12 Things You Didn't Know About Pixar
8. Toy Story Was Almost Cancelled Because Disney Didn't Like Woody
It might be hard to believe, but Toy Story was a very different film when it was first conceived. It's tough to imagine Woody and Buzz being anybody but their immensely charming and likeable selves, but in the words of screenwriter Joss Whedon: “the original Woody was a thundering !*$%.”
In 1993, Pixar brought the Toy Story project to their bosses at Disney, including a story reel that consisted of loosely animated storyboards with music and voice acting. But the project was not received well at all, with the bosses at Disney criticising the lack of chemistry between Woody and Buzz and how unlikeable they were as characters.
You've only to look at some of the old storyboards to see the contrast in Woody: in many of the images he's frowning or grumpy, in one he forces Slinky to grovel at his boot. In another he actually throws Buzz from the window rather than Buzz being knocked out. It's truly bizarre stuff.