7 Disney Movies That Were Accused Of Stealing Ideas

6. The Christmas Toy - Toy Story

The idea that toys come to life when the children aren't around was nothing new with Toy Story, but it's not just a similar base idea that has The Christmas Toy sometimes said to be the inspiration for Pixar's debut feature.

A Christmas special from Muppets creator Jim Henson, The Christmas Toy is a zany adventure that takes us to a playroom where toys live a secret life when human's aren't around. You have a protagonist who is desperate to retain their position as the favourite toy and will go to extreme measures to do so, while a new space themed figure arrives not realising they're actually a child's play-thing. Damn it Pixar, not you too.

It's there the similarities end; if a toy is found by a human not in the position they last left them then they lose their life force. Not only is that pretty dark, it leads to a rather convoluted plot.

Was it plagiarism? If you were going to make a story about toys, new ones and favourites would be an immediate thing to go for. As Toy Story first started life as an expansion of their earlier short Tin Toy it seems like to separate ideas ended up in similar places.