Over three decades ago, a little studio named Pixar permanently changed the course of animation when creating the first ever fully computer-animated feature film. Not to be outshined by technology, that film flawlessly told the tale of the emotional bond between a child and their most cherished possession. That film, of course, is Toy Story – and it vaulted Pixar from an up-and-coming tech studio into arguably the world’s leading animation studio.
Toy Story spawned the creation of thirty more films (and counting), including four sequels, and immeasurable toys, merchandise, abd memories. Let’s celebrate Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang with some fun facts about Pixar’s Toy Story.
Creating a Legendary Film
With Toy Story being Pixar’s first full-length film and the first ever fully computer-animated film, production wayfinding felt a lot like living in the Wild Wild West (and I’m not just talking about Woody’s Roundup).
The advent of computer animation meant much less tedious frame-by-frame animation. As a result, the production of Toy Story employed just 110 people, whereas Disney’s The Lion King – released the year before – used 800 employees. Even with Toy Story being Pixar’s shortest feature-length film to date (81 minutes), a staff of only 110 people is extraordinarily efficient.
During the film’s development, the title Toy Story was originally intended only as a placeholder, and Pixar had a boatload of over two hundred potential alternative titles. Here are a few of the most notable:
- Spurs & Rockets
- Moving Buddies
- Some Assembly Required
- The Cowboy & The Spaceman
- The Favorite
- The New Toy
- To Infinity and Beyond
- Toyz in the Hood
- Wings & Pullstrings
- You Are a Toy
There are plenty more (and many of them were terrible), but I think it’s safe to say Pixar made the right choice by sticking with Toy Story (although “To Infinity and Beyond” sounds kinda catchy).
Audience test screenings were critically important for getting this groundbreaking film right, as was keeping some of the details under wraps. Early screenings for the film were disguised as screenings for Operation Dumbo Drop – a live-action Disney film in production at the same time. This was done to disguise the screening from the public. Audience members only found out the screening was actually for Toy Story when they were handed Non-Disclosure Agreements at the theater.
Toy Story also broke the Disney castle, figuratively speaking, being the first Disney film to show a variant of the Walt Disney Pictures castle logo (in this case, being a more 3D-looking castle that zooms out). Variations of the Disney castle film logo have become commonplace ever since, with quite an assortment of creative choices produced over the last 30 years.
Pixar’s Music Man
For one last memorable first – Toy Story is the first Disney/Pixar film to be scored by Disney Legend Randy Newman. It was also Newman’s first music score in an animated feature film. Newman went on to score many of Pixar’s biggest films, including A Bug’s Life (1998), Monsters, Inc. (2001), Cars (2006), Monsters University (2013), Cars 3 (2017), and all of the Toy Story sequel films.
A Special Achievement
Not only did Toy Story break technical barriers in the field of animation, it was also a heartfelt film with a story that packed quite an emotional punch. Not surprisingly, Toy Story was the first animated film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Screenplay – Original or Adapted.
It was also the first fully-animated film to receive a Special Achievement Academy Award, given to director John Lasseter for “the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film.” Seven years earlier, in 1988, Who Framed Roger Rabbit won the Special Achievement Oscar as a hybrid live-action/ animated film. Trivia Tidbit: Many people think Walt Disney won a Special Achievement Oscar for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), but Walt’s award was an “honorary Oscar,” as the Special Achievement category was not created until 1972.
As if all the Oscar love wasn’t enough, Toy Story was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2005 as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” It is one of only seven films designated with that honor in its first year of eligibility.
Woody and Buzz
We all know “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” but Woody and Buzz were anything but friends at the outset of the film. Their primary beef with each other is a tale almost as old as time – “out with the old and in with the new.” Woody’s battle with Buzz over Andy’s attention is an exceedingly simple struggle between two toys, yet utterly human in its emotion. Back in the 1950s, a Woody-type character was top dog, as cowboys and frontiersmen were all the rage with American boys. But with the launch of space exploration and the subsequent space race between the United States and the Soviet Union, kids in the 1980s and 1990s were more interested in space toys like Buzz. Toy Story 5 will challenge Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang when Bonnie’s new smart tablet creates a “toys vs. tech” war for her attention. Bring your tissues!
The Iconic Voices
The list of actors considered to voice these two iconic characters is exceedingly long. It’s hard to imagine Woody’s voice being performed by anyone other than Tom Hanks (or in video games and other merchandise, by Tom’s brother Jim Hanks), but the list of Woody’s potential vocal performers once included the likes of Robin Williams, Steve Guttenberg, Paul Newman, and Clint Eastwood. Through it all, Lasseter always wanted Hanks to play Woody, noting that Hanks had “the ability to take emotions and make them appealing.” Newman eventually found his way into a Pixar film, voicing Doc Hudson in Cars (2006), which was his last role before passing away in 2008.
As for Buzz, the gravelly voice memorably performed by Disney Legend Tim Allen was almost awarded to Billy Crystal, Jim Carrey, Mel Gibson, Chevy Chase, and Bruce Willis. Crystal was originally offered the role, but he declined. After seeing the finished film, he said the decision to say “no” was the biggest mistake of his career. Upon learning this, Lasseter called Crystal to offer him the role of Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc. (2001). When Crystal’s wife answered the telephone and said “John Lasseter wants to speak to you,” the first word Crystal said when he took the phone was “Yes!”
Two other possible voices for Buzz included Wayne Knight and Michael Keaton. Knight would later play Al – the owner of Al’s Toy Barn – in Toy Story 2 (1999), and Keaton played Ken in Toy Story 3 (2010).
What’s in a Name?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (pardon the pun) to realize that Buzz Lightyear’s name was inspired by astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. And Lightyear is a direct take from the term light-year – the distance light travels in one year. Trivia Tidbit: Buzz was originally going to be named Lunar Larry. What a whiff that would have been!
Woody’s name is a little less straightforward, inspired by the Howdy Doody puppet from the classic 1950s show. The toy itself is based on Lasseter’s Casper the Friendly Ghost pull-string doll he loved as a kid.
Sid’s House
Many iconic villains are sprinkled throughout Disney and Pixar films, and many of them have done quite a few devious and harmful things. Yet somehow, Andy’s neighbor Sid ranks up near the top of the most-hated villains list, despite the fact that we’ve never seen or known of him ever hurting a person. He just twists his toys into terrible creations. Maybe he’s misunderstood?
Of all the villains in the Toy Story films, Sid is the only human. Stinky Pete the Prospector tries to nab Woody in Toy Story 2, Lotso-Huggin’ Bear is the big bad in Toy Story 3, Gabby Gabby terrorizes audiences in Toy Story 4, and Lilly Pad challenges the very existence of traditional toys in Toy Story 5.
Andy’s terrorizing neighbor has a frightening bull terrier named Scud. People who witnessed the Persian Gulf War in 1991 will recognize Scud as the name of a missile used by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein when he opened an attack on U.S. allies. In a scene from the film where Scud is sleeping, his slumbering sounds were actually lifted from the sounds of the giant T-Rex in Jurassic Park (1993).
You know that creepy moment when Woody gives a warning monologue to Sid? That is the only time in the history of the franchise when a toy breaks speaks directly to a human. That makes Sid the only human character in the franchise who knows that toys are alive.
G.I. Nope
The Toy Story films have a stellar track record of boosting interest and sales of classic and vintage toys. Just ask the makers of Slinky Dog, Mr. Potato Head, Etch A Sketch, and Barbie.
But Hasbro refused to get in on the fun with their G.I. Joe action figures when they learned that the film would feature a scene where Sid blows up the G.I. Joe with a firecracker. When Hasbro opted out, writers referred to the figure as “Combat Carl” (memorably voiced by Carl Weathers in the 2013 television special Toy Story of Terror).
The film also replaced a squad of G.I. Joe figures with classic green Army Men, and the leader “Sarge” was voiced by R. Lee Ermey, a former U.S. Marine Corps drill instructor who is best known for his role as the brutal Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film Full Metal Jacket.
Easter Eggs and Nods
Pixar films are famous for hiding treasure troves of fun Easter Eggs, and Toy Story was the very first film to start that tradition.
The Pixar Ball
Luxo Ball is that famous yellow ball with the blue stripe and red star which made its first appearance in the Pixar short film Luxo, Jr. The ball makes a cameo in Andy’s room, when Buzz bounces off it while demonstrating to Woody that he can fly.
Luxo, Jr.
Speaking of Luxo, Jr., the namesake white desk lamp makes a camouflaged cameo in Toy Story, as a red version sitting on Andy’s desk.
Pizza Planet Truck
Most Pixar films feature the Pizza Planet delivery truck as an Easter Egg. It is not an Easter Egg in Toy Story because it is a critical part of the film, serving to give Woody and Buzz a lift to Pizza Planet to find Andy. The truck has gone on to appear in almost every other Pixar feature film.
A113
A113 is famously known by Disney animation fans as a room often used to teach animation at California Institute of the Arts. Cal Arts is the alma mater of a large number of Pixar animators, including director John Lasseter. In Toy Story, the license plate on Andy’s mother’s car is identified as “A113.”
Dinoco
This neighborhood gas station serves as a fuel stop for Andy’s mom near the end of the film. The station’s logo is an unofficial parody of the real-life Sinclair Oil Corporation logo. Both feature similar green dinosaur logos. Dinoco became a major visual in Pixar’s Cars film franchise.
High Scores
In the Pizza Planet arcade, the video game “Annihilator” is the space-themed game where Buzz spots Emperor Zurg on the screen and mistakenly believes it is a real spaceship tracking him down. The high scores in the game’s credits are full of fun nods:
- The highest score of 5102153494 with the initials AAA is a phone number from Richmond, CA, which was the location of the Pixar.
- The second highest score of 4078244321 is initialed WDW. It is the phone number to Walt Disney World resort (I just checked it!).
- The third highest score of 3141592653 is initialed MPI. This is, of course, the mathematical constant pi, carried out to nine places (minus the decimal point).
Tool Time
The last Easter Egg in my list is a nod to Tim Allen – the voice of Buzz. In the scene where Woody and Buzz are in Sid’s bedroom, Woody is trapped in a milk crate under a toolbox labeled Binford Tools. In the ABC comedy series Home Improvement, Allen’s character is the company spokesperson for Binford Tools.
Thanks for flying to infinity and beyond to enjoy (quite a few more than five) Toy Story fun facts. Toy Story 5 continues the story of Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang.
Where does the original Toy Story film rank among all films in the Toy Story franchise? Let me know what you think by joining the conversation on social: Instagram Facebook X
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