Toy Story 2 Was Nearly Cancelled: The Nightmare Behind Pixar’s Best Sequel

Courtesy of Pixar Studios

Toy Story 2, the first sequel to Toy Story, was released in 1999 and was widely acclaimed by critics and audiences, earning $511.4 million worldwide. It was the third-highest-grossing movie of 1999, only behind Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace and The Sixth Sense. Some fans of the Toy Story franchise consider it the best of the series due to the humor, character moments, and themes of the fear of being forgotten. While the end result of Toy Story 2 was excellent, the road to getting there wasn’t. In fact, Toy Story 2 was close to being gone forever. Here’s the rough road to Toy Story 2.

Not too long after Toy Story’s release in 1995, John Lasseter was already planning a sequel. He saw how much these characters meant when, at an airport, he saw a young boy with a Woody doll reunite with his dad and show off his new Woody doll. Lasseter realized how beloved these characters had already become in a short period of time and wanted to do more. Lasseter’s idea would center around whether a toy should be played with and loved by a child or be preserved like a collector’s item, as Lasseter himself was a toy collector. However, it was originally going to be a direct-to-video sequel, similar to those of direct-to-video sequels to other popular Disney movies like The Return of Jafar for Aladdin. There were uncertainties with Toy Story 2, such as whether they could get Tom Hanks and Tim Allen back as Woody and Buzz, and whether Pixar would be involved. There were also unknowns about the animation style of the movie, as Pixar was focused on its next movie, A Bug’s Life. In fact, Toy Story 2 began with a small team working on it in a building separate from the main Pixar campus. Toy Story 2 was aiming for a November 1999 release date.

Disney was not satisfied with the pace of production on Toy Story 2, and changes were made to the producers. Later that November, Disney saw story reels of Toy Story 2 that had been done so far and was very impressed. They felt the quality and emotional tones were too good for a direct-to-video movie. They decided Toy Story 2 would be a theatrical release, which meant the movie’s runtime would be longer than it would have been had it gone to direct-to-video. That also meant that right after production of A Bug’s Life was officially done, the Pixar team would go right to work on Toy Story 2 to meet the November 1999 release window. This also meant changes in salary for those working on the movie and the deal Pixar had with Disney at the time to make sure Toy Story 2 was not part of the five-film deal Pixar had with Disney, since it was a sequel and not an original movie.

The change in how Toy Story 2 was released meant the story would be altered. He, along with future Toy Story directors Lee Unkrich and Andrew Stanton, rewrote the entire story in a weekend. Lasseter’s original idea about whether a toy was meant to be played with or collected was still there, but with big changes.  Woody’s Roundup, like in the final version, was still there, but instead of Jessie, the female member was originally a character named Señorita Cactus, themed after a talking cactus. Unlike Jessie, who was a conflicted character with abandonment issues with her former kid, Emily, but ultimately sided with Woody and agreed to his offer of being Andy’s toy, Señorita Cactus would be the Prospector’s partner in crime, trying to help him manipulate Woody into going to Japan. Bullseye would be the only other member who was good. Bullseye was also meant to have a speaking role and share with Woody that he misses being played with. There are rumors that Martin Short was going to voice Bullseye before Lasseter decided not to give Bullseye a speaking role.

Instead of Woody saving Wheezy, Woody was originally going to end up in the yard sale due to an accident caused by Rex that would cause him to fall out the window and into the yard sale. The idea of Woody saving Wheezy was a rejected idea from the original Toy Story that made it into this movie. Andy would have also been away at camp already instead of being shown at the beginning playing with his toys before heading to camp. Al was originally going to fix Woody’s arm until it was changed to a man referred to as the cleaner that was later revealed by Pixar to be Geri, the old man from a Pixar short called Geri’s Challenge, giving one of the most iconic animated scenes ever made. The other Buzz Lightyear that confronts the main Buzz at Al’s Toy Barn would have a smaller role, and the confrontation with Zurg would happen at the toy store, with the main Buzz helping the delusional Buzz deal with him and make that Buzz realize he’s a toy.

The tight window of Toy Story 2 added a lot of stress to the team. Some members got repetitive strain injuries. It was so stressful that one animator was so preoccupied he forgot to drop off his kid at daycare that morning. In fact, he forgot his kid was still in the car. Then, the unthinkable happened. During a routine file clearance on internal servers in 1998, a Pixar employee accidentally deleted a folder containing character models and other important things. Around ninety percent of Toy Story 2 was gone, and they couldn’t bring it back. The backup system they tried to use wasn’t working, and there was no copy of the things they deleted. Pixar was in a tough spot. There was no way they would meet the November 1999 release date, and with the Pixar team stressed enough working longer than usual, this was a nightmare scenario.

Luckily, there was one symbol of hope. The movie’s technical direction supervisor, Galyn Susman, was on maternity leave, but was still working on Toy Story 2 at home. She had a copy of the movie on her computer and, alongside another Pixar employee, carefully brought the computer to Pixar’s office. While Galyn’s computer didn’t have everything that was deleted, there was enough to save and keep working on Toy Story 2 to make it to its November 1999 release.

As mentioned earlier, Toy Story 2 was released in theaters a year later, did well at the box office, and won over critics and fans despite all the misfortune of not seeing theaters. The movie was praised for its humor, better animation from the previous movie, emotional moments, and themes. Had the movie stayed deleted, Toy Story 2 would have either been canceled or delayed with a completely new plot started from scratch that could have been bad. Had Toy Story 2 stayed as a direct-to-video release, it would not have made as much money. Either scenario could have led Pixar and Disney to end Toy Story right there and then, which would mean no Toy Story 3, 4, and 5, as well as the various shorts and spinoffs from the franchise. Then there’s Jessie. Had Toy Story 2 gone with the co-antagonist, Señorita Cactus, Jessie would never exist. We would have never gotten the most emotional moment of the movie where she shares with Woody her past with Emily and the emotional song “When Somebody Loved Me.” Jessie would become an important Toy Story character and would later become the sheriff/leader of the toys after Woody leaves in Toy Story 4. Jessie would later be the main protagonist of Toy Story 5, and her arc that started in Toy Story 2, touching upon her history with Emily, would get a proper conclusion. As for Galyn Susman, she worked for Pixar until 2023, when she was among the laid-off employees.

What do you think of Toy Story 2’s uphill battle? Let us know in the comments below.