The world mourned the passing of actor Carl Weathers on February 1, 2024. The actor reportedly passed away peacefully and is survived by his two children. Weathers was known for his role as Apollo Creed in Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky franchise and was even in Predator. The former football player-turned-actor was known for his action and comedic roles.
Weathers’ final film role was his voice role in the Pixar animated film Toy Story 4. The actor voiced the character of Combat Carl, a GI action figure who was based on Weathers’ own character in films like Predator. While he did not appear in other Toy Story films, he made his debut as the character in the TV special Toy Story of Terror. He once mentioned the one scene in the film which made him laugh his heart out.
Carl Weathers As Combat Carl In The Toy Story Franchise
Carl Weathers made his debut in the Toy Story franchise in the TV special Toy Story of Terror! The actor voiced the role of Combat Carl, a GI action figure who finds Cowgirl toy Jessie in a bathroom. In the film, Combat Carl was reportedly on a mission to reunite with his owner Billy. The character had once shown up in the first Toy Story, albeit it was a Caucasian version.
Carl Weathers was reportedly approached by Pixar for the role and he had mentioned in an interview with Collider that he “absolutely flipped” when he was pitched the character. The team at Pixar based the character around prominent action heroes that Weathers had played over the years and hence, the actor found it easier to play it.
The actor spoke about how much fun he had with the character and how honored he was to have a character based on him. He said,
“First of all, for any actor to have a character that’s rendered on something that you’ve done already, that’s fairly iconic, I guess you could say, with guys who are out in the jungle and fighting things and dressed in camouflage. And then, to have him called Combat Carl, it is just funny, right off the bat.”
The eccentric character was known for his military precision and commanding tone, as well as his habit of addressing himself in the third person. In Toy Story of Terror!, Carl Weathers’ Combat Carl bumps into Jessie in a bathroom after she gets separated from the rest of her toy buddies. Weathers reprised his role as a variant of Combat Carl in Toy Story 4, which turned out to be his last film role.
Carl Weathers Loved One Scene In Toy Story of Terror!
While Carl Weathers lent his voice to some animated films such as Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights and Balto III: Wings of Change, he mentioned that Toy Story of Terror! was the most well-done of all his previous attempts at animation. He told Collider that he was motivated to do the project because of how good the characterizations were and the talented people involved. He said,
“For my part, having been involved in a few animated projects, nothing has quite been as well done…I loved this because all the characters have such well-drawn and well-defined characterization. You know who they are. But even more importantly, it’s such fun.”
Carl Weathers also revealed that his favorite scene in the TV special was his motivational pep talk for Jessie. In the film, it was revealed that the Motel Owner Ron had trained his pet iguana to steal unattended toys so he could sell them off online. Both Jessie and Combat Carl were taken away and boxed in for sale, along with the rest of Andy’s toys.
However, Jessie ended up being the only one who could save the gang but she froze about having to travel in a box. Carl Weathers’ Combat Carl then stepped up and gave her a pep talk that motivated her to save the day. Weathers mentioned that he loved the character and the scene in particular. He said,
“I love Combat Carl. One of the things I loved about it most was when Combat Carl was trying to coach Cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack) and get her spirits up. I laughed every time we did that. And then, when I saw it all put together, I just couldn’t stop laughing. I just think he’s a wonderful character. The entire piece is so grounded.”
The actor seemed to be excited about the future of the character in the franchise and also mentioned that he hoped to return to voicing Combat Carl in the future.
