Emperor Zurg

From Pixar Wiki

Performer:	Andrew Stanton
Appeared in:	Toy Story 2

Zurg: "Surrender, Buzz Lightyear, I have won."
Buzz #2: "I'll never give in. You killed my father!"
Zurg: "No, Buzz, I am your father."
Buzz #2: "NO!"

—Zurg and Buzz #2 as they fight

Evil Emperor Zurg is an arch enemy of Buzz Lightyear. He is voiced by Andrew Stanton in Toy Story 2.

Toy Story

"Right now, poised at the edge of the galaxy, Emperor Zurg has been secretly building a weapon with the destructive capacity to annihilate an entire planet! I alone have information that reveals this weapons' only weakness. And you, my friend, are responsible for delaying my rendezvous with Star Command!"

—Buzz Lightyear, arguing with Woody

Zurg does not actually appear in the first Toy Story; however, he is only mentioned by Buzz, who mentions about Zurg building a secret weapon with enough power to destroy an entire planet, making a reference to the Death Star from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

Toy Story 2

Buzz #2: "I've got a lot of catchin' up to do with my dad. (throws the ball back at Zurg)"
Zurg (ball hits him on his head): "Good throw, son. That's my boy. Go long, Buzzy! (fires another ball)"
Buzz #2: "Oh, you're a great dad! Yippee!"

—Buzz #2 plays catch with Zurg

Zurg appears in two forms in Toy Story 2. The first form appears during the opening sequence, where he is initially seen tracking Buzz's location through his fortress inside his control room. A little later, he is seen doing battle with Buzz, in which Zurg, using his ion blaster, blasts the top half of Buzz's body into smithereens; however, the opening sequence is revealed to be only a video game.

Much later in the film, an incarnation of Zurg is later accidentally released by Andy's Buzz Lightyear in Al's Toy Barn. Believing himself to be real much like Andy's Buzz has done in the first film, he pursues after Andy's Buzz to destroy him. He seems to have followed Andy's Buzz across the street, through an air vent of Al's apartment, and up the elevator shaft as he is seen arriving atop the elevator when Andy's Buzz and his rescue squad of toys head back to the elevator after Al packs Woody and the Roundup gang into his case and leaves his room to head for the airport. Along with the group is an "alternate" Buzz Lightyear action figure (also released from Al's Toy Barn by Andy's Buzz Lightyear), who also believes himself to be real. Both the "alternate" Buzz and Rex, a fan of the video game "Buzz Lightyear: Attack on Zurg", are caught with surprise by Zurg's unexpected arrival. A showdown occurs between the "alternate" Buzz and Zurg atop an elevator, where Zurg uses his chief weapon (which appears to be a Nurf ball gun.) During this battle, after overpowering the other Buzz, Zurg reveals he is Buzz's father (a parody of the duel between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker from Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back). As Zurg sets his gun to his highest level and is about to finish the "alternate" Buzz off (at point-blank range), Rex, not bearing to watch the duel anymore, turns away, but his large thick tail hits Zurg, knocking him down the elevator shaft. While Rex finally feels excited about finally overcoming his frustration toward not being able to defeat Zurg previously, the "alternate" Buzz feels forlorn about losing his father. Zurg seems to have survived the fall as he and the "alternate" Buzz are seen playing catch and spending "quality time" together when the "original" Buzz and his rescue squad make their way out of Al's apartment. The "alternate" Buzz describes Zurg as a "great dad" as he rushes to catch another ball fired by Zurg.

Trivia

• While Zurg and the "alternate" Buzz fight, as the "alternate" Buzz's talk button is repeatedly hit, it skips the message "Buzz... Buzz... Buzz Lightyear to the rescue." This also happened while Woody and Buzz fought underneath Andy's car at the gas station in Toy Story.
• When looking at the shot where Zurg is about to finish the "alternate" Buzz off, it is noticeable that the levels on his gun are numbered to 11. This is a reference to Nigel Tufnel's amplifier in This is Spinal Tap.
• Zurg's character may appear to draw from Darth Vader, a main villain in the Star Wars original trilogy, with a similar voice, appearance, and set of mannerisms.
• The character may also be based on Emperor Ming in the 1980 film Flash Gordon, because he sports a cape similiar to that of Ming's and is referred to as "Emperor".