HIDDEN JOKES, TIDBITS, AND REFERENCES TO OTHER FILMS IN TOY STORY 2
- The opening sequence (which was originally intended to be a 2-dimensional TV cartoon segment for the first Toy Story) is not only an amazing demo scene for home theaters with its eye-popping animation and amazing use of surround sound, but it also contains a barrage of references to other films. In the Buzz/Zurg sequence, there are homages to 2001: A Space Odyssey (theme melody when Buzz steps; robot with the eye of HAL), Star Wars (light-saber sound effects of Zurg's lifesource), and Superman (3-D flying titles).
- In the opening shot of the stars, you can see a constellation in the shape of Luxo Jr., the lamp made famous in Pixar's first short Luxo Jr. (1986). The Oscar-nominated short which showcases the hopping lamp in Pixar's logo was shown in theaters before Toy Story 2.
- Zurg's Planet in the opening sequence is really the dry riverbed from Pixar's 1998 film A Bug's Life, slightly modified to look like an alien planet. The effect of rocks suspended in the air was originally an error by Pixar animators resulting from re-scaling of the Bug's Life set. The filmmakers thought the error looked so cool that they included it in the film.
- The book Mrs. Potato Head reads to the Tikes near the beginning of the film is A Bug's Life.
- When the toys make their way through the bushes before they cross the street, you can see Heimlich, the caterpillar from A Bug's Life briefly walking across a branch. Later in the outtakes from the same scene, Flik talks to Heimlich about the sequel he thinks they are making: A Bug's Life 2. In the outtakes to A Bug's Life, Woody appears.
- Disney owned full rights to the first Toy Story (which is why only the computer-animated Disney logo is seen at the beginning of Toy Story). Before A Bug's Life, Disney and Pixar struck an agreement where they shared the title. Therefore, Toy Story 2 is a Disney/Pixar film, not just a Disney film. The change can be seen on Buzz's rear end which now reads "(c) Disney/Pixar" instead of the "(c) Disney" it had in the first movie.
- When Hamm is rapidly flipping through the television channels, bits and pieces from Pixar's previous shorts are seen, including Luxo Jr., Tin Toy, Knicknack, Red's Dream and Geri's Game.
- The creators of Toy Story 2 toyed with the idea of having Randy Newman sing a song for the opening Andy's Room sequence, similar to the use of "You've Got a Friend in Me" in Toy Story. Ultimately, the idea was ditched since the filmmakers decided that the audience was already familiar with the characters from the first film, so all that was needed was one characteristic opening line from each of the toys.
- The Cleaner from Toy Story 2 is actually Geri, the character from Pixar's 1998 Oscar-winning short Geri's Game. In one of the toy cleaner's compartments you can see chess pieces, an obvious reference to the character's role in Geri's Game. Originally, the script called for Al to repair and restore Woody, but the filmmakers decided that Al's character would not be so skilled. Since it was so late in production and there was not enough time to create an entire new character, Pixar decided to just use Geri, who already had all his motions and design in the computer.
- Wheezy's speaking voice is provided by Pixar storyboard artist/writer Joe Ranft (who also did the voice of Heimlich in A Bug's Life). His singing voice is Robert Goulet. Jessie's speaking voice is Joan Cusack, while her singing voice is Sarah McLachlan.
- At the airport, an announcement is made for "Lasset Air Flight 413". The two references are to director John Lasseter and the number of a legendary course at Calfornia University of Arts (alma mater to a number of Pixar staff members).
- The car the toys drive around is the Pizza Planet deliver vehicle from the first Toy Story and seen briefly in A Bug's Life.
- The tree shown during Jessie's Song sequence is from A Bug's Life.
- Tour Guide Barbie (voiced by The Little Mermaid herself, Jodi Benson) says a number of lines frequently heard at Disney World. Her line about "Back in 1995, short-sighted retailers failed to order enough product to meet demand" regarding Buzz Lightyear action figures is funny, because it's true.
- The Barbie dolls dance moves resemble those of Ann Margaret in the film Viva Las Vegas.
- Toy Story 2 began production in early 1997. Originally intended to be a direct-to-video release, Disney saw some early demonstration reels and decided that the movie was good enough to be a full-fledged theatrical production. The movie was extended in length from 75 to 90 minutes and new characters (Wheezy, Buster the dog) were animated.
- On Andy's wall hangs a watch-shaped clock of Mickey Mouse.
- Since the first movie, some things have changed. Andy has settled into his new house (the wallpaper in his room has changed from the white clouds on blue to the yellow stars on blue). He now has a room of his own (Molly has grown and gotten a room to herself) and he even has a TV in his room with a video game system. These renovations have been welcomed by the toys who make use of the TV.
- The shirt that Andy wears at the beginning of Toy Story 2 depicts his cowboy camp logo, named "Triple-R Ranch". The Triple-R Ranch was a segment on the original Mickey Mouse Club show from the '50s.
- The scene of the toys crossing the city street originally took place in the suburbs on a highway. That's because Al's Toy Barn was originally located in the suburbs. The location was changed to across the street from Al's penthouse apartment to make things easier, hence the change in the street-crossing scene.
- Woody originally became part of the yard sale as the result of an out of control Godzilla sequence the toys had choreographed involving Rex as a destructive monster. The filmmakers thought it was too coincidental, and were glad to change the scene once Wheezy became part of the film.
- A number of items in the yard sale are from other Pixar movies, including the flea collar from the circus in A Bug's Life and the desk from Sid's room in Toy Story.
- Woody's nightmare sequence in Toy Story 2 was originally thought of for the first Toy Story.
- The calendar in Andy's room features a scene from A Bug's Life.
- The toy car that Jessie rides through the loop in the end is a model of her owner Emily's car, as seen in the Jessie's song sequence.
- Randy Newman's "When She Loved Me" was nominated for the Oscar for Best Song, but lost. This is the third time (all for Disney/Pixar films) that Newman has been nominated for the Best Song Oscar but lost. ("You've Got a Friend in Me", Toy Story; "The Time of Your Life", A Bug's Life)
- In Al's apartment, there is an abstract painting of the characters from A Bug's Life. However, the way they are rendered, they are nearly impossible to see without a freeze-frame button.
- There is a scene in Al's Toy Barn in which we see through the side mirror Rex approaching the car the toys ride in. This is an homage to the famous scene from Jurassic Park.
- One of the Rock'em Sock'em Robots in Al's office has a portion of his ear missing, in reference to the infamous 1997 Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield fight. We don't see the partially-missing ear though, since we never see the toy's other side.
- According to "The Essential Guide to Toy Story" 13 episodes of "Woody's Roundup" aired.
- The issue of Life magazine with Woody on the cover is dated January 12, 1957...the birthdate of Toy Story 2 director John Lasseter.
- In Al's Toy Barn, there are a number of original made-up toys that are not clearly seen. There are also several toys to A Bug's Life.
- The sound effect used when Buzz tries to take Zurg's life source in the opening sequence should sound familiar to Star Wars fans: it is the lightsaber sound. Gary Rydstrom (sound mixer of all three Pixar films) also worked on the Star Wars movies with LucasFilm.
- When Al is in the elevator at his apartment, Randy Newman's Suite to A Bug's Life can be heard, modified to sound like elevator music.
- Four of Toy Story 2's new characters were mentioned but not shown in the first Toy Story: Zurg, Al (from Al's Toy Barn), Mrs. Potato Head, and Andy's new dog Buster.
- The scene in which Woody falls off Bullseye and an embarrassed Bullseye covers himself was originally created for animation tests for the Bullseye character. Director John Lasseter liked the test so much he included it in the film.
- At Al's Toy Barn, when Buzz is looking to get a new utility belt from the next-generation Buzz, the shot of Andy's Buzz looking up at the other Buzz directly resembles the shot in Toy Story when Woody looks up at Andy's bed and sees Buzz standing tall. (submitted by Matt on November 19, 2000)
- Before crossing the street, Slinky says "I may not be a smart dog, but I know what roadkill is." Slinky's quote parallels a line from Forrest Gump in which Tom Hanks' title character utters "I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is." (submitted by Brian on December 8, 2000)
- At the airport, when the toys make their way through the cargo conveyers, they are shocked to see how many packages there are (and how many look alike). Keep an eye on Mr. Potato Head's reaction to see just how shocked he is. (submitted by Mike on December 28, 2000)
- This mighty obscure tidbit just goes to show how detailed Pixar can be when creating movies. On disc three of the big, fat, expensive Ultimate Toy Box DVD set, you will find graphics for the various fake toy packages at Al's Toy Barn. Serious Putty and French Impressionist Action Figures are choice material. On some of these packages, you will find bar codes. One might expect Pixar to just make these things up, but they are REAL! All of the packages have the same number, but still... UPC-A codes have three parts. Six digits of company code (every company gets their own unique six-digit number), five digits of product code (each product the company makes gets its own product code), and a check number so that the bar code scanner can verify that the code is valid. That's twelve digits, and the codes on the toy packages only have 11. Fortunately, pretty much every bar code starts with zero, so I added it on, and found that the company code (054682) resolves to Toy Island Manufacturing Company. A big faceless (and likely evil) corporation which may be behind Kay Bee. Not a lot of info available on them. Now if only someone could find out what that product code (30100) is for...(submitted by Stomp on December 31, 2000)