On and we Buzz out of

£2.3bn franchise almost failed as Disney told Pixar: It doesn’t work

The problem was they’d never made one before. “We didn’t have any production expertise except for short films and commercials. So we were all complete novices,” says retired Pixar president Ed Catmull.

Straight away there were problems with production, technology and scripts. And Disney, who could kill the deal – and Pixar – at any moment were getting impatient.

In November 1993 – a date Pixar insiders refer to as “Black Friday” – they showed a rough cut of the film. The reaction was not good.

“Guys, no matter how much you try to fix it, it just isn’t working,” Disney animation chief Peter Schneider said.

Although the animation was impressive, the story was flat and the characters were unrecognisable – sarcastic and cruel with a strained relationship between Buzz and Woody.

Tom Hanks, who voiced Woody, said: “At first they were saying, ‘We want you to improvise, we want you to get at each other, you could be sarcastic with one another’. It turned into a sort of cynicism that wasn’t really part of what the original sense of the DNA was.”

Disney shut down production and the Pixar animators and writers locked themselves away to try to save their movie – and their company.

They thrashed out a new storyline – with the bickering but warm friendship between Buzz and Woody at its heart. Screenwriter Andrew Stanton said: “It’s the ugliest picture we will ever make, but you don’t care because you get wrapped up in the story to this day.”

Disney were shown the new version of the film and liked what they saw.

In March 1994, the actors including Hanks,

Tim Allen and Annie

Potts, returned to Pixar to record the new script.

The relaxed atmosphere gave the actors more freedom and many of the most famous scenes from the first movie are ad libs by

Hanks, who was just allowed to go off-script and mess around with props left in the recording studio.

And changes to the script were happening every day as Pixar literally made things up as they went along. This was where Buzz went through his various incarnations – until they settled on the name and look we know so well.

Director John Lasseter, who has since left the company after accusations of sexual misconduct, said: “My favourite colour is bright green and my wife’s is purple. Just like she and I, they go really well together.” Woody was originally supposed to be a ventriloquist dummy, but producers said it was “creeping people out” and made the change to a lovable cowboy with his trademark pull-string.

With all the right elements in place, Pixar ploughed ahead.

Some of their methods left Disney execs baffled.

One visitor to the studios reported seeing animators walking round with wooden planks nailed to their shoes all day in an effort to try to get the accurate movements for the film’s model army men worked out.

Finally, the film opened on more than 2,200 screens across the US – and was an instant hit.

It made £270million worldwide and topped box-office charts.

Disney chairman Michael Eisner said: “I don’t think either side thought Toy Story would turn out as well as it has. The technology is brilliant, the casting is inspired and I think the story touches a nerve.”

Pixar Fest runs from this Sunday until September 6, in support of charity Medicinema, with weekly watchalongs, animator masterclasses, quizzes and arts and crafts for kids. Visit Pixar’s Facebook page and on

Twitter @Pixaruk.