Think you know everything about our favorite toys? Here are a few Toy Story facts we’ll bet Hamm’s savings you didn’t know.

When Toy Story first premiered on November 22, 1995, it made movie history – it was the first Pixar feature film, the first released in a partnership with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and the first-ever fully computer-animated feature film. The beloved story of toys come to life took off, garnering fans worldwide and spawning an entire film franchise to continue the adventures of Andy’s (now Bonnie’s) toys.

We’ve rounded up some of the best fun facts and playfully surprising facts about Toy Story and the Toy Story film franchise. Read on to learn something totally new about these beloved movies and characters!

1. Woody Was Originally a Total Jerk

In the earliest drafts of the Toy Story script, Woody was no hero. In fact, he was a jerk to his fellow toys! According to the film’s writers, Woody was supposed to become selfless by the film’s end – so they wound up making him incredibly selfish and mean to the other toys, so much so that he was a pretty harsh leader for the group. There was even a scene where he threw Buzz out the window!

That kind of still happened, but the writers ultimately toned Woody’s “bad guy” attitude after realizing audiences likely wouldn’t enjoy a kids’ movie with a mean, unlikable main character. Woody was rewritten as the hero, and the rest is history.

2. Woody Wasn’t Supposed to Be a Cowboy… And Buzz Wasn’t Originally a Space Ranger

Photo by Danny Shuster

Woody’s attitude change wasn’t the only big shift the character underwent during the writing and development process. He also changed form – originally, Woody was a ventriloquist’s dummy. Disney executives didn’t love the idea of a toy commonly associated with horror flicks in a kids’ movie, so they requested a change, and Woody morphed into the stuffed pull-string cowboy he is today.

Similarly, Buzz Lightyear had a bit of a different form when Toy Story first went from idea to story. In the very first drafts, Buzz was actually Tinny, the main character from Tinny, the 1988 Oscar-winning short film from Pixar. However, he felt antiquated to the team, so they looked at more modern and relevant toys kids would connect with (and actually want to play with). So, Tinny became a G.I. Joe action figure… and then Lunar Larry, a spaceman, before a short run as Tempus from Morph. Ultimately, the space idea stuck, and he became space ranger Buzz Lightyear as an homage to astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

3. Toy Story Was Originally Dreamed Up for TV, Not Movie Theaters

After the success of Tin Toy, the Pixar team was all in on short-form animation. According to Pete Docter, writer and supervising animator, the team was going to turn that short (which was the original idea for Toy Story) into a 30-minute TV special… not a full-length feature film.

However, when Pixar partnered with Disney, that plan changed. Disney wanted to make a movie, so the Pixar team changed gears – and their storyline – and scrapped the Tin Toy TV idea in favor of a toy-themed feature film that would offer more storyline.

4. The Nightmare Before Christmas Paved the Way for Toy Story

The two films couldn’t seem more different from one another, but it’s true: Without Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, there would never have been Pixar’s Toy Story.

Toy Story got the green light to go into product thanks to the success of The Nightmare Before Christmas; John Lasseter himself credits the spookily fun Halloween film for encouraging Disney to broaden its scope and partner with others. In a 2011 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lasseter explained that Disney originally wanted all animated movies made in-house, at Disney. Outside projects, like partnerships with Pixar, weren’t happening.

However, after the success of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Disney changed its tune and became open to partnerships. They returned to Lasseter and were willing to develop a computer-animated film with Pixar… which led to Toy Story.

5. The Toys Have Some Unique Quirks

Bo Peep Concept Art by Carrie Hobson and Daniela Strijleva. Photo: Disney/Pixar.

There’s a lot of magic that makes the Toy Story franchise special. The computer animation makes them incredibly lifelike, but there are also numerous touches throughout each film that adds even more true-to-life detail. Here are just a few of our favorite quirks:

• Characters never blink both eyes at once; each eye blinks one frame apart
• The toys have accurate reflections and shadows, even when in pieces (like when Mr. Potato Head falls apart)
• In Toy Story 3, Ken changes clothes a total of 21 times
• Animators studied the moves of Rey from Star Wars to animate Bo Peep in Toy Story 4
• Wear and tear were added to the toys for Toy Story 4, like frayed cloth and plastic scratches to show their changes after years of play

6. Toy Story-Inspired Toys Almost Didn’t Make It Into Stores

While it’s hard to imagine a world that doesn’t sell real-life pull-string Woody dolls and noisemaking Buzz Lightyear action figures, that was almost the case! When the first film in the franchise was in production, the two biggest toy companies –– Hasbro and Mattel –– both turned down the toy license. 

The two toy heavy hitters didn’t think they had enough time to develop a toy line before Toy Story premiered in theaters, as there were just 11 months to go. So, the small Canada-based company Thinkway Toys picked up the license instead and created the very first Woody and Buzz toys.

7. Woody’s Voice Isn’t Always Performed by Tom Hanks

Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Photo by Brett Svenson

Toy Story‘s success has resulted in countless pieces of merchandise, entire themed hotels, and even attractions at Disney theme parks around the world. But if you’ve ever pulled the string on a real-life toy version of Woody, it’s actually not Tom Hanks whose voice you hear.

Outside of the films themselves, Tom Hanks voices very few, if any, of Woody’s appearances. It’s actually Jim Hanks, Tom’s little brother, who does the voice. When talk show host Graham Norton asked Tom about it, he confessed, “No, it’s my brother Jim. There are so many computer games and video things and Jim just works on those all year long.”

That includes one of our favorite works… Toy Story Mania! That’s right, it’s Jim telling you to keep shootin’ as Woody.

8. Lotso Was Always Waiting in the Wings

The big pink teddy bear turned villain in Toy Story 3 was actually meant to appear much earlier in the film franchise – he was slotted for the original Toy Story in 1995, but things (specifically, the technology) just didn’t pan out.

John Lasseter wanted to include the pink teddy bear from the very beginning, but the Pixar team struggled to get the fur just right. The CGI of the time was still pretty rudimentary, and Lotso didn’t look realistic enough. So, he made his grand appearance two films later.

However, if you look closely, you can spot the earliest version of Lotso in Toy Story! During the toys’ staff meeting, you can see a big pink bear sitting on Andy’s desk when Woody asks if the toys “up on the shelf can hear.”