Toy Story, the first full-length 3D animated film, was a groundbreaking project that led to the birth of Pixar. The initial drafts of the film featured dark themes that could have significantly altered Pixar's trajectory. The studio, originally part of Lucasfilm, was sold to Steve Jobs, who encouraged creative freedom, leading to the development of Toy Story. Early versions depicted Woody as a tyrannical ventriloquist's doll, which was later softened to the cowboy character we know today. The collaboration with Disney and subsequent revisions transformed Toy Story into the beloved classic, steering Pixar towards its future success.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Toy Story is the first full-length cartoon made entirely in 3D animation format.
2. Pixar studio was born from this project.
3. The film was a huge franchise with tons of spin-off products.
4. The original drafts of Toy Story were dark and could have led to a completely different studio in spirit and message.
5. Pixar was originally created by George Lucas in the early 1980s.
6. The studio was called Lucasfilm Computer Graphics Project and dealt mainly with special effects.
7. George Lucas sold the company to Steve Jobs for $5 million.
8. Steve Jobs wanted to give employees creative freedom.
9. John Lasseter became the director of Toy Story in 1988.
10. The gang released a short film that brought them an Oscar.
11. After the Oscar, Jobs told the studio to start thinking in the direction of full-length film.
12. The studio decided to take a Christmas cartoon idea and turn it into a full-length film.
13. Disney fell for the idea and gave Pixar the green light and a lot of money.
14. The original idea for Toy Story featured living toys, but the studio decided to take plastic characters instead.
15. The plot was made according to the buddy movie model.
16. Woody was originally a ventriloquist's doll and had a creepy undertone.
17. The creators wanted Woody to have a contrast with the strong plastic superhero.
18. The studio tried to get the rights to use Jay and Joe, but Hasbro gave the rights to Mr. Potato instead.
19. The studio also tried to get the rights to use Barbie, but it didn't work out.
20. The first film had a prototype of the Lotso bear, but it was cut out.
21. The original script for Toy Story featured an evil Woody.
22. Tom Hanks was chosen to voice Woody, and the studio made a short video with Hanks' lines from the film Turner and Hooch.
23. The original version of Toy Story had a dark and violent tone.
24. The film had a scene where Woody threatens the other toys with violence.
25. The scene was cut out, and the film was reworked to have a more family-friendly tone.
26. Disney could have shut down Pixar after the "Black Friday" show, but they gave the studio two weeks to correct their mistakes.
27. The original script for Toy Story could have led to a completely different film and a different franchise.
28. The film's success can be attributed to the changes made to the script and the studio's decision to make a more family-friendly film.