When I was at Pixar back in October, we had the pleasure of visiting the Pixar Archives where we were given a special look into the artifacts from Toy Story. It was a special visit for two reasons, not many people get to see inside the archives, and the fact that this year, today November 22nd in fact, is the 20th Anniversary of Toy Story!!
Toy Story came out in 1995 as the first full-feature computer animated film and became the highest grossing film of that year making $191 million!
Check out the original trailer:
The archives came with heavy security and the rules of no pictures or audio in the building and with good reason, they estimate that there are over 5 million pieces contained in the archives! Along with artwork scribbles on napkins, there are original production art, photos, models, and anything that played a role in the making of the films.
Here are some fun Toy Story facts we learned while visiting the archives:
- The short Tin Toy inspired Toy Story
- John Lasseter owned a Casper doll with a pull-string inspiring Woody’s
- The Toy Box from Tin Toy is now in the Toy Hall of Fame
- The Tin Toy character became Buzz and the ventriloquist became Woody
- Buzz Light Year was originally called Lunar Larry
- There were 200 hundred of drawings of Woody before John Lasseter chose the final one
- Buzz Lightyear’s Green and Purple were John and his wife Nancy’s favorite colors
There is currently a traveling exhibition – The Science Behind Pixar. “After January 10, 2016, The Science Behind Pixar will begin a national tour, first traveling to the Franklin Institute, followed by the California Science Center, Science Museum of Minnesota, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, as well as other venues.”
Be sure to check out Pixar’s next HUGE hit, The Good Dinosaur when it opens in theaters on November 25th
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Disclosure: I was provided with an all-expense trip to San Francisco by Walt Disney Studios to attend various events. All opinions are 100% my own.
