the curb with the trash. Fortunately, Woody manages to save the crew, only to wind up in the arms of new owner Bonnie, and the rest of the toy family donated to a local daycare center. Happily believing theyll have plenty of new kids to play with, Andys toys soon realize that theyre stuck in a chaotic petri dish of toddler terror, and its up to Woody to save his family.
Similar to Sid in “Toy Story” and The Prospector (Kelsey Grammar) and Al McWhiggin (Wayne Knight) in “Toy Story 2,” the end of the trilogy had its own Big Bad in the form of Lotso the Lots-o-Huggin Bear (Ned Beatty). The magenta, strawberry-scented teddy bear ruled Sunnyside Daycare like a prison warden, and due to his own unprocessed trauma of being accidentally abandoned by his owner Daisy, has grown to hate the bond between children and toys. Lotso is considered one of the cruelest villains in Pixar movie history, but his reign of terror for Disney wasnt constrained to the screen.
“Toy Story” frequently makes references to popular, real-life toys like Barbie and Ken, Mr. Potato Head, and the Etch-a-Sketch, but for the most part, the toys are unique to Pixar and were merely inspired by real life toys. Instead of blowing up a G.I. Joe in “Toy Story,” Sid destroys a Combat Carl. When making announcements, Woody utilizes Mr. Spell, a clear nod to the Speak and Spell. So what does this have to do with Lots-o-Huggin Bear? Well, the toy company Diece-Lisa Industries took Disney to court over the bear, believing that Disney was inspired by its patented “Lots of Hugs” line of bear toys.
While it would be easy to rule this as a coincidence, Diece-Lisa had previously licensed their “hugging technology” to The Jim Henson Company to use in the Playhouse Disney show “Bear in the Big Blue House.” It just so happens that Disney owns The Jim Henson Company.
“Toy Story 3” made over $1 billion at the box office, an estimated additional $7 billion in merchandising. Diece-Lisa asserted that they were forced to rebrand their bears as “Hugalots” to avoid brand confusion and that Disney willfully infringed on their “Lots of Hugs” trademark without the license or authority of the toymaker. At one point they tried to counter, but a judge knocked it down. As of publication, Diece-Lisa and Disney have yet to have come to an agreement.
Outside of big tech companies like Facebook Meta, theres no corporation in the world with more power and influence than Disney. Diece-Lisas pursuit regarding the legal status of the Lots-o-Huggin Bear/Lots of Hugs Bear is the real life equivalent of the “Zanzibar!” episode of “Rockos Modern Life,” which includes a full song-and-dance number about how “You Cant Fight City Hall.” Diece-Lisa is not a major toy company like Hasbro, Mattel, Fisher-Price, or LEGO — theyre a small, independent company. No shade to the webmaster, but the official “Lots of Hugs” website looks like something that was made in the early 2000s using a Geocities or Angelfire website builder. So taking on Disney like that takes real courage.
There hasnt been much movement on the case since 2019, but its worth paying attention to because this is an absolute David and Goliath story. The fact a judge has ruled that Disney cannot block their lawsuit is a huge win for the little guys, and it proves that not even a company as dominant as the House of Mouse is free from legal accountability.
DLI is now suing for unfair competition and trademark infringement and demanding profits attributable to the alleged bad actions, trebled damages and an injunction on future use of the “Lotso” character.
In the new lawsuit, DLI says that “Disney has aggressively enforced its various intellectual property rights” and points to past legal action taken jointly by Disney and DC Comics to protect Toy Story and Toy Story 2 movie characters. In other words, the plaintiff implies that Disney respects the rights of Batman’s owner.
DLI now claims that it has been experiencing harm from the film. In 2011, the company’s affiliate entered into a license agreement with Interactive Group for a bear product.
The plaintiff is Diece-Lisa Industries, a New Jersey company that created the “Lots of Hugs” stuffed toy bears. DLI asserts that it has been licensing its “Lots of Hugs” since 1995, including for use as a promotional Olympic Panda Bear for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
Not only does DLI have trademarks, but the company has a registered patent as well. According to the complaint (read here), DLI licensed its “hugging technology” to a company affiliated with Disney for its sale of Jim Henson‘s “Bear in the Big Blue House” huggable stuffed bear product. In other words, the plaintiff implies Disney knew about DLI’s intellectual property.
Sidekicks Big Baby, a naked baby doll with one good eye, and Chuckles, a frowny-faced clown, who both came with Lotso to Sunnyside when their original owner, Daisy, accidentally left them behind at a picnic.
Why he’s so bad When Andy’s toys arrive at Sunnyside, Lotso assigns them to the rough, youngest kids. But most notably, after a scuffle at the landfill, where Lotso says all toys are trash, Woody and friends take pity on Lotso and save him from a conveyor belt into the shredder. Lotso returns the favor by sending them into an incinerator — one of the most sweat-inducing scenes in any animated Disney film ever. (Spoiler alert: The alien toys come to the rescue with a giant claw.)
Sarah Bryan Miller is the classical music critic for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch; she has also written on a variety of other topics.
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Special attributes He’s the purple, plush, strawberry-scented ruler of toys at Sunnyside Day Care. Despite his name, no hugs are given.
Outside of big tech companies like Facebook Meta, theres no corporation in the world with more power and influence than Disney. Diece-Lisas pursuit regarding the legal status of the Lots-o-Huggin Bear/Lots of Hugs Bear is the real life equivalent of the “Zanzibar!” episode of “Rockos Modern Life,” which includes a full song-and-dance number about how “You Cant Fight City Hall.” Diece-Lisa is not a major toy company like Hasbro, Mattel, Fisher-Price, or LEGO — theyre a small, independent company. No shade to the webmaster, but the official “Lots of Hugs” website looks like something that was made in the early 2000s using a Geocities or Angelfire website builder. So taking on Disney like that takes real courage.
While it would be easy to rule this as a coincidence, Diece-Lisa had previously licensed their “hugging technology” to The Jim Henson Company to use in the Playhouse Disney show “Bear in the Big Blue House.” It just so happens that Disney owns The Jim Henson Company.
“Toy Story 3” made over $1 billion at the box office, an estimated additional $7 billion in merchandising. Diece-Lisa asserted that they were forced to rebrand their bears as “Hugalots” to avoid brand confusion and that Disney willfully infringed on their “Lots of Hugs” trademark without the license or authority of the toymaker. At one point they tried to counter, but a judge knocked it down. As of publication, Diece-Lisa and Disney have yet to have come to an agreement.
“Toy Story” frequently makes references to popular, real-life toys like Barbie and Ken, Mr. Potato Head, and the Etch-a-Sketch, but for the most part, the toys are unique to Pixar and were merely inspired by real life toys. Instead of blowing up a G.I. Joe in “Toy Story,” Sid destroys a Combat Carl. When making announcements, Woody utilizes Mr. Spell, a clear nod to the Speak and Spell. So what does this have to do with Lots-o-Huggin Bear? Well, the toy company Diece-Lisa Industries took Disney to court over the bear, believing that Disney was inspired by its patented “Lots of Hugs” line of bear toys.
There hasnt been much movement on the case since 2019, but its worth paying attention to because this is an absolute David and Goliath story. The fact a judge has ruled that Disney cannot block their lawsuit is a huge win for the little guys, and it proves that not even a company as dominant as the House of Mouse is free from legal accountability.
FAQ
Was Lotso Huggin bear a real toy?
Disney Enterprises has been taken to Texas federal court by a trademark owner who objects to the “Lots-O’-Huggin’” stuffed bear character in Toy Story 3. As a refresher, in the 2010 film, this character — aka “Lotso” — has psychological problems stemming from being abandoned by his owner.
What happens to Lotso?
Is Lotso a dictator?
