On November 22, 1995, Toy Story, was released to praise from critics and audiences alike. The then small Pixar studio, headed up by Steve Jobs and John Lasseter, created the very first computer generated full-length movie with Woody, Buzz and the rest of the crew returning for Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.
Pixar, under the direction of Lasseter, is now working on Toy Story 4. "We love these characters so much; they are like family to us. We don't want to do anything with them unless it lives up to or surpasses what's gone before," Lasseter said at D23 earlier this year.
"But when Andrew, Pete, Lee, and I came up with this new idea, I just could not stop thinking about it. It was so exciting to me, I knew we had to make this movie—and I wanted to direct it myself."
The new film will focus on a love story between Woody and Bo Peep and will be released in 2018. In the meantime, while we patiently wait for our next Toy Story fix, let’s revisit the first Toy Story. Here are 20 things you may not know about the film for it’s special 20th anniversary.
1. Toy Story evolved from what was going to be a spin-off from Pixar’s 1988 short Tin Toy. Pixar, under an agreement with Walt Disney Studios, expanded the idea, and the goal of making a computer animated feature film was born.
2. Woody wasn’t always a cowboy doll, originally he was a creepy-looking ventriloquist dummy.
3. Also in the early development, “Woody was a jerk,” Lasseter admitted.
4. In creating Woody, they decided that he would have a voice pull string, Lasseter was inspired by his beloved pull string Casper that he had as a child.
5. Buzz Lightyear was originally named Lunar Larry and looked far different than the Buzz we now know. There were many different versions including one where Buzz had a prominent pompadour.
6. Why is Buzz purple and green? Those happen to be Lasseter’s and his wife’s favorite colors.
7. At its core, Toy Story is a buddy movie, and the filmmakers looked at films such as The Defiant One and Midnight Run for inspiration.
8. The film was initially not to be named Toy Story, that was their working title, but one that stuck.
9. Lotso, the infamous and evil bear in Toy Story 3, was originally going to have his debut in the original Toy Story.
10. This was the first big film for various Pixar directors and writers including Pete Doctor (Monsters Inc., Up, Inside Out), Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, A Bug’s Life, Wall-E, Finding Dory) and Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, Toy Story 3).
11. Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire slayer and Avengers fame was a writer on Toy Story, penning such lines like Buzz saying, “You are a sad, strange little man and you have my pity."
12. Billy Crystal was originally offered the role to voice Buzz Lightyear, but he declined, later saying, "It's the only regret I have in the business of something I passed on." But years later he joined the Pixar fold when he voiced Mike Wazowski in Monsters Inc.
13. The Toy Story team was surprised when Lasseter suggested Tim Allen as the voice for Buzz Lightyear. Lasseter was a fan or his show Home Improvement and his stand up routines, but once they heard Allen in the role, the rest of the crew was sold.
14. Toy Story was the very first animated film in Oscar history to be nominated for a Best Screenplay Academy Award: Adapted or Original, but it lost to Usual Suspects.
15. If the floor in Sid’s home looks familiar, that’s because it was modeled after the Hexagonal pattern from the carpet in the Overlook Hotel from The Shining.
16. Paying tribute to Pixar’s previous short films, the filmmakers titled the books in Andy's bedroom Tin Toy, Knick Knack, Red's Dream and Luxo Jr.
17. The license plate on Andy's mom’s car is "A 113". This was an animation department room number at CalArts where John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and many other Pixar staffers went to school. The reference can be found in all the subsequent Pixar films from Toy Story to Inside Out.
18. When Andy and his mother stop for gas, they stop at a gas station named Dinoco, which is the same “company” that Lightning McQueen wants to work with in Cars.
19. In the Pizza Planet Arcades the high scores are noted as 5102153494 with the initials AAA which is phone number from Richmond, CA where Pixar was then housed. The second highest score is 4078244321 along with the initials WDW which is the phone number to Walt Disney World Resort’s ticket center.
20. The filmmakers slyly included many of the crew’s names in the film. A can in Sid’s room that says, “Dr. Catmull's Old Fashion Root Beer" for Executive Producer Ed Catmull; the moving van Eggman Movers is a tribute to Art Director Ralph Eggleston; and Editorial and Camera Manager Julie M. McDonald asked to be included and they complied by having “Julie McBarfald has Cooties” written on Sid’s backpack.
