5. Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story)
I
love Toy Story, so this isn't exactly one that I wanted to admit, but the film isn't quite as original as most of us believe. A 1986 Jim Henson TV special called The Christmas Toy deals with a similar plot, revolving around toys that come to life and are worried about what their future holds. While it's believable that two studios could come up with that broad enough idea independently, it's when we start examining the characters that things get worrying. We all know and love Buzz Lightyear as the egomaniacal space ranger who doesn't believe that he's a toy and thinks that he's an actual space-man. Well, The Christmas Toy
also has a character from outer space who believes the exact same thing - the only major difference is that he is a she, and is called Meteora, Queen of the Asteroids instead. Like so many on this list, Pixar are just lucky that they severely improved the source material; The Christmas Toy is confined to a few dusty VHS tapes in people's basements, while Toy Story is one of the greatest movie franchises of all time.