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Woody, instead of being the loyal cowboy we all love, was rewritten as a bitter jerk. Buzz Lightyear came off as cynical and mean-spirited rather than charming and clueless.
Even Hanks couldn’t hide his dislike for that version of the story.
“Quite frankly, it didn’t work,” Hanks admitted. “It wasn’t Toy Story. It wasn’t what Pixar was going for.”
The “Black Friday” Disaster That Almost Ended Pixar
Inside Pixar, November 19, 1993, became known as “Black Friday.” Director John Lasseter screened Disney’s version of Toy Story for top executives — and what followed was total silence.
Roy Disney was reportedly stunned, asking Lasseter, “You seriously listened to us?” Production was immediately halted by Disney’s animation head Peter Schneider.
Executives realized they had turned Pixar’s heartfelt vision into a cynical mess. Instead of toys longing to be loved, they got a film full of sarcasm and cruelty. Disney even planned to release it under the adult-focused Touchstone label.
For a moment, Pixar’s dream was dead. The project was shelved, and the team was given just two weeks to fix everything or face cancellation.
Steve Jobs Saves the Day
Then came the man who changed everything — Steve Jobs.
Jobs, who owned Pixar at the time, personally stepped in and bankrolled the rewrite. He gave Lasseter and his team one last shot to rescue the movie.
Pixar brought in writer Joss Whedon and a small army of creatives who worked nonstop for months. By February 1994, they showed Disney a new cut — one with a kindhearted Woody and a lovable Buzz. This time, it clicked.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, Disney’s film chief, finally gave the green light. Production exploded from a 24-person team to more than 100 animators racing toward the finish line.
As Hanks recalled,
“So then we began the process all over again, which is about a two and a half to three year process.”
That marathon effort even inspired the film’s credits to include a “production babies” list — a nod to the parents who met and started families during those long years of work.
A Cultural Miracle That Changed Animation Forever
When Toy Story premiered on November 22, 1995, it didn’t just succeed — it rewrote movie history. The film became the first fully computer-animated feature and sparked a $1.5 billion franchise.
But beneath that success story lies a warning Hollywood still refuses to hear.
Disney nearly destroyed Toy Story because its executives wanted to chase trends instead of trusting creative vision. They demanded “edge” when audiences wanted heart. They pushed cynicism when the world craved warmth.
This same mistake repeats again and again — corporate suits forcing “modern” messages or tone-deaf rewrites, only to watch their projects flop.
Pixar, backed by Jobs’ faith and Hanks’ talent, stood its ground. Without that fight, Toy Story might have ended as another forgotten failure instead of a cultural milestone.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are set to reunite once more for Toy Story 5, hitting theaters June 19, 2026.
Three decades later, the franchise that almost died before it began is still standing tall — because Pixar refused to bow to bad Hollywood advice.
And that one decision changed animation forever.
