WHAT WENT WRONG

Toy Story

11 snips
Nov 17, 2025
Delve into the fascinating origins of Toy Story, from initial doubts at Disney to its revolutionary impact on animation. Discover how Steve Jobs transformed Pixar and how the creative team faced challenges turning Woody and Buzz into beloved characters. Uncover the dramatic rewrites that shaped the film's tone and character dynamics, and the clever marketing strategies that propelled it to success. Explore its legacy in legitimizing animation for adults and influencing future filmmakers.
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ANECDOTE

Lasseter's Firing Led To Pixar Birth

  • John Lasseter was fired from Disney after pitching CGI shorts because execs saw no cost or time benefit over hand animation.
  • He then joined Lucasfilm's computer graphics team and later helped build Pixar with Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith.
INSIGHT

Animation Served As Product Demo

  • Pixar began as a hardware company selling the Pixar image computer while the animation team acted as a demo unit.
  • The shorts like Luxo Jr. proved creative value even as hardware sales lagged, reshaping Pixar's future.
ANECDOTE

Tin Toy Secured Jobs' Support

  • John Lasseter convinced Steve Jobs to fund Tin Toy by asking for $300,000 from Jobs personally during layoffs.
  • Tin Toy won the 1988 Oscar for Best Animated Short and validated RenderMan's capabilities.
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