“30 Years of Toy Story”: Panel at D23: The ultimate Disney fan event tells stories from the popular film

ANAHEIM, California – Can you believe it’s been 30 years since the first Toy Story came out? On Friday, a panel discussion was held at D23 in Anaheim, California to celebrate this beloved film and tell the story of how it all came together.

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The panel included Katherine Sarafian, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, Bonnie Arnold, Bob Pauley and Jonas Rivera.

Pauley described Pixar in the 1990s, when the film was made, as a “fighting startup.”

The technology they used was cutting edge, and Stanton described it as “building the plane while flying it.” Arnold echoed this sentiment, estimating that the groundbreaking films “Jurassic Park” and “Forrest Gump” each had about 200 special effects shots, while “Toy Story” had 16,000.

Docter pointed out a limitation of the technology: If you look closely at the scene where Woody sneaks into the restaurant under a cup, you’ll notice that all the guests in the restaurant are standing rooted to the spot, even though they should be moving.

During the panel, a picture of Woody’s pull-string lines was shown. Stanton revealed that Tom Hanks recorded himself saying them all, noting that the last three handwritten lines were thought up by the actor himself. “There’s a snake in my boots” was a crew favorite and became a widely quoted line.

Another famous and simple line, “I’m the one who should be strapped to that rocket,” which showed Woody’s insecurities, was born out of frustration. Stanton recounted that throughout production, the crew never talked about what the film was really about. They simply had an implicit understanding from shared experiences with a child jealous of a sibling or a popular person feeling insecure when a new person arrives. When it came time for the characters to address those feelings, no one knew what the lines should be. Stanton said he fell back on his belief that simplicity was best.

Towards the end, the panelists took a moment to remember four people who worked on the film and have since passed away: Ralph Eggleston, Joe Ranft, Bud Luckey and Glenn McQueen.

Arnold noted that each of her films needs a role model, and that was her four.

“Without her, this film would not exist,” she said.

As the final minutes drew to a close, panelists reflected on the past.

Sarafian shared that there were incredible female role models who helped shape her career, even if they weren’t mentioned or seen in pictures during the panel.

“There were a lot of great women behind the scenes,” she said.

He added of Rivera: “Toy Story means everything to me. (It is) the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”