Cast * Interesting Facts * Trivia * The Music * Toy Story 3?


Directed by: John Lasseter & Ash Brannon
Written by: John Lasseter & Peter Docter
Music by: Randy Newman

Released on: November 24, 1999
Running Time: 92 minutes

Budget: $90 million plus $35 million in marketing costs
U.S. Opening Weekend: $57.388 million over 3,236 screens
Box-Office: $245.9 million in the U.S., $485.7 million worldwide
 
 

CAST
 
Tom Hanks (1956) as Woody
Tim Allen (1953) as Buzz Lightyear
Joan Cusack (1962) as Jessie
Jim Varney (1949-2000) as Slinky Dog
Jodi Benson (1961) as Barbie

Woody... Tom Hanks
Jessie... Joan Cusack
Buzz Lightyear... Tim Allen
Stinky Pete the Prospector... Kelsey Grammer
Al McWhiggin... Wayne Knight
Barbie... Jodi Benson
The cleaner... Jonathan Harris
Tim Allen and Tom Hanks with their alter egos at the movie premiere!Wheezy/Heimlich... Joe Ranft
Emperor Zurg...  Andrew Stanton
Mr. Potato Head... Don Rickles
Mrs. Potato Head... Estelle Harris
Slinky Dog... Jim Varney
Rex... Wallace Shawn
Hamm... John Ratzenberger
Bo Peep... Annie Potts
Andy... John Morris (III)
Mrs. Davis (Andy's Mom)... Laurie Metcalf
Sarge... R. Lee Ermey
 
 

The entire Toy Story 2 cast!






INTERESTING FACTS

  Toy Story 2 was initially intended as a direct-to-video release -but the early test scenes played so well that Pixar officially started over in June 1998 and redevelopped it into a theatrical release movie.

  This was the first sequel for Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, both of whom had never been in one before.

  Tom Hanks was paid $50,000 for Toy Story, and $5 million for Toy Story 2.
Story board drawing
  Toy Story 2 gave Buena Vista International its biggest animated opening ever in Japan, with $3.8M over 364 screens (80% better than The Lion King).  Toy Story 2 grossed $233M abroad and $243 domestically.

Comedian Jon Lovitz was initially courted to provide the voice for the ferverish toy collector Al McWhiggin -but the role eventually landed in Wayne Knight's lap (Newman from Seinfeld).

  Jodi Benson, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, voices Barbie in Toy Story 2. Jodi is the official voice for Barbie, voicing her for CD-ROMs, commercials and other products. Mattel would not allow Barbie to be used in the first movie, but they changed their minds for the sequel due to the great popularity Toy Story gained!

Another story board drawing  In December 25, 1999, "bloopers" were added to run over the end credits.  Tour Guide Barbie does a little bit during the credits that is quite entertaining, such as suggesting to the audience that they throw away their trash, and asking for a break because she is tired from smiling so much.  Heimlich and Flik from A Bug's Life also make a cameo appearance in the credits.

  Two versions of the film have been releases, each one with different fake outtakes over the end credits. This was done because Disney hoped it would encourage people to view the film a second time.

  In January 2000, Toy Story 2 won a Golden Globe for "Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical."
 
 





TRIVIA

  In the opening of the movie, when the scene is just a backdrop of stars, there is a hidden image of the Pixar lamp logo in the upper right hand corner of the screen, floating towards the the top center of the screen.

  In Al's Toy Barn, hanging at the end of an aisle, are toys from A Bug's Life: there are Dim's (the large beetle) hanging on hooks, and a few Flik's laying on the floor.
Geri's Game
  The "Cleaner" is played by the old man in Pixar's latest short, "Geri's Game" -you can even see chess pieces in his cleaner's kit!

  When the toys are planning the rescue of Woody, Etch-a-Sketch shows a map to Al's Toy Barn located at 1001 West Cutting Boulevard. This is the address of Pixar Animation Studios in Richmond, California.

  A Bug's Life calendar is also hanging in Andy's room.  When the toys are watching television and skip through several channels, you can see several parts of old Pixar shorts.

  The Tour Guide Barbie says, "Remain seated, please" and repeats it in Spanish. It is the exact phrase used on the Matterhorn ride in Disneyland.

  During the Staff Meeting, in the background is a bookshelf. On that bookshelf are several books with the names of prevoius Pixar works. One is Tin Toy. Tin Toy was Pixar's Academy Award winning animated short. Other books on the shelf are: Knicknack (another Pixar short film), Ant and Bee go on a Vacation, Scooter Run, Feet First, Help the Planet, Pale Cowboy from Texas, and the Boy Scout Handbook.

  The Brand Name on Sid's tool box is Binford, which is the same company that sponsers Tim Allen's fictional show Tool Time on Home Improvement.

  The top of Syd's backpack reads ``Julie Macbarfle has cooties!'', a reference to camera manager Julie M. McDonald, who lobbied people to put her name in the film. ``Juju's house of food'' is another reference to her.

  When Al hangs up the phone with the Japanese investor, he says "Don't touch my mustache." This refers to an English mnemonic for the Japanese phrase meaning "You're welcome": "Dou itashimashite."

  Rex uses a few of George McFly's lines from Back to the Future (1985): ``I don't like confrontations''and ``I don't think I could take that kind of rejection.

  The settings on Zerg's gun are numbered to eleven, a reference to Nigel Tufnel's amplifier in This Is Spinal Tap (1984).

  When Andy's Sister is in the car, listen in the background for the song Hakuna Matata.

  The partially missing ear on the Rock-em-Sock-em Robot is a reference to the notorious Mike Tyson - Evander Holyfield match, in which Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield's ear.

  Barbie's dance steps were based on Ann-Margret's moves in Viva Las Vegas (1964).

  In the airport, an announcement is made for Lasset Air, Flight A113. That's two references in one: to director John Lasseter, and to room 113 at Cal Arts College, famous its alumna, including many Pixar animators.
Looking for Woody
  When Andy returns from Cowboy Camp, his shirt and hat bear the logo of the "Triple R" Ranch. This was the name of the ranch from the "Spin and Marty" serials on the original "Mickey Mouse Club".

  At one point, Jesse exclaims, "Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln!" Abraham Lincoln's mother was a woman named Nancy Hanks, and star Tom Hanks is a direct descendent of her.

  In the scene where Hamm is flipping rapidly through television channels looking for the Al's Toy Barn commercial, many of the images seen briefly on the TV are previous Pixar projects.

  In the opening sequence, when Buzz is on an alien planet, and ultimately battles the Emperor Zurg, many of the sound effects are directly from the Star Wars trilogy, including lightsaber sound effects, the torture droid's hum, and the scraping metal noise the AT-AT's make as they lumber across the plains of Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back.

  The truck that Buzz and the rest of his pals drive when going to rescue Woody is the same pizza delivery truck that Buzz and Woody climb into at the gas station in Toy Story (1995). See also: Bug's Life, A (1998).
 
 





THE MUSIC

Introduction to the album "Woody's Roundup" by director John Lasseter:
 

"The very first conception of Toy Story 2 called for Woody to be stolen by a toy collector.  But it was during the early development of the story that we created the reason for Woody's value -to make him the star of a long-forgotten 1950s' black and white cowboy children's television show called "Woody's Roundup."

We wanted this back story of Woody to be fun, but we also wanted to make it as authentic as possible.  A lot of research went into making the fictional "Woody's Roundup" appear as though it really did exist in the 1950s' -the show, the toys, even the packaging of the toys and how it would have aged.  This attention to detail extended to the opening of the TV show.  We originally planned the opening with just a narrator's voice introducing the stars.  But in remembering some of our favorite TV shows from when we were growing up, we recalled that they had theme songs that introduced the characters (like Gilligan's Island).

We thought it would be fun to have a theme song for "Woody's Roundup."  So we called Randy Newman and asked him to lower his standards to write us a funny theme song that would introduce the show and the characters.  It was scary how fast Randy wrote "Woody's Roundup."  It was like he was put on this earth to write tihs one song.  He finally found his true calling.

But who should sing it? AshBrannon, one of Toy Story 2's co-directors, said he had listened to this great cowboy group, Riders In The Sky, some ten years earlier.  The next day we got one of their CDs, and as soon as we listened to it I knew these were the cowboys for us.  These guys had to sing the "Woody's Roundup" theme song.  So we called them and asked if they were interested.  They said, "You bet we'll sing it for ya!"

A few weeks later, when we walked into the recording session, my jaw dropped to the floor.  Standing in front of me were four cowboys dressed in full rhinestone cowboy outfits from the tips of their ten-gallon hats to the bottom of their cowboy roots.  One of them was even wearing furry chaps.  They introduced themselves to me: Too Slim, Ranger Doug, Woody Paul ("King of the Cowboy Fiddlers", who thanked me for naming the character after him), and Joey the Cowpolka King (or Joey CPK for short).  At first, I thought these were stage names, but they really do call each other these names -and soon I did too.  They said that their outfits make them sound better.  In fact, they probably wouldn't sing at all if they weren't wearing those outfits. I just had to try on the furry chaps.  But it was when I put the furry chaps on Randy Newman that things got really funny.

The recording sessoin was fantastic.  When the Riders were finished, it seemed as though the song wasn't just recorded, but it had always existed -that it really was from the 1950's.

After the recording session, I became Riders In The Sky's biggest fan, and so did my sons.  When I brought home a copy of the "Woody's Roundup" theme song, they liked it so much that they made me play it twelve times in a row.  I wished I had more than just the one song to play for them.

Now the story zips ahead a couple of months to the final music score recording for Toy Story 2.  This is where Randy Newman is conducting ihs score in front of a 105-piece orchestra (it's really cool, one of my absolute favorite part of making these movies).  So anyway, our Executive Music Producer Chris Montan and I have a meeting with this really nice guy, Jay Landers, who's the new Senior VP of A&R for Disney Records.  Jay says that he would like to do a second album based on Toy Story 2.  Remembering how my sons couldn't get enough of the theme song, I thought it was a great idea.  Out of the meeting comes the idea to do an album that's based entirely on "Woody's Roundup" and to get the Riders not only to sing on it but to write some new songs for Bullseye, Jessie and the Prospector.  So we called them and asked if they were interested.  They said, "You bet we'll sing it for ya!"

One of the greatest joys in my career is being able to call Riders In The Sky my friends and having them teach me to do everything... 'the Cowboy Way.'"
 

TOY STORY 3

From the September 2001 Premiere article, "It's Too Small A World, After All"

Disney and Pixar are bound to a 1997 contract for five movies -a deal that both Steve Jobs and Michael Eisner intend to follow to the letter.  But Eisner wants five movies plus Toy Story 3 -under the same deal. And it seems that Jobs is balking at it.

When the deal was signed, Disney's policy dictated that all sequels go straight to video, so to not include a videobound Toy Story 2 inthe deal made sense. But when Pixar recognized that Toy Story 2 had theatrical legs, they convinced a reluctant Disney to back a full theatrical release. They couldn't have been more right -but as far as Michael Eisner is concerned, it didn't count as one of the five pictures.

So is Toy Story 3 in the offing? According to Eisner, "definitely." John Lasseter hedges/ he's still noodling with story issues, but he would "never say never" to another sequel. Pixar's President and chief technology officer Edwin Catmull says that he hopes that Pixar makes Toy Story 3 "sometime." Both companies agree that the sequel isn't in the pipeline. The next four Pixar-Disney pictures will be fulfilled by Monsters, Inc, Stanton's Finding Nemo, Lasseter's next original movie, and a film by Brad Bird.

Eisner makes it sound as though putting off Toy Story 3 was his idea. He says that after Toy Story 2 and A Bug's Life, Pixar had a good idea for Toy Story 3, but he insisted that they pursue Lasseter's next original film. "Either choice would have been right," Eisner says, "but I didn't want to wait until 2008 for John's original idea. We have the right to do a sequel irrespective of the two deals. I don't need a new deal to make Toy Story 3. I can get five movies plus Toy Story 3."

Finally, Pixar can't take any Toy Story sequel to another studio. Says one source close to both companies, "Jobs only would agree to do Toy Story 3 to get out of this contract faster." Jobs insists that Toy Story 3 is neither on the current slate nor in production. "Leave it at that," he says. Will it happen later, then? Leaning back in his chair with a mischievous grin, Job says, "Life is long."

If Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo meet expectations, could the two companies renegotiate the deal? After all, Lasseter is close to both Eisner and Schumacher. Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group president Dick Cook sounds conciliatory. "I'm sure there will be room to expand the deal and that both sides will want to," he says. He doesn't see Toy Story 3 as a sticking point: "Audiences will almost demand that it be made."

All in Pixar's sweet time. "Pixar has no current plans to create Toy Story 3 and is under no obligation to do so," says a company spokesperson. "Under the current deal, John picks his own projects, and no one insists on what he should do. With more than $250 million in cash in the bank and no debt, Pixar has the financial resources to finance and market its own films. Given Pixar's track record, several studios would likely be willing to finance everything in exchange for a chance to work with Pixar."

In late October 2001, Premiere Magazine added that the Toy Story 3 deal John Lasseter hopes to get is : Equal share in profit and financing (Pixar and Disney). So is Toy Story 3 in the offing? According to Eisner "definitely". Lasseter hedges He's still noodling with story ideas but he would never say never to another sequel. Catmull says that he hopes that Pixar make Toy Story 3 "sometime". However, both companies agree that it's not in the pipeline (the next 4 are Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, an original movie from John Lasseter and The Invincibles by Brad Bird). The Disney-Pixar deal expires with the delivery of the last picture, which Pixar said will be "no earlier than 2005."

It sounds like putting TS3 on the backburner was Eisner's idea, so they could pursue Lasseter's next original film. "I didn't want to wait until 2008 for John's original idea. We have the right to do a sequel irrespective of the two deals. I don't need a new deal to make Toy Story 3. I can get 5 movies plus Toy Story 3". Finally, Pixar can't talk Toy Story 3 to another studio. Life is long though and the brains behind the potential sequel hint that a deal will no doubt be negotiated in the future for the third instalment. "Audiences will almost demand that it be made" they say. But because John Lasseter can pick and choose what he wants to do next, he will concentrate on his original film.

A week later, Steve Jobs declared in an interview that "the train has left the station. The next three films are spoken for... We wanted to make Toy Story 3, but in the current deal it's not going to happen. Toy Story 2 was a big success, and we never complained it didn't count [as a contracted film], but we can't do it again." Toy Story 3 is not even in development and is in jeopardy of not being made despite how potentially lucrative it would be to both companies. Disney can legally make Toy Story 3 without Pixar, since the studio bankrolled the original and controls the franchise. But that is unlikely, unless Pixar lets the contract expire.

In June 2002, Tim Allen said that a Toy Story 3 was possible if Disney and Pixar could resolve their differences. "Tom Hanks wants to do it," said Tim. "So do I, and Don Rickles and the director and the writers." The problem, he says, revolves around the two companies who made the first two animated blockbusters. "It's a corporate and business thing," Tim says. "And it's a shame. There's an absolutely great idea for a new script." A few weeks later, Tom Hanks said that voicing Woody the cowboy doll was one of his favourite assignments. "Though I haven't heard of any yet, if there are plans for a Toy Story 3, I'd be more than willing to talk to the folks at Pixar and Disney about being part of it." That should encourage both studios to try and find a business compromise shortly!

Jim Hill explained in a September 2002 article that "Disney CEO Michael Eisner wants Pixar Animation to honor its February 1997 agreement with the Mouse House. To the letter. Under the terms of this contract, which supercedes the original three picture deal that the computer animation studio signed with Mickey ‘way back in 1991, Pixar has ‘til 2007 to deliver five finished feature length animated films to Walt Disney Studios. Sequels do not count because--back in 1997 when Disney and Pixar originally signed this new deal--it was assumed that any and all sequels that would be done to earlier Pixar productions would be done on the cheap. Like The Return of Jafar, Disney’s 1994 direct-to-video follow-up to their 1992 hit, Aladdin. Toy Story 2 turned out so well though that it was released theatrically and became an immensely successful film. Steve Jobs assumed that Eisner would be willing to count this film as one of the five projects that Pixar owes Disney--wrongly so. It was at this exact moment that the bad blood reportedly began boiling between Eisner & Jobs. Soon after this conversation, Steve allegedly began making noise about finding a new production partner for Pixar as soon as the Disney deal wrapped up in 2007. According to Pixar insiders, the only way that Steve Jobs would now agree to make Toy Story 3 was if it would get his company out of its arrangement with the Mouse that much quicker."

A basic plot for Toy Story 3 has been drafted, and deals with a subject that "Pixar has reportedly gotten a lot of mail about: what happens when Andy grows up," continues Jim Hill. "The folks at Pixar--particularly Lasseter--reportedly wants to end the Toy Story story with all the characters in a safe place, where they’d always be cared for and loved." The movie's story would be based on the original treatment for Toy Story, written in the Spring of 1991. "Tinny (a tin toy based on the title character in Pixar’s 1989 Academy Award winning short, Tin Toy) and his friend, Dummy (a ventriloquist dummy modeled after Charlie McCarthy that occasionally wears a cowboy hat), have survived encounters with obnoxious dogs, obsessive toy collectors, being separated from the kids that love them, even tumbling out a garbage truck into speeding traffic… And they really deserve a break. After their long ordeal, these characters deserve to find a loving home where there will always be kids to play with them. And--miracles of miracles--they actually find this wonderful place. Right next door to where the obnoxious dog lives. It’s a pre-school with a kindergarten. Tinny and Dummy (along with their new friends, Slinky Worm and Wheezy) eventually their way into the kindergarten class room. Here, the other toys tell them that their troubles are finally over. Why for? Because in this room, there will always be children who are willing to play with Tinny & Dummy. And each year, a brand new crop of kids arrives to shower the playthings with affection and attention. And the best part of the deal is… The children go home every day once school lets out. And the toys get the entire summers off. To rest. To vacation. Play with their fellow playthings. Whatever. This is where Lasseter & Co. supposedly want to leave Woody, Buzz and the crew to be at the end of Toy Story 3. In a place where there’ll always be kids to play with them. Where the audience knows that they’ll be loved and cared for years yet to come."

In a January 2003 interview, Tom Hanks was asked if there was any activity going on with Toy Story 3: "I don't think there's been," said Hanks. "I think the second one was probably better than the first one. And I don't know. I think they'd be concerned about tarnishing, or whatever, the franchise."

Steve Jobs further commented during the First Quarter 2003 Earnings conference on May 7, 2003 that "as far as sequels go, our studio is building the capacity to release one great animated feature a year, I do not see us as having the capacity to release more than that. Therefore, if we were to do negotiate a deal with Disney and release a sequel, that would be the film for that year, and would not be additive. But if sequels are attractive, then we are very excited about doing them! We've got a great idea for Toy Story 3, we've got some ideas for a Monsters sequel, there are a lot of things that we can do."
 

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