How Toy Story Almost Got Canceled: “The Black Friday Incident”

Courtesy of Pixar

For thirty years, the Toy Story franchise has entertained audiences of all ages with Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang. Four movies have been released, with two of them each grossing over $1 billion, and multiple toys based on the series have been sold. Various Disney parks have Toy Story attractions for all to enjoy. A fifth movie is set to be released this summer and is likely to make a ton of money. The path to getting here wasn’t easy, though. At one point, it seemed that Toy Story would be canceled and never see the light of day. What happened, and how did it eventually come to charm audiences?

Toy Story was Pixar’s first film. In 1991, Pixar partnered with Disney to create the first officially computer-animated feature film. Disney would own Toy Story, and Pixar would produce it. Toy Story had many ideas going for it in pre-development stages. One idea was to focus on the character Tinny from Pixar’s first animated short film, Tin Toy, teaming up with a ventriloquist’s dummy. Despite the changes, the themes of buddy comedy and one boy being jealous of another toy and fearing it will be replaced remained. Eventually, Tinny was replaced by Buzz, a space ranger figure, and the dummy was replaced by Woody, a cowboy doll. Tom Hanks was cast as Woody, and Tim Allen was cast as Buzz. Other characters, such as Rex, Bo Peep, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky, and Hamm, were added.

While the theme of a more advanced toy replacing a more traditional toy was consistent through development, the tone wasn’t. Disney executives feared the tone of Toy Story was too soft. They wanted more edge to the characters. They wanted more sarcasm, adult references, and conflict to appeal to both kids and adults. These changes, however, would take away the charm of Toy Story and replace it with something more mean-spirited and unrecognizable.

On Black Friday of 1993, Pixar screened the first half of Toy Story. What was shown horrified Disney executives. Woody, who would later become a beloved character, was a real jerk who was irredeemable. Even Tom Hanks himself disliked what Woody turned into. It was very noticeable in one particular scene, which can be found online. It was when Buzz fell out of the window, a scene that was in the final cut of the movie, but was a lot different. Before it was changed, the scene played out with Woody intentionally pushing Buzz out the window. Woody is smug and feels no remorse or sympathy. Some of the characters, when commenting on what happened, even make a couple of quips about Buzz falling out before turning on Woody in outrage. When Mr. Potato Head confronts Woody, the cowboy doll gets heated, insulting Potato Head and ordering him to get off Andy’s bed. The other toys, like Hamm and Rex, join Potato Head in standing up to Woody. He tells Slinky to make them get off Andy’s bed, and when Slinky refuses, Woody says some cruel things to Slinky that the Woody we know today would never say. When the toys grab Woody, they almost throw him off the bed until Slinky stops them. Woody feels relieved until Slinky says to throw Woody out the window as he did to Buzz. Buzz was also portrayed as more naive and easy for Woody to push around, which resulted in Buzz being pushed out the window. This would later be dubbed “The Black Friday Incident”. The voice recordings and storyboard arts depicting this scene can be found on YouTube.

Peter Schneider, Disney’s head of feature animation, halted production. John Lassetter, who was the director,  even called it a movie with some of the unhappiest, meanest characters. There were calls to just call off making Toy Story. The script would go through rewrites as production stayed halted. It looked like Toy Story would be canceled unless they got a good rewrite done in time. Pixar, which was trying to get started in film, was relying on Toy Story to be successful. If canceled, Pixar might never get another opportunity to make another movie. Pixar had to rely on making TV commercials to stay alive financially. Disney agreed to let Pixar rewrite the movie. It was rewritten in a couple of weeks.

Production on Toy Story resumed in February 1994, and the voice actors returned to record their lines. The rewrites made for a charming, more enjoyable movie. The buddy comedy aspect returned. It was clearer to audiences that Buzz thought he was a real space ranger. The other toys were less cranky and juvenile. Woody’s character changed for the better. He went from jerk and bully to an insecure, but good-hearted, wise leader trying to assure the rest of Andy’s toys that no one will be left behind when Andy moves, and no one is getting replaced. He was still jealous of Buzz, but it was more relatable and less mean-spirited. Instead of intentionally pushing Buzz out the window, he only intended to push Buzz behind Andy’s desk, just so Andy could pick Woody for Pizza Planet. When Woody realized what was happening, he watched in horror as Buzz was accidentally pushed out the window, feeling bad instead of smug. When Mr. Potato Head and the other toys accuse him of intentionally pushing Buzz, he never insults the toys and tries to say he is innocent. Woody treats Slinky a lot better and never insults him or the other toys. It was now easier to root for and connect with Woody. Woody and Buzz would eventually team up, become friends, and escape Sid’s room after Sid takes them, and Woody would prove his innocence.

Toy Story was released on November 19, 1995, making $363 million worldwide and getting universal acclaim. Because of its success, Pixar would continue to make movies with Disney, including A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Cars, before Disney would eventually acquire Pixar in 2006 and continue to make even more films. Toy Story grew as a franchise, and Woody and Buzz became popular Disney characters. The charm and emotional appeal that was added to save Toy Story during rewrites became a core element in later Pixar movies. If Toy Story had been canceled, we likely would never get all these Pixar classics. Pixar has produced some of the best animated movies ever made. Imagine if we never got The Incredibles, Up, Coco, and other beloved Pixar movies.  If the version we almost got had been released, Woody would most likely be one of the most hated characters in Disney history instead of one of the most loved characters, and Toy Story would probably not be popular. After all, who would root for a jerk who belittles people, or in this case, toys, that he is supposed to lead and care for? It’s a reminder of how drastic changes during the middle of a film production could change a movie for the better.

What do you think of this version of Toy Story we almost got? Let us know in the comments below.