Toy Story facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Toy Story |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John Lasseter |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Randy Newman |
| Editing by |
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| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
| Release date(s) | November 19, 1995 (El Capitan Theatre) November 22, 1995 (United States) |
| Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million |
| Money made | $401.2 million |
Toy Story is an American animated adventure comedy movie made in 1995. It was directed by John Lasseter and produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The movie made movie history because it was the first entirely computer-animated feature film. The story is about secret adventures of toys when humans leave the room. The main character is a toy cowboy named Woody, who is voiced by Tom Hanks. Woody is the favorite toy of a young boy named Andy Davis. Everything changes when Andy gets a brand-new space hero toy named Buzz Lightyear, who is voiced by Tim Allen. Buzz does not realize he is a plastic toy and thinks he is a real space ranger. Woody becomes jealous of Buzz, and their rivalry leads them on a big adventure across town.
The idea for the movie grew from an earlier short film called Tin Toy. Disney leaders liked the short film and asked Pixar to create a full movie using computer animation. Lasseter worked with writers Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, and Joe Ranft to build the story. Later, screenwriters Joss Whedon, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow helped polish the script. The film was released in theaters by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution on November 22, 1995. It became a giant box-office hit, earning over $363 million worldwide. It became the second highest-grossing film of 1995. People praised the humor, the voice acting, and the music by composer Randy Newman.
Critics and film fans consider the movie one of the greatest animated films ever made. It showed that computers could make movies with heart, warmth, and believable characters. It received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song for "You've Got a Friend in Me". The movie also earned a special Special Achievement Academy Award for its groundbreaking computer techniques. In 2005, the Library of Congress selected it for the National Film Registry because of its great cultural and historical importance. The film started a huge movie franchise, including sequels like Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, and Toy Story 4, along with many short films.
Contents
The Exciting Story of Toy Story
The film opens in the bedroom of six-year-old Andy Davis. Andy loves playing with his toys, especially his cowboy doll, Sheriff Woody. When humans leave the room, the toys magically come to life. Woody is the leader of the toys, keeping everyone calm and organized. The toys are nervous because Andy's birthday party is happening early, right before his family moves to a new home. The group includes Mr. Potato Head, a springy dog named Slinky Dog, an anxious plastic dinosaur named Rex, a clever piggy bank named Hamm, and a porcelain shepherdess doll named Bo Peep.
To check on Andy's gifts, Woody sends a team of plastic army men downstairs with a baby monitor. Andy receives a surprise gift: an advanced action figure named Buzz Lightyear. Buzz has flashing lights, pop-out wings, and a laser light. However, Buzz truly believes he is an actual Space Ranger on a mission to save the galaxy. He does not believe Woody when Woody tells him he is just a toy. The other toys are amazed by Buzz's cool features. Andy starts decorating his room with space posters, and Woody worries that he is no longer Andy's favorite toy.
Two days before moving day, Andy's family plans to go to a fun pizza restaurant called Pizza Planet. Andy's mother, Mrs. Davis, tells Andy he can only bring one toy. Woody tries to hide Buzz behind a desk so Andy will pick him instead. The plan goes wrong, and Woody accidentally knocks Buzz out of the bedroom window. The other toys think Woody did it on purpose and get very angry. Andy cannot find Buzz, so he takes Woody to the restaurant. Buzz climbs onto the car's bumper to track Woody down. When Andy's mom stops for gas, Woody and Buzz get into an argument, fall out of the car, and are left behind.
The two rivals work together to catch a delivery truck heading toward Pizza Planet. Once inside the arcade, Buzz sees a claw machine shaped like a spaceship and jumps inside. Woody climbs in to save him, but Andy's mean neighbor, Sid Phillips, plays the game. Sid wins both toys with the claw and takes them to his bedroom. Sid is known for taking toys apart and rebuilding them into mixed-up creations. In Sid's room, Woody and Buzz are terrified by these mutant toys and Sid's fierce dog, Scud.
Buzz tries to escape by flying out a high window, but he falls and his plastic arm snaps off. He finally realizes he cannot really fly and is only a toy. Woody helps Buzz realize how special it is to make a child happy. Sid tapes Buzz to a large rocket, planning to launch it the next morning. Woody teams up with Sid's mutant toys to save Buzz. Breaking the golden rule of toys, they come alive right in front of Sid and scare him into treating toys kindly.
Woody and Buzz run outside to chase Andy's moving van. Scud chases after them, but Buzz bravely fights the dog off. Woody uses Andy's remote-controlled car, RC, to rescue Buzz. The other toys think Woody is causing trouble again and throw him off the truck. When they see Woody and Buzz riding RC together, they realize their mistake and try to help. RC's batteries die, so Woody lights the firework rocket on Buzz's back. Buzz opens his wings to cut the tape, letting them soar into the sky before the rocket explodes. They glide safely down through the sunroof of Andy's car. Later, at Christmas in the new house, the toys listen to Andy opening presents. They are ready for anything, even when Andy unwraps a brand-new puppy.
Voice Actors and Characters
The movie featured an outstanding cast of voice actors who brought the plastic and plush toys to life:
- Tom Hanks voices Woody, a pull-string cowboy doll who cares deeply for Andy.
- Tim Allen voices Buzz Lightyear, a confident space hero toy with wings and a plastic helmet.
- Don Rickles voices Mr. Potato Head, a funny and grumpy toy with changeable parts.
- Jim Varney voices Slinky Dog, a kind dachshund toy with a slinky metal middle.
- Wallace Shawn voices Rex, a big green Tyrannosaurus toy who worries about everything.
- John Ratzenberger voices Hamm, a wise-cracking coin bank shaped like a pig.
- Annie Potts voices Bo Peep, a gentle porcelain figure who watches over sheep.
- John Morris voices Andy Davis, the imaginative young boy who owns the toys.
- Erik von Detten voices Sid Phillips, Andy's neighbor who enjoys taking toys apart.
- Laurie Metcalf voices Mrs. Davis, Andy's loving mother.
- R. Lee Ermey voices Sarge, the focused leader of the little green army men.
- Penn Jillette voices the excited television announcer in the toy commercial.
- Joe Ranft voices Lenny, a pair of walking plastic binoculars.
- Jeff Pidgeon voices the three-eyed green squeeze-toy aliens inside the arcade game.
How the Movie Was Created
Early Development at Pixar
Before making full movies, John Lasseter worked as an animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation. He saw computer graphics used in the science-fiction movie Tron and realized that digital art could change storytelling. Lasseter wanted to try new ideas, but computer tools were still very young. He joined the computer division of Lucasfilm, which became Pixar in 1986 when Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs bought the company. At Pixar, computer experts like Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith built powerful hardware and software. Lasseter made short films to show off the power of the Pixar Image Computer.
In 1988, Lasseter directed a short film named Tin Toy. It told a funny story about a tiny toy musician trying to escape a clumsy baby. The short film was a giant success and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 1989 Academy Awards. It was the first computer-generated film to win an Oscar. The film caught the attention of leaders at The Walt Disney Company, including studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg and chief executive Michael Eisner. Disney asked Lasseter to return, but Lasseter wanted to stay at Pixar to help build something new.
Disney was the biggest customer for Pixar's digital tools, including the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS). Disney leaders realized they could team up with Pixar to produce an animated feature film. In the summer of 1990, Pixar filmmakers met with Disney executive Peter Schneider. Pixar proposed different ideas, including a television special called A Tin Toy Christmas. Katzenberg told them that if they could make a special, they could make a full movie instead. Disney agreed to pay for the film, distribute it, and own the rights to the characters.
Writing the Script
The story went through many revisions before the final film was made. The early idea featured Tinny from Tin Toy and a ventriloquist's dummy. Katzenberg felt the first story treatment lacked energy. He suggested turning it into a classic buddy film, where two very different characters must learn to work together. Lasseter, Stanton, and Docter wrote a new version where the two toys get separated from their owner and try to find their way home.
The characters changed as the writers developed the plot. Lasseter felt Tinny looked too old-fashioned for modern kids. The team changed Tinny into a military figure like G.I. Joe, and then transformed him into an astronaut called Lunar Larry. Eventually, he became Buzz Lightyear, named in honor of real-life moon astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Buzz's space suit was inspired by the spacesuits worn during the Apollo program. The green and purple colors came from the favorite colors of Lasseter and his wife.
The dummy character was changed into a pull-string cowboy named Woody, named after Western actor Woody Strode. The filmmakers liked putting an old-fashioned Western character next to a modern science fiction astronaut. Later, screenwriters Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow, and Joss Whedon joined the writing team. Whedon came up with the idea that Buzz should genuinely believe he is an actual space hero. That clever choice gave the movie much of its humor and heart. Whedon also added Rex the dinosaur and helped create the famous three-eyed squeaky aliens.
Finding the Voices
Voice casting began in early 1993. The filmmakers wanted Tom Hanks for Woody from the start. Lasseter admired Hanks's warmth and ability to make characters lovable even when they make poor choices. To test how his voice would work, animators matched Hanks's dialogue from the movie Turner & Hooch to an animated test model. Hanks was impressed and agreed to voice Woody.
For Buzz Lightyear, the team considered many famous comedic actors. Billy Crystal was offered the role first, but he turned it down. Crystal later said that watching the finished film made him realize his mistake, which led him to voice Mike Wazowski in Pixar's later movie Monsters, Inc.. The filmmakers also thought about stars like Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Jim Carrey. Lasseter offered the part to Tim Allen, who was starring in the popular television show Home Improvement. Allen accepted and gave Buzz his serious, heroic tone. For Andy, Pixar held open auditions. Young actor John Morris arrived with 45 X-Men figures, dumping them out on the floor, and his playful personality won him the role.
Overcoming Production Challenges
Making the movie was not easy. Every few weeks, Pixar showed storyboards to Disney executives. Disney wanted the movie to appeal to adults and pushed for sharper humor. Because of these notes, Woody started acting mean and grumpy. On November 19, 1993, Pixar screened an early version of the first half of the movie for Disney executives. The screening was a disaster. The characters were unlikable, and Woody seemed like a bully. Disney shut down production right away.
Peter Schneider wanted to cancel the project completely. However, Katzenberg gave Lasseter and his team two weeks to fix the script. Steve Jobs stepped in and funded Pixar with his own money during the pause. The writers worked day and night to change Woody back into a caring leader who simply makes mistakes out of fear. When Disney leaders read the rewritten scenes in February 1994, they approved production to restart. The voice actors returned to record their new lines. To finish the work, Pixar grew its crew from 24 artists to 110 people, including 27 animators.
Revolutionary Computer Animation
Creating a full film with computers had never been done before. Traditional animated movies used thousands of clear plastic sheets painted by hand. For this film, everything had to be built inside digital software. Animators sculpted clay models of the characters, which were scanned into computers to create digital wireframe models.
Each character had hundreds of digital controls that allowed animators to move limbs, fingers, and facial expressions. Woody was the most complex character, requiring 723 controls, including 58 controls for his mouth alone. Animators used Pixar's Menv animation software to create the motion frame by frame. To make speech look natural, animators studied video recordings of the voice actors. It took an animator about an entire week of work to complete just eight seconds of finished character acting.
Pixar used its own RenderMan software to add realistic colors, textures, and lighting. Artists added scuff marks on the wooden floor and wrinkles to clothes to make the world look lived-in. The layout team, led by Craig Good, made the digital camera move like a real camera on a physical film set. Calculating each digital image took massive computing power. Pixar used a "render farm" of Sun Microsystems computers running all day and night. In total, the film needed 800,000 computer hours to process all 114,240 frames of animation.
Music and Songs
Director John Lasseter did not want the film to be an ordinary musical where characters stop talking and burst into song. He felt toys singing would look strange. Disney loved musical hits, so they agreed on a compromise: songs would play in the background to show what characters were feeling inside.
Pixar hired famous songwriter and musician Randy Newman to compose the score and songs. Newman wrote three original songs, including the beloved theme "You've Got a Friend in Me", which he wrote in just one day. His warm and playful tunes matched the movie's mix of comedy and emotion. The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on November 22, 1995.
Release and Amazing Success
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The movie celebrated its world premiere at the famous El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 19, 1995. Disney built a special funhouse attraction next door called Totally Toy Story for families to enjoy. The movie opened across North America on November 22, 1995, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Audiences rushed to theaters, making it the number-one film at the box office. It earned $363 million worldwide and became an enormous financial triumph for Pixar and Disney.
Companies produced thousands of toys and games based on the film. While toy makers were originally unsure if the film would succeed, kids loved Buzz and Woody. Stores quickly ran out of Buzz Lightyear action figures during the 1995 holiday season. Over the years, Disney re-released the film in theaters many times. In October 2009, a special Disney Digital 3-D version arrived in theaters alongside its sequel. In 2023, the movie returned to theaters to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary, and it saw another theatrical release in September 2025 for its 30th anniversary.
When the movie arrived on VHS and LaserDisc home video in October 1996, it sold over 21.5 million copies in its first year. Later, it was released on DVD, high-definition Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, finding new generations of young fans.
Lasting Legacy and Sequels
The movie changed filmmaking forever. It proved that computer-generated graphics could tell touching stories with deep emotion. Following its release, computer animation quickly became the main technique used for animated movies around the world. Tech companies studied Pixar's techniques to improve video game graphics and artificial intelligence.
Buzz Lightyear's favorite catchphrase, "To Infinity and Beyond!", became a popular phrase worldwide. In 2008, astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery carried a real Buzz Lightyear figure to the International Space Station during the STS-124 space mission to help teach science to students. Computer engineers who make the famous Debian operating system even name every new software release after a character from the film.
The film launched one of the most successful movie series in history:
- Toy Story 2 (1999) follows Buzz and the toys as they rescue Woody from a greedy toy collector.
- Toy Story 3 (2010) shows the toys accidentally arriving at a day-care center when Andy grows up and leaves for college.
- Toy Story 4 (2019) takes the toys on an exciting road trip with a handmade toy named Forky.
- Lightyear (2022) is a sci-fi spin-off movie starring Chris Evans as the hero who inspired the Buzz toy.
- Toy Story 5 (2026) arrived in theaters in June 2026, following the toys as they try to keep children interested in playtime.
See Also
In Spanish: Toy Story para niños
- List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
- List of animated films considered the best
- The Brave Little Toaster
- How the Toys Saved Christmas
- The Velveteen Rabbit
