25th Anniversary of Toy Story: The Beginning of Toy Story Figures & Toys (Complete History)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: In 1995, Toy Story took elements of real life action figures and toys that already existed and answered the question: what would happen if they became alive? You know, I'm sure I don't have to summarize Toy Story for you. Unless you're a space ranger protecting the galaxy from Emperor Zurg, you've probably had some encounter with these toys. But where did the toys of Toy Story begin? What figures were available when the original film was reaching viewers for the first time? With the 25th anniversary of Toy Story's theatrical release, let's answer these questions and more as we look back at the beginning of Toy Story toys and figures. Thinkway Toys, a small company based out of Toronto, was granted the license to produce Pixar's Toy Story in 1995, before the film would make its debut. Why? Because other companies like Mattel and Hasbro didn't want to take the risk. In what seemed like a strategic move, the film's theatrical release and Thinkway's toys would come out right before Thanksgiving, in time to become the hot item for the holiday season. It only took five months from the time the license was signed, to the time the toys were shipped to retailers, which was very unusual for the toy industry. Thinkway would have an enormous amount of products prepared, a risk that really paid off in retrospect. With the grand kickoff at retail, the first, and now iconic large toys of Woody with a pullstring, and Buzz Lightyear were produced, with talking features. Also at launch were a variety of other toys and products. A bucket of soldiers, collectible minifigures, spendable minifigures, the first five-inch assortment, and much, much more. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money. And Thinkway taught kids this lesson with their Buzz and Ham Savings Banks. Imagine walking into the lunchroom cafeteria with this mug that you colored all by yourself. The first action figure assortment included Ham, Rex, and two versions of Buzz Lightyear, and Woody. This figure had an offer for the strategy guide of the Toy Story video game. No, not the game, just the guide. By the way, the game? An all-time classic. There were two minifigure assortments. The collectible assortment has these four, but the bendable assortment didn't include Ham. Both the collectible minis and bendables would have their own box sets, which were labeled as gift sets. The second edition of the large 12-inch Buzz figure would start appearing on shelves at the beginning of 1996. The only noticeable difference is the packaging. Thinkway's Toy Story figures were tremendously popular, selling out in most stores by early December 1995. The small toy maker just couldn't keep up with demand. Parents scrambled to find the characters for their kids prior to Christmas. Burger King was surprisingly the next best option. "Any sign of them yet?" "Nope." "Execute." "Move, move, move!" "Where are they?" "Well, I'm sure they're on their way." "Don't worry, they'll make it." Manufactured were 35 million toys, set to go out to restaurants from mid-November to the end of December. The popularity of the toys would catch most restaurants by surprise. Selling out of the kids' meal toys two weeks into the month-and-a-half long promotion. In 1996, the second run of Burger King kids' meal toys reached the same fanfare, thanks to the release of Toy Story on home video. Many Burger Kings would sell out of these toys, too. This time, notable inclusions are Lenny the Binoculars, who hadn't had a toy up to that point. Also, Sid's dog, but I think I'll use mine for my collection, since it's more to scale. After what was a very successful holiday season, more of Thinkway's Toy Story figures would be shown to retailers and journalists at Toy Fair 1996 in February. They would all be available shortly after. A 12-inch tall poseable Bo Peep with sheep. 12-inch talking alien. "The claw is my master. I have been chosen." 18-inch talking wrecks. "I don't like confrontations. I get so nervous." RC cars. A deluxe spaceship. And the second wave of the 5-inch action figures were available in 1996. A chrome-colored Buzz Lightyear would be shipped to retailers on its own before the second wave. Its name would be changed to Solar Buzz when included with the rest of the figures. The second action figure assortment would be shipped in two different cases. One case included Infrared Buzz, Solar Buzz, Knock Down Woody, and Sid's Babyface. The other case of figures included Supersonic Buzz, Boxer Buzz, Fighter Woody, and the Alien. The Woody and Buzz figures can actually fit inside the Deluxe Spaceship. "Look, Box! There's an Alien!" "This is an intergalactic emergency. Buzz Lightyear, to the rescue!" Another gift set would be offered at these Ford, this time as 5-inch figures. A handful of versions of the RC car would be released. Without figures. With a corded remote. Also available was a much smaller, more budget-friendly die-cast set of Woody and Buzz on the back of the RC car. While Thinkway would have the license for Toy Story, they wouldn't have the rights to produce characters already owned or licensed by other toy companies. Characters like Mr. Potato Head and Slinky Dog. The owners of Slinky Dog wouldn't have this out in time for the Holiday Hysteria in 1995. Showing up on shelves sometime in January 1996, after manufacturing Lowe's. A middle-sized Slinky Dog would accompany the larger one, not long after. Finally, Basic Fun would offer a smaller Slinky Dog, but as a keychain, completing the Slinky Dog Trio. A Mr. Potato Head toy with removable parts was on the shelves, showing his Toy Story likeness on the box. But I think his eyebrow hairs must have grown while sitting in the box for 25 years. Just kidding, it shows this version of Potato Head on the other side of the box. A talking Potato Head would be out in early 1996 with better likeness to the movie. In 1997, Thinkway's offerings would be mostly limited to what had already been released. Along the way would be re-releases of Thinkway's larger Buzz and Woody Toys. The third edition of Buzz would be released in chrome colors. Poseable Woody with upholstering would be replaced by Woody with slightly different packaging. And another with a push talking feature instead of upholstering. At Toy Fair 1998, it was announced that Mattel had acquired the license to produce Toy Story figures, though they had turned down the opportunity only two years earlier. Thinkway wouldn't present new characters after this point, but an assortment of Buzz Lightyears with the tagline "Universe Protection Unit" would make it to retail. Stealth Buzz, Platinum Buzz and Interstellar Buzz were included. A 12" Buzz with the same tagline would be released too. These light-up mini-buddies and four previously released figures were repackaged as a box set before Mattel's takeover. As we wrap up, maybe you're thinking about collecting some of these from your past. Or you just think they're cool now. Here's some notes for you while you're collecting. If you see anything called Toy Story Signature Collection or Toy Story and Beyond, it likely came out after the first couple years of Toy Story merchandise. Don't be afraid to mix and match your collection. The bendables, collectible minifigures, Junior Slinky Dog, and Burger King toys all work well together. Most collectors don't consider Thinkway when they reflect on larger toy companies from the 1990s. But maybe they should, on account of how quickly they got together this ragtag group of characters out in time for the film's release. Though Mattel carried the license for Toy Story for about a couple decades going forward, Thinkway would still release the larger deluxe figures of Buzz and Woody for a few more years. Some even as Disney Store and Theme Park exclusives. Recently, they got back in the game with the release of some Toy Story 4 action figures. Now in a world of seemingly endless Toy Story figures, hopefully we've shed a little light on the toys that began the story. Happy 25th anniversary, guys. Were you scared? Tell me honestly. Hey, that's all for this one. Thanks for watching. You can support us by checking out figurecollections.com. Grab a deal from us on eBay. And subscribing for more of your favorite action figure history.