Following the success of the 1988 short filmTin Toy, Pixar was approached by Disney to produce a computer-animated feature film that was told from a small toy's perspective. Lasseter, Stanton, and Docter wrote early story treatments, which were rejected by Disney, who wanted the film's tone to be "edgier". After several disastrousstory reels, production was halted and the script was rewritten to better reflect the tone and theme Pixar desired: "toys deeply want children to play with them, and ... this desire drives their hopes, fears, and actions". The studio, then consisting of a relatively small number of employees, producedToy Story under minor financial constraints.
In 2005,Toy Story was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", one of nine films designated in its first year of eligibility. The success ofToy Story launched amultimedia franchise, spawning four sequels beginning withToy Story 2 (1999); a spin-off filmLightyear (2022); and numerousshort films. The film has had several theatrical re-releases, including a 3D re-release in 2009 as part of a double feature with the second film and a 30th anniversary re-release in 2025.
A group of sentient toys, who pretend to be lifeless when humans are around, are preparing to move into a new house with their young ownerAndy Davis, his infant sisterMolly, and their single motherMrs. Davis. Learning that Andy's sixth birthday party has been unexpectedly moved to an earlier date, several toys — includingMr. Potato Head,Slinky Dog,Rex the tyrannosaur,Hamm the piggy bank, andBo Peep theporcelain doll — become concerned that Andy might receive something that will replace them. To calm them,Sheriff Woody, Andy's favorite toy and theirde facto leader, sendsSarge and his greenarmy men to spy on Andy's birthday party with ababy monitor. Andy receives aBuzz Lightyear action figure, whobelieves he is an actual Space Ranger and does not know he is really a toy. Buzz impresses the others with his electronic features and becomes Andy's new favorite toy, provoking Woody's jealousy.
Two days before the move, Andy's family plans for a dinner at a pizza restaurant called Pizza Planet. To ensure Andy brings him along and not Buzz, Woody tries knocking Buzz behind the desk withRC, Andy'sradio-controlled car. However, Buzz is accidentally knocked out of the window instead, and most of the other toys believe Woody has deliberately killed Buzz. Andy takes Woody with him, but Buzz furiously confronts him in the car. The two fight, fall out of the car, and are left behind; after a further argument, they hitch a ride to the restaurant on a Pizza Planet delivery truck.
At Pizza Planet, Buzz mistakes aclaw crane full ofrubber toy aliens for a rocket, and climbs in, pursued by Woody.Sid Phillips, Andy's sadistic next-door neighbor, takes the two from the crane to his house, where they encounter hisBull TerrierScud and his "mutant" toys, made from parts of other toys Sid has destroyed.
Buzz witnesses a television commercial promoting him and suffers anexistential crisis, finally realizing he is a toy after all. He attempts to fly but falls and breaks his arm. After Sid's toys repair Buzz, Sid tapes Buzz to a firework rocket, planning to destroy him the following day. Overnight, Woody helps Buzz realize that his purpose is to make Andy happy, restoring Buzz's resolve. Sid takes Buzz out to blow him up, but Woody rallies the mutant toys to come to life in front of Sid and frighten him into never harming toys again.
Now freed, Woody and Buzz pursue the Davis'moving truck, but Scud attacks Woody. Buzz stays behind to fight off the dog; Woody climbs into the truck, and pushes RC out to rescue Buzz. Thinking Woody has killed another toy, the others also throw him off the truck. Upon witnessing Woody and Buzz pursue the truck on RC, the toys realize their mistake. RC's batteries run out, forcing Woody to ignite the rocket strapped to Buzz. As the two are propelled into the air, Woody tosses RC back into the truck. Buzz opens his wings to sever the tape just before the rocket explodes; he and Woody glide through the sunroof of Mrs. Davis' car, landing safely inside.
As the toys listen in on theChristmas gift opening in the new house, Mr. Potato Head is delighted when Molly gets aMrs. Potato Head. Woody and Buzz jokingly ponder what gift could be "worse" than Buzz, only to nervously smile at each other when Andy gets adachshundpuppy.
John Lasseter (pictured in 2011) co-wrote and directedToy Story
John Lasseter's first experience withcomputer animation was during his work as an animator atWalt Disney Feature Animation, when two of his friends showed him the light-cycle scene fromTron. It was an eye-opening experience that awakened Lasseter to the possibilities offered by the new medium of computer-generated animation.[6] Lasseter tried to pitchThe Brave Little Toaster as a fully computer-animated film to Disney, but the idea was rejected and Lasseter was fired.[7] He then went on to work atLucasfilm and in 1986, he became a founding member ofPixar. In 1986, Pixar was purchased by entrepreneur andApple Inc. co-founderSteve Jobs.[8] At Pixar, Lasseter created short, computer-animated films to show off thePixar Image Computer's capabilities. In 1988, Lasseter produced the short filmTin Toy, which was told from the perspective of a toy, referencing Lasseter's love of classic toys.Tin Toy won the1989 Academy Award forBest Animated Short Film, thefirst computer-generated film to do so.[9]
Tin Toy gained Disney's attention, and the new team atThe Walt Disney Company, CEOMichael Eisner and chairmanJeffrey Katzenberg inthe film division, sought to get Lasseter to come back.[9] Lasseter, grateful for Jobs' faith in him, felt compelled to stay with Pixar, telling co-founderEd Catmull, "I can go to Disney and be a director, or I can stay here and make history."[9] Katzenberg realized he could not lure Lasseter back to Disney and therefore set plans into motion to ink a production deal with Pixar to produce a film.[9] Disney had always made all their movies in-house and refused to change this. But whenTim Burton, who used to work at Disney, wanted to buy back the rights toThe Nightmare Before Christmas, Disney struck a deal allowing him to make it as a Disney film outside the studio. This allowed Pixar to make their movies outside Disney.[10]
Both sides were willing. Catmull and fellow Pixar co-founderAlvy Ray Smith had long wanted to produce a computer-animated feature, but only by the early 1990s were the computers cheap and powerful enough to make this possible.[11][12] In addition, Disney had licensed Pixar'sComputer Animation Production System (CAPS), and that made it the largest customer for Pixar's computers.[13] Jobs made it apparent to Katzenberg that although Disney was happy with Pixar, it was not the other way around: "We want to do a film with you," said Jobs. "That would make us happy."[13][14]
Catmull, Smith, and head of animationRalph Guggenheim met withWalt Disney Feature Animation presidentPeter Schneider in the summer of 1990 to discuss making a feature film, but they found the atmosphere to be puzzling and contentious. They later learned that while Katzenberg was pushing the idea of working with Pixar, Schneider did not want to bring in a non-Disney animation studio. Katzenberg arranged to meet directly with the Pixar contingent, this time including Lasseter and Jobs. The Pixar team proposed three separate ideas for their first major project, including an original idea entitledBob the Dinosaur, an adaptation ofJames and the Giant Peach, and aChristmas television special entitled,A Tin Toy Christmas. Disney greenlit the third idea, but Katzenberg countered that as long as they were gearing up to transition from 30-second commercials to a half-hour special, they might as well go all the way and make a feature-length film.[15][16]
Katzenberg also made it clear that he was only working with Pixar to get access to Lasseter's talents,[13][15] and that the Pixar team would be signing up to work with a self-described "tyrant" and micro-manager.[13][15] However, he invited them to talk with Disney's animators and get their opinions on working under him and Lasseter was impressed with what he heard.[17] The two companies began negotiations, although they disagreed on key points including whether Disney would get the rights to Pixar's animation technology[17] or whether Pixar would retain partial ownership of the films, characters, and home video and sequel rights.[13] As Pixar was nearing bankruptcy and desperate for funds,[13] they settled on a deal that would allow Disney to have complete ownership and control of the films and characters, including the rights to make sequels without Pixar's involvement, while Pixar would get approximately 12.5% of ticket sales.[18][19] These early negotiations became a point of contention between Jobs and Eisner for many years.[13]
An agreement to produce a feature film based onTin Toy with a working title ofToy Story was finalized, and production began soon thereafter.[20]
Originally,Toy Story was going to feature "Tinny", the wind-up one-man band toy from theTin Toy short film, along with "the dummy", aventriloquist's dummy. While the film's premise was still about toys' desire to be played with by children, the rest of the film's script, which involved Tinny being left behind at a gas station, meeting up with the dummy, and having a series of adventures before finding their way into a kindergarten classroom where they can be played with every day, was quite different.[21][22] Katzenberg was unhappy with thetreatment drafted by Lasseter,Andrew Stanton, andPete Docter, as the two character's motivations were too similar. Instead, he encouraged them to write it as abuddy film, giving the two main characters contrasting personalities, and having them only become friends after being forced to work together.[23][24] Lasseter, Stanton, and Docter delivered a revised treatment in September 1991 that more closely resembles the final version of the film: Tinny replaces the ventriloquist dummy as a child's favorite toy, their bickering causes them to be left behind at a gas station, they almost catch up to the family at apizza restaurant, they have to escape a kid that mutilates toys, and the movie ends with a chase scene as the two toys try to catch up to the family's moving van.[23]
The script went through many changes before the final version of it. Lasseter decided Tinny was "too antiquated"; the character was first changed to a military action figure in the likes ofG.I. Joe and was then given a space theme. Tinny's name changed to Lunar Larry, then Tempus from Morph, and eventuallyBuzz Lightyear (after astronautBuzz Aldrin).[25] Lightyear's design was modeled on the suits worn byApollo astronauts as well as the aforementionedG.I. Joe action figures. Also, the green and purple color scheme on Lightyear's suit was inspired by Lasseter and his wife, Nancy, whose favorite colors are green and purple, respectively.[26][27] Woody was inspired by aCasper the Friendly Ghost doll that Lasseter had when he was a child; he was a ventriloquist's dummy with a pull-string (hence the name "Woody"). This was until character designerBud Luckey suggested that Woody could be changed to a cowboy ventriloquist dummy. Lasseter liked the contrast between theWestern and thescience fiction genres and the character immediately changed. Eventually, all of the ventriloquist dummy aspects of the character were deleted as the dummy looked "sneaky and mean".[28] However they kept the name "Woody" to pay homage to the Western actorWoody Strode.[25] The story department drew inspiration from films such asMidnight Run andThe Odd Couple,[29] and Lasseter screenedHayao Miyazaki'sCastle in the Sky for further influence.
SinceToy Story's script writers had little experience with feature films, they attended a seminar given by screenwriterRobert McKee.[28] They were inspired by his guidance, based onAristotle'sPoetics, that the main character in a story should be defined by how they react to the obstacles they face, and that it is those obstacles that make characters interesting.[30] Disney also appointed the duoJoel Cohen andAlec Sokolow and, later,Joss Whedon to help develop the script. Whedon thought that while the script did not work, it had "a great structure". He added the character ofRex and sought a pivotal role for aBarbie doll; the latter transformed intoBo Peep asMattel would not license the character.[31] Whedon also re-visioned Buzz Lightyear from being a dim-witted but cheerful and self-aware character to an action figure who isn't aware that he's a toy—an epiphany that transformed the film.[32] A brainstorming session with members of Disney Animation's creative team resulted in the addition of thethree-eyed squeaky toy aliens.[33]
Toy Story was the first animated film for whichscratch vocals were recorded first for all reels, to be later replaced by production sound.[34] Before that point, animation studios were more disorganized as to when scratch vocals or production sound were recorded for any particular reel.[34] For example, during the 1980s, Disney Animation experimented with recording production sound for all reels (without recording scratch vocals first) before starting animation.[34]
Katzenberg approved the script on January 19, 1993, at which point voice casting began.[35]Paul Newman, who subsequently accepted the role ofDoc Hudson in the 2006 Pixar filmCars, was considered for the role of Woody.[36]Robin Williams andClint Eastwood were also considered for Woody,[37] but Lasseter always wantedTom Hanks to play the role. Lasseter claimed that Hanks "has the ability to take emotions and make them appealing. Even if the character, like the one inA League of Their Own, is down-and-out and despicable."[35] To gauge how an actor's voice might fit with a character, Lasseter borrowed a common Disney technique: animate a vocal monologue from a well-established actor to meld the actor's voice with the appearance or actions of the animated character.[31] This early test footage, using Hanks' voice fromTurner & Hooch, convinced Hanks to sign on to the film.[35][38]
To cast Andy, Pixar held an open call for young male actors to bring a toy with them.John Morris (who voices Andy in the film) brought multiple toys, specifically 45X-Men figures, contrary to the instructions of bringing just one, and Pixar reacted to his dumping of the toys with laughter.[49]
Toy Story was both Hanks' and Allen's first animated film.[50]
Every couple of weeks, Lasseter and his team showed Disney their latest storyboards or footage. Disney was impressed by Pixar's technical innovation, but less so of the plot. Katzenberg discarded most of Pixar's script ideas, giving his own extensive notes. Katzenberg primarily wanted to add "more edginess" to the two main characters,[24] as Disney wantedToy Story to appeal to both children and adults, and they asked for adult references to be added to the film.[35] The characters ended up being stripped of their charm,[24][46] with Hanks, while recording Woody's dialogue for the story reels, pointed out that the Woody character had been made into a "real jerk".[24] Pixar screened the first half of the film for Disney executives on November 19, 1993—an event they later dubbed the "Black Friday Incident".[35][51] The results were disastrous, and Disney's head of feature animation, Peter Schneider, halted production.[52] Katzenberg asked colleagueThomas Schumacher why the reels were bad, to which Schumacher answered, "Because it's not their movie anymore; it's completely not the movie that John set out to make."[51]
Lasseter was embarrassed by the current state of the film, later recalling, "It was a story filled with the most unhappy, mean characters that I've ever seen." Katzenberg allowed him to take the script back to Pixar for rewrites,[51] and the production crew shifted to television commercials while the head writers worked out a new script, being funded personally by Jobs until Disney resumed production.[51] Although Lasseter attempted to keep morale high by remaining outwardly buoyant, the production shutdown was "a very scary time" according to story department manager BZ Petroff.[53] Schneider appealed directly to Eisner to cancel the project altogether.[54][23] Stanton and the other story artists worked to quickly produce new script pages, with help from consultants such as Whedon, and the first revisions were completed in two weeks as promised.[53]
Pixar's script rewrites took three months, and saw Woody transformed from a tyrant to a wise leader. It also included a more adult-oriented staff meeting amongst the toys rather than the juvenile group discussion that had existed in earlier drafts. Buzz Lightyear's character was also changed "to make it more clear to the audience that he genuinely doesn't know he's a toy".[54] Katzenberg and Schneider resumed production with the new script by February 1994,[51] and the voice actors returned one month later to record their new lines.[35] The crew grew from 24 people to 110, and now included 27 animators and 22 technical directors.[55][56] In comparison,The Lion King, released in 1994, required a staff of 800.[55] In the early budgeting process, Jobs was eager to produce the film as efficiently as possible, impressing Katzenberg with his focus on cost-cutting. However, the $17 million production budget was no longer going to be sufficient, and Jobs requested more funds from Disney to compensate them for the time lost in rewrites based on Katzenberg's notes. Catmull was able to reach a compromise on a new budget, but the incident led Jobs to rethink their deal with Disney.[51]
We couldn't have made this movie in traditional animation. This is a story that can only really be told with three-dimensional toy characters. ... Some of the shots in this film are so beautiful.
—Tom Schumacher, Vice President of Walt Disney Feature Animation[57]
Recruiting animators forToy Story was brisk; the magnet for talent was not the pay, which was mediocre, but the allure of taking part in the first computer-animated feature.[56] Lasseter said of the challenges of computer animation, "We had to make things look more organic. Every leaf and blade of grass had to be created. We had to give the world a sense of history. So the doors are banged up, the floors have scuffs."[35] The film began with animated storyboards to guide the animators in developing the characters. 27 animators worked on the film, using 400 computer models to animate the characters. Each character was first either created out ofclay or modeled from a computer-drawn diagram before reaching the computer-animated design.[58]
Once the animators had a model, its articulation and motion controls were coded; this allowed each character to move in a variety of ways, such as talking, walking, or jumping.[58] Out of all of the characters, Woody was the most complex, as he required 723 motion controls, including 212 for his face and 58 for his mouth.[35][59] The first piece of animation, a 30-second test, was delivered to Disney in June 1992, when the company requested a sample of what the film would look like. Lasseter wanted to impress Disney with several things in the test that could not be done in traditional, hand-drawn animation, such as Woody's yellow plaid shirt with red stripes, the reflections in Buzz's helmet and the decals on his spacesuit, or Venetian blind shadows falling across Andy's room.[28]
There were eight teams that were responsible for different aspects of all of the shots. The art department was responsible for determining the overall color and lighting scheme.[60] The layout department was responsible for determining the position of all elements of the shot, as well as programming the virtual camera's position and movements.[60] The animation department created the movements of the characters, generally with one animator being assigned to animate an entire shot, but occasionally with each character having its own animator.[60] The shading team used Pixar'sRenderMan software to assign surface textures and reflectivity properties to objects.[61] The lighting team placed global, spot, and flood lighting within the scenes.[61] The "Render Farm" usedSun Microsystems computers, running around the clock, to produce the final frames of the film.[33] The camera team recorded the finished frames, which had been rendered at a resolution of 1536 by 922, onto film stock.[33] Finally,Skywalker Sound mixed sound effects, the musical score, and the dialogue to create the audio for the film.[59]
In order to make the film feel as realistic as possible, the layout department, led by Craig Good, avoided the sweeping camera shots popular in computer animation at the time, and instead focused on emulating what would have been possible had the film been shot in live-action with real film cameras.[60] The animation department, led by Rich Quade andAsh Brannon, used Pixar'sMenv software to hand pose the characters atkey frames based on videotape of the actors recording their lines, and let the software do theinbetweening.[62] To sync the characters' mouths and facial expressions to the actors' recorded voices, animators spent a week per eight seconds of animation, as Lasseter felt that automatic lip syncing would not properly convey a character's emotions.[58][62] The shading team, led byTom Porter, used scans of real objects, as well as textures drawn by artists and created withprocedural generation algorithms, to "dress" the objects in the film.[61]
The film required 800,000 machine hours and 114,240 frames of animation in total, divided between 1,561 shots that totaled over 77 minutes.[35][58][63][60] Pixar was able to render less than 30 seconds of the film per day.[64]
Lasseter did not want to makeToy Story into a musical, as he felt that it would make the film feel less genuine. Whedon later agreed, saying "It would have been a really bad musical because it's a buddy movie. It's about people who won't admit what they want, much less sing about it. ... Buddy movies are about sublimating, punching an arm, 'I hate you.' It's not about open emotion."[35] However, Disney preferred to make it a musical, as they had had much success with incorporatingBroadway-style musical numbers into their animated films, and encouraged Pixar to do the same.[35] As a compromise, although the characters would not sing, the movie would featurenon-diegetic songs as background music.[31] Despite this not happening, the first musical number is seen at the end ofToy Story 2 (1999), andToy Story: The Musical (2012) is the first version of the original to actually feature the cast of characters singing.
Randy Newman was hired, and composed three original songs for the film. It marks as Newman's first film soundtrack for an animated film. The film's signature song "You've Got a Friend in Me", was written in one day. The song "Hakuna Matata" fromThe Lion King is heard briefly during the climax when Woody and Buzz are trying to get into the truck while riding RC.[35]On Newman, Lasseter said, "His songs are touching, witty, and satirical, and he would deliver the emotional underpinning for every scene."[35] The soundtrack forToy Story was produced byWalt Disney Records and was released on November 22, 1995, the week of the film's release.[65]
The film's editors, includingLee Unkrich, worked onToy Story up until the September 1995 deadline to deliver a final cut for scoring and sound design.[65] According to Unkrich, a scene removed from the original final edit featured Sid torturing Buzz and Woody violently at his house before the scene where Sid interrogates Woody with a magnifying glass. The torture scene was removed because the crew felt that the audience would be so invested in Buzz and Woody's characters by that point that they would be uncomfortable watching them being subjected to such violence.[66] Another scene, in which Woody tries to get Buzz's attention when he was stuck in the box crate while insincerely apologizing for accidentally getting him knocked out of the window, was shortened because the creators felt it would lose the energy of the film.[66] A test screening in July 1995 received encouraging responses from the audience, but the film was not rated as highly as had been hoped, leading to another last-minute round of edits.[65] Eisner, who attended the screening, suggested that the final shot of the film should be of both Woody and Buzz, leading to the film's final shot of the two worried about the arrival of Andy's new puppy.[65]
The crew had difficulty analysing the film's quality due to footage being in scattered pieces.[64] Some animators felt the film would be a significant disappointment commercially but felt animators and animation fans would find it interesting.[64] Schneider had grown optimistic about the film as it neared completion, and he announced a United States release date of November, coinciding with Thanksgiving weekend and the start of the winter holiday season.[67]
Sources indicate that Jobs lacked confidence in the film during its production, and had been exploring the possibility of selling Pixar to companies such asHallmark Cards andMicrosoft.[51][67] However, as the film progressed, Jobs, like Schneider, became increasingly passionate about the film and the transformative nature of what Pixar might be able to accomplish. Eager for Pixar to have the funds necessary to negotiate with Disney as an equal partner, and optimistic about the impact the finished film would have, Jobs decided that he would schedule aninitial public offering (IPO) of Pixar just a week after the film's November release.[51]
TheEl Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, whereToy Story's premiere took place on November 19, 1995
Both Disney and Pixar held separate premieres forToy Story, with Disney holding theirs at their flagshipEl Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 19, 1995, and Pixar holding theirs the following night at theRegency Center in San Francisco. According to David Price's 2008 bookThe Pixar Touch, the film deeply resonated with audiences, with even the adults being noticeably moved by the film.[68]
In some international territories, the theatrical release of the film was preceded by a re-release of theRoger Rabbit shortRoller Coaster Rabbit.
In addition to showing at the El Capitan, where tickets included admission to theTotally Toy Story funhouse that Disney had built in theHollywood Masonic Temple next door,[69] the film opened on 2,281 screens on the 22nd and later expanded to 2,574.[68]
Marketing forToy Story included $20 million spent by Disney for advertising as well as advertisers such asBurger King,PepsiCo,Coca-Cola, andPayless ShoeSource paying $125 million in promotions for the film.[72] Marketing consultantAl Ries reflected on the promotion: "This will be a killer deal. How can a kid, sitting through a one-and-a-half-hour movie with an army of recognizable toy characters, not want to own one?"[73] Despite this,Disney Consumer Products was slow to see the potential ofToy Story.[67] When the Thanksgiving release date was announced in January 1995, many toy companies were accustomed to having eighteen months to two years of lead time and passed on the project. Disney shopped the film at the Toy Fair trade show in February 1995, where only the small Canadian company Thinkway Toys, was interested in licensing the toy rights for theToy Story characters.[74] Disney promoted the film by inserting its trailer into the home-video re-release ofCinderella, showing a behind-the-scenes documentary on theDisney Channel, and incorporating the characters into a parade at theDisney-MGM Studios theme park in Florida.[65]
It was screenwriter Joss Whedon's idea to incorporateBarbie as a character who could rescue Woody and Buzz inToy Story's final act.[75] The idea was dropped afterMattel objected and refused to license the toy. ProducerRalph Guggenheim claimed that Mattel did not allow the use of the toy as "They [Mattel] philosophically felt girls who play with Barbie dolls are projecting their personalities onto the doll. If you give the doll a voice and animate it, you're creating a persona for it that might not be every little girl's dream and desire."[35]Hasbro likewise refused to licenseG.I. Joe (mainly because Sid was going to blow one up, prompting the filmmakers to instead use a fictional toy,Combat Carl), but they did licenseMr. Potato Head.[35] The only real-life toy in the film that was not in production wasSlinky Dog, which had been discontinued since the 1970s. When designs for Slinky were sent toBetty James (Slinky inventorRichard James's wife) she said that Pixar had improved the toy and that it was "cuter" than the original.[76]
On October 2, 2009,Toy Story wasre-released inDisney Digital 3-D.[77] The film was also released withToy Story 2 as a double feature for a two-week run[78] which was extended due to its success.[79] In addition, the film's second sequel,Toy Story 3, was also released in the 3-D format.[77] Lasseter commented on the new 3-D re-release:
TheToy Story films and characters will always hold a very special place in our hearts and we're so excited to be bringing this landmark film back for audiences to enjoy in a whole new way thanks to the latest in 3-D technology. WithToy Story 3 shaping up to be another great adventure for Buzz, Woody, and the gang from Andy's room, we thought it would be great to let audiences experience the first two films all over again and in a brand new way.[80]
Translating the film into 3-D involved revisiting the original computer data and virtually placing a second camera into each scene, creating left eye and right eye views needed to achieve the perception of depth.[81] Unique to computer animation, Lasseter referred to this process as "digital archaeology".[81] The process took four months, as well as an additional six months for the two films to add the 3-D. The lead stereographer Bob Whitehill oversaw this process and sought to achieve an effect that affected the emotional storytelling of the film:
When I would look at the films as a whole, I would search for story reasons to use 3-D in different ways. InToy Story, for instance, when the toys were alone in their world, I wanted it to feel consistent with a safer world. And when they went out to the human world, that's when I really blew out the 3-D to make it feel dangerous and deep and overwhelming.[81]
Unlike other countries, the United Kingdom received the films in 3-D as separate releases.Toy Story was released on October 2, 2009.Toy Story 2 was instead released January 22, 2010.[82] The re-release performed well at the box office, opening with $12,500,000 in its opening weekend, placing at the third position afterZombieland andCloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.[83][84] The double feature grossed $30.7 million in its five-week release.[84]
As part of Disney's 100th anniversary,Toy Story was re-released in selectedCINEMARK theaters from July 21 to August 3, 2023.[85] It was also re-released in the United Kingdom from September 29 to October 5,[86] and in Latin American theaters from October 12 to 18 alongsideCinderella (1950).[87]
Toy Story was re-released in the United States on September 12, 2025 to coincide with the film's 30th anniversary and kickstart the promotional rollout forToy Story 5 (2026).[88] During its opening weekend, the film earned $3.4 million, ranking fifth at the domestic box office.[89]
Toy Story was released byWalt Disney Home Video onVHS andLaserDisc in the United States and Canada on October 29, 1996,[90] with no bonus material. Within the first few weeks of this release, VHS rentals and sales totaled $5.1 million, rankingToy Story as theNo. 1 video, beating outTwister.[91][92] Over 21.5 million VHS copies were sold during the first year.[93] A deluxe edition widescreen LaserDisc 4-disc box set was released on December 18, 1996.[94] ThisTHX-certified LaserDisc release features bonus material, including the history and development of characters, storyboards and story reels, abandoned concepts and characters, audio commentary, outtakes, deleted animation and trailers.[94] On January 11, 2000, the film was re-released on VHS, but this time as the first video to be part of the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection with the bonus short filmTin Toy. This release sold two million copies.[93]
Toy Story was released for the first time onDVD on October 17, 2000, in a two-pack with its first sequelToy Story 2.[95] The same day, a 3-disc "Ultimate Toy Box" set was released, featuringToy Story,Toy Story 2, and the third disc of bonus materials.[93] Both DVD versions have theTin Toy short, as well as the THX certification.[96] The twin-pack release was later released individually on March 20, 2001. The DVD two-pack, the Ultimate Toy Box set, the Gold Classic Collection VHS and DVD, and the original DVD were all put in theDisney Vault on May 1, 2003.[97] On September 6, 2005, a 2-disc "10th Anniversary Edition" was released featuring much of the bonus material from the "Ultimate Toy Box", including a retrospective special with John Lasseter and a brand newDTS sound mix.[98] This DVD went back in the Disney Vault on January 31, 2009, along withToy Story 2. The 10th Anniversary release was the last version ofToy Story to be released before being taken out of the Disney Vault lineup along withToy Story 2.[99] AUMD ofToy Story was released for the SonyPlayStation Portable on September 6, 2005.[100]
Toy Story was available for the first time onBlu-ray in a Special Edition Combo Pack that included two discs, the Blu-ray, and the DVD versions of the film. This combo-edition was released byWalt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on March 23, 2010, along with its sequel.[101] There was a DVD-only re-release on May 11, 2010.[102] Another "Ultimate Toy Box", packaging the Combo Pack with those of both sequels, became available on November 2, 2010. On November 1, 2011, the first threeToy Story films were re-released all together, each as a DVD/Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D/Digital Copy combo pack (four discs each for the first two films, and five for the third film). They were also released on Blu-ray 3D in a complete trilogy box set. The film had a re-release on4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on June 4, 2019.[103]
Yes, we worry about what the critics say. Yes, we worry about what the opening box office is going to be. Yes, we worry about what the final box office is going to be. But really, the whole point of why we do what we do is to entertain our audiences. The greatest joy I get as a filmmaker is to slip into an audience for one of our movies anonymously and watch people watch our film. Because people are 100 percent honest when they're watching a movie. And to see the joy on people's faces, to see people really get into our films... to me is the greatest reward I could get.
—John Lasseter, reflecting on the impact of the film[104]
Before the film's release, executive producer andApple Inc. co-founderSteve Jobs stated "IfToy Story is a modest hit—say $75 million at the box office, we'll [Pixar and Disney] both break even. If it gets $100 million, we'll both make money. But if it's a real blockbuster and earns $200 million or so at the box office, we'll make good money, and Disney will make a lot of money." Upon its release on November 22, 1995,Toy Story managed to gross more than $350 million worldwide.[63] Disney chairmanMichael Eisner stated "I don't think either side thoughtToy Story would turn out as well as it has. The technology is brilliant, the casting is inspired, and I think the story will touch a nerve. Believe me, when we first agreed to work together, we never thought their first movie would be our 1995 holiday feature, or that they could go public on the strength of it."[63]
Toy Story earned $39.1 million in its first five days of domestic release,[105] leading the most successful long weekend in box office history untilIndependence Day in July 1996.[106][107] The film placed first in the weekend's box office with $29.1 million[108] and maintained the number-one position at the domestic box office for the next two weekends. It was displaced byJumanji in its fourth weekend, but still managed to outgrossHeat andSabrina with $10.9 million.[109]Toy Story went on to become the highest-grossing domestic film of 1995, beatingBatman Forever,Apollo 13 (also starring Tom Hanks),Pocahontas,Casper,Waterworld,GoldenEye, and other films.[110] At the time of its release, it was the third-highest-grossing animated film of all time, afterThe Lion King (1994) andAladdin (1992).[19]Toy Story became thesecond-highest-grossing film of 1995, just $3 million behindDie Hard with a Vengeance.[111] When not considering inflation,Toy Story is number 96 on the list of the highest-grossing domestic films of all time.[112]
As of September 21, 2025[update],Toy Story has grossed $198.4 million in the U.S. and Canada and $176.2 million in international markets from its original 1995 release and subsequent re-releases for a total of $374.6 million worldwide.[2] At the time of its release, the film ranked as the 17th-highest-grossing film (unadjusted) domestically and the 21st-highest-grossing film worldwide.
Toy Story received unanimous acclaim upon release.[22][113][114] The film earneda rare approval rating of 100% based on 161 professional reviews on thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 9.1/10. Its critical consensus reads, "Entertaining as it is innovative,Toy Story reinvigorated animation while heralding the arrival of Pixar as a family-friendly force to be reckoned with."[115]Metacritic (which uses a weighted average) assignedToy Story a score of 96 out of 100 based on 26 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[116] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[117]
Particular praise was offered for the film's 3D animation. Leonard Klady ofVariety commended its "razzle-dazzle technique and unusual look" and said that "the camera loops and zooms in a dizzying fashion that fairly takes one's breath away."[118]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times compared the animation to Disney'sWho Framed Roger Rabbit, saying that "both movies take apart the universe of cinematic visuals and put it back together again, allowing us to see in a new way."[119] Due to the film's creative animation, Richard Corliss ofTIME claimed that it was "the year's most inventive comedy".[120]
The voice cast was also praised by various critics. Susan Wloszczyna ofUSA Today approved of the selection ofTom Hanks andTim Allen for the lead roles.[121] Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Times stated that "Starting with Tom Hanks, who brings an invaluable heft and believability to Woody,Toy Story is one of the best voiced animated features in memory, with all the actors ... making their presences strongly felt."[122]
Several critics also recognized the film's ability to appeal to various age groups.[119][123] Owen Gleiberman ofEntertainment Weekly wrote "It has the purity, the ecstatic freedom of imagination, that's the hallmark of the greatest children's films. It also has the kind of spring-loaded allusive prankishness that, at times, will tickle adults even more than it does kids."[124]
In 1995,Toy Story was ranked eighth inTIME's list of the "Best 10 films of 1995".[125] In 2011,TIME named it one of the "25 All-TIME Best Animated Films".[126]It also ranks at number 99 inEmpire magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Films of All Time" and as the "highest-ranked animated movie".[127]
In more recent years, directorTerry Gilliam has praised the film as "a work of genius. It got people to understand what toys are about. They're true to their own character. And that's just brilliant. It's got a shot that's always stuck with me when Buzz Lightyear discovers he's a toy. He's sitting on this landing at the top of the staircase and the camera pulls back and he's this tiny little figure. He was this guy with a massive ego two seconds before... and it's stunning. I'd put that as one of my top ten films, period."[133]
Toy Story won eightAnnie Awards, includingBest Animated Feature. Animator Pete Docter, director John Lasseter, musician Randy Newman, producersBonnie Arnold and Ralph Guggenheim, production designerRalph Eggleston, and writers Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow, Andrew Stanton, and Joss Whedon all won awards for Best Individual Achievement in their respective fields for their work on the film. The film also won Best Individual Achievement in technical achievement.[137]
Toy Story had a large effect on the film industry with its innovative computer animation. After the film's debut, various industries were interested in the technology used for the film. Graphics chip makers desired to compute imagery similar to the film's animation for personal computers, game developers wanted to learn how to replicate the animation for video games, and robotics researchers were interested in buildingartificial intelligence into their machines that compared to the film's lifelike characters.[144] Various authors have also compared the film to an interpretation ofDon Quixote as well ashumanism.[145][146] In addition,Toy Story left an impact with its catchphrase "To Infinity and Beyond", sequels, and software, among others. In 2005,Toy Story was selected by the United StatesLibrary of Congress to be preserved in theNational Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[147][148]
Buzz Lightyear's line "To Infinity and Beyond!" has been used not only on themed merchandise, but among philosophers and mathematical theorists as well.[149][150][151] In 2008, duringSTS-124, astronauts took an action figure of Buzz Lightyear into space onSpace ShuttleDiscovery as part of an educational experience for students while stressing the catchphrase. The action figure was used for experiments inzero-g.[152] It was reported in 2008 that a father and son had continually repeated the phrase to help them keep track of each other while treading water for 15 hours in the Atlantic Ocean.[153] The phrase occurs in the lyrics ofBeyoncé's 2008 song "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", during thebridge.[154] In 2012, the lateCapital STEEZ released a song titled "Infinity and Beyond" in reference to the phrase as part of hisAmeriKKKan Korruption mixtape.[155]
Disney has also recycled the phrase in homage toToy Story at least twice. In the "blooper reel" shown during the credits ofA Bug's Life,Dave Foley says the line while in character as Flik, and Tim Allen himself repeated his famous line inThe Shaggy Dog, in a scene when the titular character jumps off a bridge onto a moving vehicle.[156]
Toy Story's cast of characters forms the basis for the naming of the releases of theDebian computer operating system, from Debian 1.1Buzz, the first release with a codename, in 1996, to Debian 14Forky, the most-recently announced future release.[157][158]
The first sequel, titledToy Story 2, was released on November 24, 1999. In the film, Woody is stolen by a toy collector, leading Buzz and his friends to launch a rescue mission. Initially,Toy Story 2 was going to be adirect-to-video release, with development beginning in 1996.[160] However, after the cast fromToy Story returned and the story was considered to be better than that of a direct-to-video release, it was announced in 1998 that the sequel would see a theatrical release.[161]
Toy Story 3 was released on June 18, 2010.[162] In the film, Andy's toys are accidentally donated to a day-care center as he prepares to leave for college.[163]
Toy Story 4 was released on June 21, 2019,[164] with most of the main cast returning for the film.[165] In the film, Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang get used to living with Bonnie, who creates a new toy named Forky, from recycled materials from school. As they go on a road trip with Bonnie, Woody is also reunited with Bo Peep, and must decide where his loyalties lie.[166]
A spin-off film,Lightyear, was released on June 17, 2022, withChris Evans portraying the original Buzz Lightyear, upon whom the toy given to Andy in the first film was based.[167]
^abBurrows, Peter; Grover, Ronald (November 23, 1998)."Steve Jobs, Movie Mogul".Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Archived fromthe original on June 13, 2011. RetrievedMarch 11, 2009.
^Evans, Bradford (March 17, 2011)."The Lost Roles of Jim Carrey".Splitsider. Archived fromthe original on August 8, 2015. RetrievedMarch 28, 2016.Early in Toy Story's development, producers wanted Paul Newman as Woody and Jim Carrey as Buzz Lightyear, with the two actors representing Old Hollywood and New Hollywood, respectively.
^Kozak, Jim (August 2005)."Serenity Now!".In Focus. National Association of Theatre Owners. Archived fromthe original on August 3, 2005. RetrievedAugust 10, 2015.Ironically, Disney put the kibosh on the person they wanted for Buzz Lightyear because he wasn't famous enough, so we couldn't use Jim Carrey. But they had Tom Hanks in place.
^Pearlman, Cindy (October 28, 2001)."Crystal clear on 'Monsters'"(Fee required).Chicago Sun-Times.Archived from the original on January 13, 2012. RetrievedMarch 16, 2009.
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