This is another urban legend about Toy Story. After most have proven to be wrong, here is one that is up to debate; Chuckles the Clown, a character formally introduced in Toy Story 3, is rumored to have appeared in the original Toy Story on a present’s wrapping paper. See for yourself.
Now, this rumor hails from IMDb, so we all know it could very well be fake. I personally think this is wishful thinking, since it looks like a generic clown, which is also what Chuckles appears to be. Now, Chuckles the Clown wasn’t even fully established at this point either (an early incarnation was a baby toy in Andy’s room), though they could’ve simply used this design later.
On the other hand, this could just be some random real-life wrapping paper used by Pixar as a texture.
I think it may be a reference to Lumpy the Clown from Red’s Dream, especially with the hair, shoes, and hat.
Lotso is partly inspired by Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake. Because of this I always assumed he was a product of the 1980s. I assumed the entire flashback sequence took place in the mid-80s. The girl’s parents were able to find a replacement Lotso in the store.
Branded wrapping paper would have been part of whatever line Chuckles belonged to. Now assuming Chuckles was new in this era, his marketing push surely would have died out by the time that wrapping paper was produced in 1995. Unless that clown franchise remained popular for over 10 years!
There could be more to it. maybe her sick mom had to move in and needed the room. I know its a stretch but I think that’s what my mom’s going to do when I go, heh.
