Toy Story continues to fascinate more than 25 years on.
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00:00Cinema doesn't get much better than Toy Story, Pixar's groundbreaking computer-animated
00:05film which effectively reinvented the animated medium, whilst creating a beloved franchise
00:10that endures to this very day.
00:12And though most of us have probably watched Pixar's inaugural movie dozens, if not hundreds
00:16of times over the years, there are still a few things that we may not have noticed.
00:20We all know that Pixar loves to pack in the details, so there is a lot to see.
00:25So, I'm Amy from WhatCulture, and here are 20 things you somehow missed in Toy Story.
00:3020.
00:31Andy's friends are all Andy clones
00:34Given that Toy Story was the first completely computer-animated film, it's not really a
00:39surprise that Pixar took a few shortcuts to lighten their workload.
00:42This is unsettlingly noticeable early in the film when Andy's friends arrive at his house
00:46for his birthday party, and when Sarge is watching proceedings through his binoculars.
00:50For a brief moment, we can see that all of Andy's friends look exactly like him.
00:55There are basic variations, you know, they're wearing different clothes and one of them
00:59has darker skin than the rest, but the face and body models are completely identical.
01:04Understandably, Pixar presumed nobody would ever notice, and didn't count on future audiences
01:08being able to freeze-frame high-resolution versions of the film.
01:1219.
01:13Buzz has Disney written on him
01:15In case you somehow forgot that Toy Story was a Disney movie, they placed a subtle reminder
01:20on Buzz Lightyear's posterior that's noticeable in a couple of shots.
01:24When Buzz and Woody squabble outside the gas station and Buzz walks away, the word Disney
01:28can be seen printed on his backside, albeit faintly.
01:31Then in Toy Story 2, the text was changed to include Pixar.
01:34Strangely, though, this copyright stamp isn't actually included in legit retail versions
01:39of the Buzz Lightyear doll.
01:40Not sure why, seems like they missed a trick there.
01:4318.
01:44Mickey Mouse's cameo
01:45A ton of Disney films, unsurprisingly, contain little references to their beloved mascot,
01:50Mickey Mouse.
01:51But did you know that Toy Story's one of them?
01:53In Andy's bedroom, near the start of the movie, shortly after Buzz lands and we get
01:57a nice wide shot of the room, on the right-hand side of the screen, a large, watch-shaped
02:01Disney clock is seen hanging on the wall.
02:04On closer inspection, the watch contains an image of Mickey Mouse, whose arms serve as
02:08the clock's hands.
02:09And better still, this design is actually used in real Mickey Mouse watches.
02:13And trust me, there's no better piece of decor than a novelty clock.
02:1717.
02:18Everyone blinks one eye at a time
02:21So here's something that's actually really subtle, but you will start to notice if you've
02:24seen the movie enough times.
02:26You'll see that all the toy characters actually blink one eye at a time.
02:30Once you start noticing it, you won't be able to stop.
02:33You'll have all your attention drawn to the fact that one eyelid just moves slightly faster
02:37than the other one.
02:38In the animation world, this is called offset blinking, and it's typically a trick employed
02:42to depict a character who isn't so intelligent.
02:45But in the case of Toy Story, it's been suggested that this may have been a technique to subconsciously
02:50remind the audience that the characters are still toys.
02:53If you don't believe me, slow the film down and it becomes unmissable.
02:5616.
02:57Virtual Realty Real Estate
03:00As we know, Andy and his mother are of course preparing to move throughout the course of
03:03the film.
03:04So when we go outside and we see a for sale sign, you may have noticed that it accredits
03:08the estate agent that they're using as virtual realty.
03:11You might think that's a rather odd name for a realty firm, but then again, your next
03:15thought probably on noticing that that's the name would be that it's clearly a reference
03:19to the fact that Toy Story is the first computer animated movie and the first major sustained
03:24digital representation of real life to be put on the big screen.
03:27This one is so easy to spot if you're paying attention, but so many of us kind of drift
03:31out and stop paying attention whilst watching movies, so this could have passed you by all
03:35these years.
03:3615.
03:37Sid's house has the carpet from The Shining
03:40Pixar have made it really clear over the years that their filmmakers have a love for Stanley
03:44Kubrick, in particular for his film The Shining.
03:47This is evidenced no better than in Toy Story, where the carpet in Sid's house is very clearly
03:51styled on that of the Overlook Hotel's own iconic carpet design.
03:56We get a prolonged look at it when Woody attempts to rescue Buzz from Sid's house, effectively
04:00confirming just how completely deranged Sid is.
04:04Keeping on the theme of Kubrick and Toy Story, the number 237 also appears several times
04:08in Toy Story 3, in reference to the hotel's infamously cursed room number 237.
04:1314.
04:14There's early Woody concept art on Andy's bedroom wall.
04:18The Mickey Mouse clock was not the only easter egg they put up on Andy's wall, though this
04:22one arguably is harder to notice.
04:25When Woody and Slinky Dog are on Andy's bed shortly after Buzz's arrival, you'll notice
04:29in the background that there's a framed, sketched drawing on the wall, which actually
04:33happens to be genuine early Woody concept art.
04:36Woody and Buzz both went through prolonged redesigns during production, and it's just
04:40as well given that a number of the proposed designs were, well, a little too creepy for
04:45their own good.
04:46And if you can believe it, there was actually a ventriloquist-style version of Woody.
04:50That would have made for a very different movie.
04:5213.
04:53The dark Marie Antoinette joke.
04:55Here's a hilarious and slightly grim gag that you'll kick yourself for not getting over
05:00the years.
05:01When Buzz has his psychotic break and adopts his new tea-sipping moniker, Mrs. Nesbitt,
05:05he tells Woody, one minute you're defending the whole galaxy, and suddenly you find yourself
05:09sucking down Darjeeling with Marie Antoinette and her little sister.
05:12Given that Buzz is having tea with one of Sid's sister's dolls, which has had its head
05:15removed by Sid, this is evidently a nod to the fact that the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette,
05:20was executed by beheading.
05:22With dolls, though, it's a little less gruesome when you behead them.
05:24You can kind of get away with it for a children's film.
05:2712.
05:28All the animation shortcuts.
05:30In addition to Andy's copy-and-paste clone friends, there are also a number of other
05:33shortcuts employed to make the production the quickest and most efficient it could be.
05:38Most prominently, none of the movie's human characters have long, flowing hair.
05:42And this is because Pixar was still wrestling with the complex mechanics of hair physics
05:46at the time.
05:47This is the reason that Andy's mother has her hair tied up in a ponytail, and Sid's
05:51sister Hannah has a short, solid bob, all just to save the animators having to figure
05:55out a volumetric model for it.
05:57There are other time-savers, like we don't see combat cars' explosive deaths because
06:01Pixar considered animating an explosion, and then decided it was too taxing.
06:05And another one is that there's no milk droplets when Woody dunks his burning head
06:08into Sid's bowl of cereal, and this is once again for the same reason.
06:12Projectiles, man, they're just difficult.
06:1411.
06:15Buzz's Wilhelm scream.
06:17Once upon a time, the Wilhelm scream was a sneaky little easter egg for sound engineers
06:21to include in their films.
06:23But the distinctive scream sound effect is so distinctive and ubiquitous these days that
06:27its inclusion often proves more distracting and groan-worthy than funny.
06:31You'd usually think of it as appearing in horror movies or action movies or something
06:36along those lines, but actually, there is one in Toy Story.
06:39The Toy Story Wilhelm scream happens during one of the film's most pivotal moments,
06:44when Buzz is knocked out of Andy's window, courtesy of Woody.
06:47The sound mix is busy enough that it's easily missed, especially if you're not watching
06:51the film on a quality sound setup.
06:53Though, once you do notice it, you'll likely never miss it again, for the real premium
06:57experience, make sure to listen in 3D surround sound, can you imagine?
07:0110.
07:02Penn Jillette narrates the Buzz Lightyear commercial.
07:05Who can forget the incredible moment when Buzz finally comes to terms with the fact
07:09that he's actually a toy?
07:10Buzz sees a TV commercial for himself, which makes it abundantly clear he's not a real
07:15boy.
07:16The hilariously over-the-top parody of toy commercials also includes a surprise celebrity
07:20cameo, with the wacky narration being provided by none other than the legendary magician,
07:25Penn Jillette.
07:26In a recent interview, Jillette claims that he was one of the first, if not the first,
07:30people to be cast.
07:31He can't have been that invested and excited about the project, though, because at this
07:34point he also thought the movie's name was Toy Store.
07:38Close enough.
07:399.
07:40That Home Improvement Easter Egg.
07:42Sid's bedroom is full of tools that he uses to create his Frankenstein-esque toy combinations,
07:48and eagle-eyed viewers might notice that his toolbox is of the Binford brand.
07:52This might seem like a totally random, whatever, made-up name, but it's actually a reference
07:57to Tim Allen's hit sitcom Home Improvement, where Binford Tools was the sponsor for Tool
08:01Time, a TV show hosted by Allen's protagonist, Tim Taylor.
08:05To place a cherry on top of that subtle nod, the logo is even exactly the same as it is
08:09on the show.
08:10Nice.
08:118.
08:12The Three-Eyed Aliens Are Pizza Planet Branded.
08:16Who could ever forget the movie's iconic three-eyed aliens?
08:19The high-pitched, adorable creatures are first encountered inside Pizza Planet's giant
08:24prize machine, though you might have missed an extremely obvious detail about their design.
08:28Though at the cursory glance, their costume is nothing more than a generic, space-faring
08:33suit, the emblem on the left side is actually the Pizza Planet logo itself, with a ring
08:37circling what looks like a planetary body but is actually a pizza, toppings and all.
08:41It's kind of meaningless in the scale of things, I mean, all it does is tell us that actually,
08:45there was thought behind these toys, these are branded toys, not the generic type that
08:49just get thrown into the machine.
08:51It makes them extra special.
08:537.
08:54Sid is Probably a Military Brat.
08:56We know that Sid is a deeply troubled boy, but there are several suggestions that he
09:00might also be a military brat, and has received some undue influence from his mother or father's
09:05time in the service.
09:07For starters, when would he hide in the milk crate in Sid's room?
09:10Inside it is a manual called TM-31-210, Improvised Interrogation Techniques, which we can safely
09:16assume Sid has studied extensively, given that we see him both interrogating and torturing
09:21toys throughout the film.
09:22When I think about it now, maybe this movie was darker than I gave it credit for.
09:27The other big indication that Sid is being raised in a military household is the fact
09:30that his dog is named Scud, most likely a reference to the Scud missiles which were
09:34famously used by Iraq during the Gulf War.
09:37Given that Toy Story was released just a few years after the Gulf War ended, it's not completely
09:42crazy to assume that the characters of his parents may have served.
09:46The Origins of To Infinity and Beyond
09:49No single line of dialogue is more iconic in the Toy Story franchise than Buzz Lightyear's
09:54infamous quip, To Infinity and Beyond.
09:57The quote actually originates from Pixar's favourite filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick, namely
10:01his sci-fi masterpiece 2001 A Space Odyssey.
10:05The film's delirious final sequence is introduced with the title Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite,
10:10which evidently served as the influence for what's become one of the most popular movie
10:14quotes of the last 25 years.
10:16Sidebar, do you think Kubrick ever actually got to see Toy Story before he died, and if
10:20so, what do you think he made of it?
10:225.
10:23How Woody Knows Morse Code
10:24In Sid's room, Woody and Buzz meet the various toys that Sid has tortured and mutilated,
10:29including Baby Face, who's comprised of a doll's head, presumably belonging to Sid's
10:33sister at one point, that's been attached to a spider-like metal body.
10:36At one point, Baby Face taps a message to the other toys, who then emerge and gather
10:41around Woody.
10:42But how would Woody, a cowboy toy, have any idea what was going on?
10:46Well, actually, there's a perfect bit of foreshadowing earlier in the film, where if
10:49you are eagle-eyed enough, you may have been able to put two and two together.
10:53In Andy's room, if you're paying attention, you may see a poster in the background.
10:57The poster in question is a Buzz Lightyear-branded Morse Code alphabet.
11:01If you're spending all day every day inside that bedroom without anything to do, I guess
11:05it's fairly reasonable to assume you would teach yourself Morse Code.
11:084.
11:09Julia McBarfle Has Cooties
11:11This is very difficult to spot on earlier home video releases, but it gets much easier
11:15to see on the Blu-ray and recently the 4K UHD edition.
11:19If you look closely, the bag which Sid uses to bring Woody, Buzz and the aliens home from
11:23Pizza Planet has a scrawling on the side which reads,
11:26Julia McBarfle Has Cooties.
11:28This is a reference to Julie M. McDonald, who worked on the film as a camera and editorial
11:33manager, and who asked the animators to include a reference to her somewhere in the film.
11:38Maybe she was thinking of, like, a cute homage in some way, I don't know, like having an
11:41animated her in the background, maybe a bit of art on a wall, maybe this isn't exactly
11:47what she had in mind, but you know, we'll take what we can get.
11:503.
11:51One of Sid's Creations Is Literally A Hooker
11:54Once again, this is a kid's movie, so there's only so much you can do in the way of dirty
11:59or off-colour jokes, so this, this is really sneaky.
12:03Sid's collection of mutant toys sure are fascinating, but one of the designs also serves
12:08as by far the movie's dirtiest and maybe cleverest joke.
12:12One of the mutants is referred to as Legs by Woody, comprised of a pair of doll legs
12:16attached to a fishing rod.
12:18However, Sharp fans eventually realised that Legs was, in the most literal and figurative
12:23sense, a hooker.
12:25Between her suggestive, scantily-clad lower body and her literal hook for an upper body,
12:30the components are all there, we just had to put the equation together.
12:33Say what you want about Sid, but clearly that kid had some kind of slightly smart, very
12:38twisted creativity.
12:392.
12:40Ham Cheated At Battleship
12:42About midway through the film, we see Ham and Mr Potato Head playing Battleship, but
12:47if you pay attention, you'll notice that something is amiss.
12:50We can see that Mr Potato Head's side of the board is almost entirely filled with misspins,
12:55and that's because Ham has been blatantly cheating by not declaring any of his ships
13:00as hit.
13:01Of course, it's ridiculous that Mr Potato Head wouldn't realise this, which is probably
13:04why Ham is even playing against him in the first place.
13:07Ever the villain he was, that Dr Porkchop.
13:091.
13:10Molly Is Listening To Hakuna Matata
13:13In the film's urgent final chase sequence, we catch a brief glimpse of Andy's mum and
13:17sister in the car.
13:19His sister appears to be happily singing along to a song as she watches Woody and Buzz trying
13:23to catch up.
13:25What song is that, you may ask?
13:26Well, it's Hakuna Matata from The Lion King.
13:29This one's harder to spot than you might think, because the sound is rather low down
13:32in the mix, and it's only featured for just a few short seconds.
13:36It may be just as well, because anything more would distract the audience from Woody and
13:40Buzz's frantic race to reach the car, but by any measure, it's still a subtle and very
13:44nice little added detail.
13:46And with that, we've reached the end of this list of 20 Things You Somehow Missed In Toy
13:50Story.
13:51If you've got any more other little easter eggs and details that you would have put on
13:54this list, then let us know in the comments down below.
13:57And remember to check out WhatCulture.com for more lists and articles like this every
14:01single day.
14:02As always, I've been Amy from WhatCulture, and I'll catch you next time.