Toy Story’s Original Woody Villain Plan (& Why It Changed)
Pixar’s original plan for Toy Story included making Woody the villain. Here’s what is know about his evil turn and why Disney changed it.
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Woody was initially meant to be the villain of Toy Story, so here’s what is known about Pixar’s original story and why they changed it. As the first 3D computer-animated movie, Toy Story’s place in animation history is clear. The film was a massive hit in 1995 and launched Pixar as the animated movie studio to watch moving forward. Thanks to the franchise’s ongoing success, Sheriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of Andy’s toys are still some of the more recognizable and beloved movie characters.
The Toy Story franchise centered its story around Woody from the very beginning. He was Andy’s favorite toy when the first movie began and became the leader of the other toys as a result. While Woody eventually becomes jealous of the attention Buzz receives, the two of them solve their differences by the end of the first Toy Story movie. This was the start of Buzz and Woody’s great friendship, but Toy Story 4’s surprising and emotional ending saw them go their separate ways. Woody came to realize that he could find purpose in the world even if he didn’t belong to a single child, while Buzz remained behind with Bonnie and the rest of the toys. It’s a satisfying arc for Woody that allows him to come full circle as a character, but Toy Story originally started his journey in a very different place.
At the beginning of Toy Story’s development, the plan was to make Woody the film’s villain. Early drafts and storyboards for the movie show Woody as an evil tyrant who rules over Andy’s other toys and takes on a much more antagonistic relationship with Buzz upon his arrival. This included Woody purposefully throwing Buzz out of Andy’s bedroom window so he wouldn’t be around anymore. Woody’s other evil acts aren’t entirely known, but this version of the cowboy toy repeatedly yells at Andy’s other toys, including Bo Peep and Slinky. He was also meant to be a ventriloquist doll instead of the stuffed cowboy figure, which made him creepier in his appearance.
Woody’s villain story for Toy Story was scrapped after an infamous meeting with Disney executives. The early version of the film is now known as the “Black Friday Reel” and received an overwhelmingly negative response when it was screened in November 1993. The villain Woody story was partially influenced by then-Disney Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg’s desire for the movie to be slightly more adult in tone. This led Disney executives to order production to be shut down for two weeks with the expectation that Toy Story would be canceled entirely. However, Pixar was instead given two weeks to fix the story, characters, and movie overall. They managed to do just that and were able to complete Toy Story.
The final version of Toy Story makes it difficult to imagine the film or its lead character being any other way. Ditching the Woody villain plan helped save the movie and Pixar as a studio. While they might have still been able to make A Bug’s Life and become one of the biggest animation studios in Hollywood, it is possible the hugely successful Toy Story franchise never would have happened. If it did, there’s no doubt that Woody’s story would be very different. Thankfully, Pixar made the necessary changes to Woody and created one of their best characters in the process.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/toy-story-woody-villain-original-pixar-plan-change/