Many of us were just children when we flocked to the cinema to see something completely new in the form of this Pixar classic. Released, in 1995, the film is now over 20 years old and still popular than ever. So, a bunch of toys that can speak and move? This seemed like such a crazy idea back in the day, yet now we Pixar have churned out 3 films with 'Toy Story 4' on its way.
It was the first film to be made by computer and from there Pixar weren't going to stop. 'A Bug's Life', 'Monsters, Inc.', 'Finding Nemo' and 'The Incredibles' are only a few of the studios previous successes, but one thing is for sure is that all of these amazing toys will always have a place in our hearts.
Directed by John Lasseter, the animated movie leaves us with a whole bunch of different feelings after we have watched it. We have all felt, at one point in our life, how Andy felt with his pure devotion and love for his toys yet as as we grow priorities start lying elsewhere.
"You've got a friend in me"
'Toy Story' is full of amazing facts that will send you back in time remembering all the memories spent watching these incredible set of films. So, we thought we'd join you on this journey as we give you 20 cool facts about Woody and his gang.
1 A copy and paste of Tom Hanks
As every 'Toy Story' follower knows, Tom Hanks was the man for the job to interpret Woody the cowboy. What many people didn't know is that Hanks didn't learn all of his lines for the script so instead the producers added in his voice from his other films as Woody's dialogue.
2 Cultured toy meeting
When Woody holds a meeting with all the toys in Andy's room at the start of the film, there are a number of books on the shelf behind him. These aren't any random books, they are some of Pixar's short stories including: 'Adventures of Andre and Wally B.' and 'Knick Knack' and even some of the book author's are named after Pixar staff.
3 Numbers to remember
When Woody jumps up and hangs onto Andy's mums car, the vehicles number plate is in clear view. And this is no coincidence. At the front of the car we can see 'A111' and at the back we can see the registration 'A113'. These were the two rooms that the Pixar animation team used in CalArts, the private art college in California.
4 'Alien', as present as ever
Who hasn't dreamed of ever going to Pizza Planet? Full of their amazing amusements and vending machines but one of them gave us a bit of a surprise. One of the amusement machines, where a young boy starts to hit an array of bugs that are emerging from a poor mans belly, is believed to have been inspired by 'Alien'. Although lieutenant Ripley is missing from the equation.
5 Hasbro protecting their toys from Sid
The toy company Hasbro, who own the rights to the character G.I. Joe, denied Pixar the right to use their character in the film because the toy was going to be blow up by Sid. Instead, as a replacement, we were blessed with our lovely mini green soldiers who refuse to leave any man behind!
6 Barbie was also protected, but not for long
The company Mattel also refused the appearance of Barbie in the film because they believed it would damage her image and the main reason was that they believed the film would be a flop. However, when they saw that it was the highest grossing film of 1995 they wanted a taste and allowed Barbie to appear in the following films.
7 Andy, a name with a story
Andy, the most beloved child in Pixar history, has a story hidden behind the choice of name. Andries Van Damm is a professor at Brown University and is a pioneer in animation and computer science. The creators of the film, who Van Damm used to teach, decided to dedicate the name to their old professor.
8 Sid, karma exists
Everyone knew of someone like Sid when they were younger. Well, for anyone asking about his future we can tell you right now, he's closer than you think. In 'Toy Story 3', Sid appears as a rubbish man and is seen collecting the rubbish from outside Andy's house. What a sight.
9 Lunar Lightyear
The original name for our favourite space ranger was going to be 'Lunar Larry'. Thankfully, after realising it was a pretty awful name to choose for a big strong astronaut, the creators decided that Buzz Lightyear was a more appropriate name.
10 Billy Crystal turned down the opportunity to be Buzz
Billy Crystal is a well known celebrity in the United States. He is known for many things like presenting the Oscars, but not everyone knows one of his biggest mistakes: turning down the chance to play Buzz Lightyear.
He effectively turned it down on the fact that he thought the film would be a failure, so they gave the role to Tim Allen and the poor Crystal ended up playing another famous Pixar character in the form of Mike Wazowski.
11 Sid is a real person
Sid Phillips, the main antagonist of the film, is actually inspired by a real person. He is based on an ex Pixar employee with the same name. Not only does he have the same name, but apparently the real life Sid also enjoyed dismantling toys and adding loose parts to them. We'd like to meet this guy!
12 Buzz's face is based on his creator
According to the animation department for 'Toy Story', Buzz Lightyear is based on his very own creator John Lasseter, especially his chin, eyebrows and cheeks. The director also chose the famous purple and green colours of the space rangers costume because, yes you guessed it, they are his favourite colours.
13 And the Oscar goes to...
'Toy Story' was the first animated film to be nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Screenplay category. The award was given to The Usual Suspects, but don't worry, 'Toy Story' was the highest grossing domestic film in 1995 and would of course go on to win an Oscar.
14 The Pizza Planet van is famous
The Pizza Planet van is a protagonist in its own right. We remember the may journeys Woody and Buzz had in the van and their funny mishaps. The best thing about this van is it always appears in the right place, at the right time. Particularly in a range of Disney movies where it is in the background of scenes in films such as 'Wall-E', 'Cars', 'Finding Nemo' and 'Monsters, Inc.'.
15 "The claw is our master"
The voices of the green aliens from Pizza Planet were hilarious. Who managed to pull off the voices though? It was in fact John Lasseter and his team who managed to come up with the voices for these little aliens after breathing in helium from a load of balloons.