The whole trip to Pixar was like a dream come true. As a lifelong fan, it never ceases to amaze me seeing behind the scenes where the magic happens. Not only did I get a chance to see where the animation takes place but I also got to take a look inside the Pixar archives. I learned some interesting, fun facts about Toy Story and Pixar while I was there!
Related: Touring the Pixar Animation Campus
5 Fun Facts I Learned While Inside The Pixar Archives
Walking through the archives I was in awe of all the materials found there. It houses all the art & story materials, recording sessions, animated thumbnails, printouts, and all handmade items. Also any exhibits Pixar displays around the country will come to live here when they are retired.
Related: Inside The Walt Disney Archives
What is inside The Pixar Archives?
The handmade items found here include digiheads, characters made of clay, miniature sets, and props like the famous Pete Doctor’s shoes attached to a board. Or as you might know it, The Green Army Men feet. There are also relics from before Pixar was Pixar.
Juliet Roth (Senior Historian) ©2019 Disney/Pixar
What is a digihead?
A digihead is a maquette, or clay sculpture, of the character. The animators at Pixar will draw lines on them to scan into the computers in order to facilitate the animation. I got to see the original Woody and Bo Peep maquettes.
©2019 Disney/Pixar
How did Pixar get started?
Before Pixar was making us cry over toys, cars, and fish, Pixar got its start by making software and hardware. They even made a few commercials before jumping into movies. A few Pixar commercials include Tropicana, Trident, and Listerine.
Before Toy Story there was Tin Toy
Tin Toy, the third animated short by Pixar was the precursor to Toy Story. Pixar originally planned to make Tin Toy Christmas special but Disney challenged them to make a full length feature film. Toy Story was born.
Fun fact: A lot of the characters made for the unmade Tin Toy special found new life in the Toy Story sequels. From Lotso The Bear to Mr. Pricklepants, these former sketches finally had their moment on the screen.
©2019 Disney/Pixar
What Was Toy Story Almost Called?
Of course we think Toy Story is the most perfect name ever. But it wasn’t the only contender during the film making process. So what was Toy Story almost called? Check out these other title ideas for Toy Story.
- Spurs and Rockets
- Each Sold Separately
- I’m No Dummy
- Heroes and Hasbeens
- Hand Me Down Hero/Heroes
- Toys In The Hood
- The Cowboy and The Spaceman
- Some Assembly Required
Not going to lie, Toys In The Hood might have gotten my vote! Classic 90s title right there. Seriously though, I try to imagine any of these names in place of Toy Story and I can’t. Can you?
©2019 Disney/Pixar
I learned so much during my time at Pixar. If you want to see more behind the scenes at Pixar Animation read Meet Forky from Toy Story 4 and Bo Peep is Back! You can also get a look at how these characters were brought to life for the new film.
The Toy Story 4 art gallery, as seen on March 18, 2019 at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)
See the Toy Story 4 crew when they come to theaters June 21, 2019! Tickets are on sale now!
Keep up with your favorite toys on Facebook | Twitter #ToyStory4 | Instagram | YouTube
This is the coolest! I would love to see this one day. I’ve always been a fan of Pixar films. I cannot wait for Toy Story 4.
Okay THIS would be a DREAMMM experience for me! I saw Toy Story last week and all I could think about was how AMAZING the animation was and how I wanted to know exactly how they do it!
Toys in the Hood? How awesome would that have been? There are some really cool things in the Pixar archives!
What a fantastic thing to get to do! I would love to take a peek inside Pixar! I love their movies, their characters & I cannot wait to see the newest Toy Story with my grandkids.
I bet this is an amazing place to get to look around and what some facts you found out. Those clay heads are incredible as well!
That must have been such a cool experience. I would love to go there someday.
That sounds like such a cool experience. I would love to visit that place one day. Seeing stuff behind the scenes is always fun.
This sounds like a really amazing time. A lot of these things I’ve never knew as well.
Cannot wait for Toy Story 4! It looks like you really had fun!
Tin story, that’s pretty interesting. They made the right choice with a name based on the other options.
I’m looking forward to taking my twins to the theatre and seeing this. We love the whole series and Inside the Pixar looks like it was pretty cool too! I love the framed pics.
These are all interesting! It must have been nice to visit and learn a lot of these!
It was so curious to know more about Tin Toy. It’s so cool! Thanks for sharing this with us!
Sounds like fun! Looks like you learned a lot there too. I would have loved to see the inside of Pixar. Must have been amazing!
It’s so much fun and interesting when you know the history behind the company. I also didn’t know these things about Pixar before. The name contenders of Toy Story sound funny.
This looks like a great movie! I cant wait until the movie comes out. Me and my friends will totally go watch it, so exited.
There is so much creativity behind Pixar. They do great work. Fascinating about the Digiheads! Thanks for sharing this with us!