This Town Ain’t Big Enough for All These Toy Story Secrets

by

Toy Story producers weren’t messing around with that whole to infinity and beyond business. 

It’s been over 30 years since the first Toy Story movie brought us Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and all their toy friends, and we still love spending time with the kind-hearted sheriff and his imaginative astronaut companion.

Tim Allen, who voices Buzz Lightyear, said it felt strange returning to the role for Toy Story 5, which comes out in June. He told Collider in 2024 that it took some effort to get back into character, but after about two hours, he was performing as Buzz again.

He wouldn’t have returned to voice Woody, played by Tom Hanks, or work with the rest of the cast if the story hadn’t been compelling and well-written.

The first Toy Story movie in 1995 was a huge success, earning $373 million globally and becoming the year’s second highest-grossing film. The sequels continued this success: Toy Story 2 made $500 million worldwide, and both Toy Story 3 (2010) and Toy Story 4 (2019) each surpassed $1 billion at the global box office.

Allen stressed that money wasn’t the main motivation. He believes the people involved genuinely wanted to create something successful, but that wasn’t the driving force behind the project. He explained that if they hadn’t developed a fantastic script, the project wouldn’t have happened, and he and Tom wouldn’t have been involved.

The fifth installment of the series, previewed in a trailer on February 19th, features a remarkably clever storyline, according to Allen. This time, the group faces their most difficult obstacle yet: Lily, an extremely captivating tablet.

As Woody laments, “Toys are for play, but tech is for everything.” 

Let’s hope there’s enough room for everyone in this town. In the meantime, I’m here to help with these insider tips.

The movie Toy Story originally grew out of the short film Tin Toy. That earlier film featured a toy named Tinny who, despite being hesitant, let a baby play with him to stop the baby from crying.

Originally, Tinny was intended to be the main character, but the filmmakers felt the toy design looked too old-fashioned. They changed the character into a soldier action figure and later added the astronaut aspect.

The character’s name wasn’t always Buzz Lightyear. It went through several changes – starting as Tinny, then Lunar Larry, and later Tempus From Morph – before the team settled on Buzz Lightyear. This final name was inspired by astronaut Buzz Aldrin, as detailed in David A. Price’s 2008 book, The Pixar Touch.

Surprisingly, the first version of Woody wasn’t the friendly cowboy we know today. He was originally written as the villain – a mean, abusive puppet who mistreated the other toys. As screenwriter Joss Whedon explained to Entertainment Weekly, the initial Woody was a real jerk.

Let me tell you, when it came to bringing Woody to life, Tom Hanks was absolutely the only person we considered! His voice was just perfect. It’s actually a fun fact that his brother, Jim Hanks, has stepped in to voice Woody for things like video games and other merchandise over the years, which is pretty neat!

The filmmakers initially wanted Billy Crystal to voice Buzz Lightyear, but he turned down the role. He later admitted it was the one professional decision he regretted.

After Crystal decided not to take the part, several other well-known actors, including Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Jim Carrey, were considered. Ultimately, Tim Allen, who was popular for his TV show Home Improvement, got the role. Chase, one of Allen’s comedic influences, was among those initially considered.

Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE how they made Woody and Buzz so believable! Apparently, neither Tom Hanks nor Tim Allen had ever done voice acting before, so they decided to record all their lines together in the same room! Can you imagine? It totally explains the amazing chemistry – they were bouncing off each other the whole time! It’s just… perfect.

Let me tell you, stepping into a project that needs a little boost is something I’m quite familiar with! With Toy Story 2, the script wasn’t quite hitting the mark, so I came in to really make it shine. One of the biggest things I did was create the character of Rex, and completely rework Buzz Lightyear. Originally, Buzz knew he was a toy, but I thought it would be much funnier – and more emotionally resonant – if he was totally oblivious to that fact. It completely changed his dynamic and, honestly, saved the character!

Joss Whedon, famous for creating strong female characters like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, once wanted Barbie to be a heroic figure in a movie featuring the lead male toys. However, Mattel didn’t allow it, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.

Pixar considered making Toy Story a musical, but ultimately decided against it. According to the writer, it wouldn’t have worked because the film is a story about a friendship where the characters struggle to express their feelings. He explained that the core of a buddy movie isn’t about openly sharing emotions – it’s about characters who hide what they really want and express themselves through conflict, not song. Woody, in particular, wouldn’t be suited to a traditional musical ‘I want’ song because he’s a cynical character who doesn’t fully understand himself.

Originally, the studio planned to release Toy Story 2 directly to DVD because most of their animators were busy working on A Bug’s Life. The film later became a critical success, earning a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

A major disaster nearly struck during the making of the sequel in 1998 when someone accidentally triggered a file deletion. Thankfully, an employee spotted the problem quickly, but 90% of the film was already lost, and the backups couldn’t be located. Luckily, Galyn Susman, the supervising technical director, had been working from home after recently having a baby and had a backup copy at her house, saving the project.

Creating Toy Story 2 was incredibly demanding. A major, last-minute rewrite of the movie put so much strain on the animators that many developed carpal tunnel syndrome or other repetitive stress injuries. In fact, by the time the film was finished, about a third of the Pixar staff had suffered some kind of related health problem, according to Pixar president Ed Catmull in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

Before Disney purchased Pixar, another animation team called Circle 7 developed a very different plot for Toy Story 3. Their version involved Buzz Lightyear malfunctioning and being sent back to Taiwan for repairs, which was initially thought to be a simple fix but turned out to be a widespread recall. Woody and the other toys would have traveled to Taiwan to rescue Buzz and connect with other recalled toys globally. However, when Disney acquired Pixar in 2006 and shut down Circle 7, the entire storyline was scrapped and the movie took a completely different direction.

After Jim Varney passed away soon after Toy Story 2 came out, Blake Clark stepped in to voice Slinky Dog in Toy Story 3. Producers later shared that they were pleased to discover Varney and Clark had been friends.

Director Lee Unkrich explained that Blake and Jim Varney had been friends for a long time. He noted that when Blake records, he truly embodies the spirit of his friend, and has done a fantastic job of continuing the character’s legacy.

Read More

2026-02-20 20:18