The release of Toy Story 4 marks the end of an era for both Pixar and their flagship franchise.
The sequel represents the end of the animation giant’s current slate of sequels based on their most established properties as Pixar re-invests themselves toward telling original stories — doing that which solidified their brand nearly 25 years ago with the first Toy Story. As Woody and Buzz’s legacy finally comes to an end, here’s a look back at how they got there with some fascinating behind-the-scenes secrets about the making of one of the best movie series ever.
‘Toy Story’ (1995) Trivia
1. Before Toy Story was made, Disney had a relationship with Pixar as a user of its computer-assisted production system (“CAPS”), which Disney animators used on the wedding sequence in The Little Mermaid and then again later during the iconic ballroom dance in Beauty and the Beast. Critics singled out that scene with praise, helping persuade Disney to expand its collaboration with Pixar.
2. Despite those initial collaborations, Pixar still had friction with Disney because the former wanted to go outside the big studio’s box and make an animated film that was not a traditional Disney cartoon. Pixar did not want to make a musical fairy tale or tell a story where the side characters were more engaging than the main ones. They wanted to make a CG-animated movie that had never been done before, a mismatched-buddy comedy, à la 48 Hrs. or Midnight Run.
(Credit: Pixar)
3. The original Woody (pictured above) got his name because he was originally designed to be a ventriloquist dummy. He was also creepy and tyrannical. Over time, he evolved into a pull-string cowboy doll voiced by Tom Hanks — but the animators kept the name, now as a tribute to Western character actor Woody Strode.
4. The initial Toy Story plot paired the cynical Woody dummy with Tinny, the wide-eyed soldier from the Pixar short, “Tin Toy.” The idea of bringing toys to life definitely fit into Pixar’s wheelhouse, since some of the easiest things to render in early CG were plastic-like surfaces common with toys.
5. The filmmakers decided that Tinny was too dated of a toy for their story, so they decided to replace him with an astronaut toy.
6. Buzz Lightyear was originally named “Tempest,” after the Atari game that was an obsession for the animators. The name “Buzz,” of course, came from astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
7. The film was initially budgeted at $17 million (compared to $45 million for Disney’s 1994 The Lion King), but the cost soon ballooned to $30 million.
‘Toy Story 2’ (1999) Trivia
8. This is one of three Disney movies to win a Golden Globe for Best Picture. The other two are 1991’s Beauty and the Beast and 1994’s The Lion King.
9. For the scene where Woody looks at the merchandise from “Woody’s Roundup” while at Al’s private office, mock-ups of the toys were shown to Tom Hanks in the recording booth. Hanks’ spontaneous reactions to the toys were recorded and used for Woody’s dialogue.
10. Some of this sequel’s key scenes — like Woody’s nightmare and Buzz’s toy commercial — were unused ideas leftover from the first film.
11. In the opening credits, when the “Walt Disney Pictures” title card appears, fans can see the Pixar lamp, Luxo Jr., as a constellation of stars in the upper right corner of the screen.
‘Toy Story 3’ (2010) Trivia
12. This was the first sequel — animated or live-action — to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar without any of its predecessors being nominated.
13. Toy Story 3 holds the record for the most characters to ever appear in a Pixar movie: 302.
14. The first animated film to make $1 billion at the worldwide box-office. Toy Story 3 achieved this on August 27, 2010.
‘Toy Story 4’ (2019) Trivia
15. Among the Easter Eggs from previous Pixar movies fans can see in this sequel are: The awards cases from Gusteau’s office from Ratatouille, furniture from the first Incredibles movie, and props from Coco.
16. In an interview from November 2018, Tom Hanks claimed that the sequel’s ending was emotional and that it marked “a moment in history.” The Oscar-winning also added that he couldn’t face the crew while recording his final lines because they made him very emotional.
17. Keanu Reeves voices Duke Kaboom in a role that marks the actor’s first-ever Disney movie role. It is also Reeves’ first G-rated movie.
Toy Story 4 is in theaters now.
