Hmm…
well, with Toy Story 2, I think Pixar employed this perfectly. It was truely so unexpected. I really thought Pete was just some old guy along for the ride, and all the evidence pointed towards Jessie sabatoging Woody. I was so surprised; why wouldn’t a toy that “never” has been opened want to be played with? Really well done by Pixar.
In Monsters, Inc., the situation is very similar. The audience really believes that Randall is the sole villain, until of course Waternoose reveals himslef to be the true mastermind, Randall being merely a tool in Waternoose’s plan. In this situation, due to Waternoose’s fondness of Sulley and his attempts to inspire new scarers, I really thought he was a good guy. This is admittedly very similar to TS2. I don’t feel like it is as unexpected, but maybe I am just stereotyping buissnessmen,
This just might be me, but I do not think Muntz was a surprise villain in Up at all. I vividly remember in commercials on TV for the film Muntz being portrayed as evil. Then, considering that Muntz’s reputation was ruined by the bird, and considering he devoted the rest of his life (and in essence giving up everything) to finding the bird again, and considering that his dogs hunt for the bird with such force, and considering that Russell and Carl so effortlessly happened to find the bird, I personally don’t think it is all surprising that Muntz ends up being the villain. Yes, when Carl and Russell first show up at his lair, he is hospitable to them, admires the floating house, and invites them in for dinner; even his dogs warm start to lick Carl and Russell’s faces! However, the evidence is all their to show that Muntz will no longer be kind to anyone associated with the bird. I really think if Russell had never found Kevin, Muntz probably would’ve have continued being nice to Carl and provided him with more aid.
Then in Toy Story 3, [i]I at least knew going into that Lotso’ was the villain, simply because this fact was revealed when Up was released and easter eggs were being hunted down. Clearly I was not shocked when Lotso flipped. Of course, if one had been skilled enought to avoid any and all spoilers, they may not have know Lotso was the bad guy. [spoil]The only difference here is, Lotso spends most of the film as a villain. His kindness is quickly stripped away early into the film.[/spoil] This is not the case for Waternoose and Pete, who only are revealed as villains by the end of their respective films.[spoil] He is even given a backstory explaining how he became such a bad guy! I really did think, though, that as they approached the incinerator and Lotso was able to push the stop button, that he would do it and redeem himself. Pixar had me fooled, though, and Lotso does ignore the fact that Woody and Buzz saved his life and allows the gang to go to their deaths.[/spoil]
I think you have caught on to a pattern here. Pixar has pulled the surprise villain a few times. Fortunately, each situation has it’s differences. I think the biggest repeat is Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc., and it seems that Pixar has learned a little from that back to back plot twist.
EDIT- Please add spoiler tags to spoilers, thanks!
-lizardgirl
EDIT- So sorry, lizardgirl! I really meant to add the spoilers as I was writting this. Thanks for catching this!