Real Toys That Inspired Toy Story

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Using toys for Pixar's first feature film was actually a really smart move. Animation back then was a lot less detailed, so using things that we were used to seeing with minimal detail made sense. And when making the characters for Toy Story, the team at Pixar obviously drew inspiration from somewhere. So let's take a look at some of the main toys from Toy Story and see what their real-life counterparts are. The dog. Before we get to the dog part of the toy, we should probably cover the centerpiece that makes it who he is. In 1943, mechanical engineer Richard James was developing a device that would keep ship equipment steady at sea when he knocked over a spring by accident. This was when he noticed the spring fling itself down the stairs. And that's when he started a company called James Industries on a $500 loan. And they started selling Slinkies in 1945. And it was an instant hit. People of course started developing their own versions of the Slinky toy. But a toy inventor in 1952 named Helen Malsed was inspired by her six-year-old son, who made the very odd wish that his Slinky had wheels. And that's when Helen invented the Slinky pull toy. And out of some of those designs came the dog. A new subgenre, as the dog version of the Slinky became famous in its own right. And then decades later, when 1995 came around with Toy Story, I assume the filmmakers added him in to have a loyal companion character. As Slinky was one of the only people to side with Woody a lot in the first film. Even when everyone turned against him, Slinky was still there. [00:01:24] Speaker 2: We believe ya, Woody. [00:01:26] Speaker 1: John Pork. So Pork has the most interesting backstory. So apparently, 600 years ago, in the Middle Ages, in Europe, people would make these pig sculptures, back then called pigs, like this. And put things in them. And one of these miscellaneous items were spare change and coins. I assume it's a pig because in some cultures, the pig represents good fortune. So with that, it made its way to the States. And I guess kids would use it in the mid-20th century to collect their money for, I don't know, a Red Ryder or something? It made more sense in the 80s that they would save up for a Nintendo. In the original draft of the film, Ham was gonna be a stuffed toy. But other than that, he was basically the same. Barbie. The story behind this doll goes back to 1953. When a cartoon artist called Reinhard Bethune made a cartoon character called Build Lily. And this then-Germany company called Greener & Hosser made a doll of her in 1955. It was super successful in Germany, selling over 130,000 dolls. And then in 1959, Ruth Handler was inspired by Lily to make Barbie to sell in the States. And she named the doll after her daughter. She pitched it to Mattel, who was initially hesitant at the time. Until they saw the success of the Lily dolls, and bought the rights to the doll and began to sell Barbies. The doll was made with vinyl instead of plastic initially, and only sold for $3. These dolls today fetch for $25,000. And then the Ken doll would come out in 1961, named once again after Ruth Handler's son, and was once again a massive success. In only one year, they sold over 300,000 Kens. And apparently Barbie was supposed to show up in the first Toy Story movie. But Mattel didn't grant permission to Pixar because they weren't too sure how she would be portrayed in the first film. Which makes sense, as the Barbie brand is supposed to be an uplifting brand for little girls. And Mattel just didn't want for her to be portrayed in a different manner. Never mind. Potato. Brooklyn inventor George Lerner conceived a toy where you would put face parts onto a fruit or vegetable. After making them for a family member's nephew to play with. Eventually, George convinced a cereal company to sell the pieces in their cereal as prizes. In 1951, Hasbro noticed George's product, and they bought the rights to sell these sets, while also giving George a 5% royalty. The original set came with a styrofoam potato instead of a plastic one, but the instructions said you could use a potato as well. Then Hasbro would do something groundbreaking for the time. On April 30th of 1952, they produced the first advertisement aimed at children. [00:03:52] Speaker 2: Yep, this is what started it all. [00:04:00] Speaker 1: And here we are today. The ad was a hit. And Hasbro made over a million dollars. Mrs. Potato Head came to be in 1953. And then it became a whole family with accessories and all sorts of extra stuff. But in the 1960s, the government started putting regulations on these types of toys. The Potato Head sets had these sharp hearts on them. And I guess the government was afraid that kids would, like, swallow them and stuff. So they had to smooth out those connection pieces. And it became a lot more difficult to puncture real vegetables. So this is when, in 1964, Hasbro would just provide you with a plastic body instead of foam. And then the Potato Universe expanded with more foods being introduced. And then things were kind of chill for a bit. The toy was doing well. And then something hilarious happened in 1985. So, in Boys, Idaho, an election for the mayor was going on. And I guess some people didn't really like the candidate. So they voted for Mr. Potato Head. He did not end up winning. But he did make it into the Guinness Book of World Records for being a toy with the most votes. Fuck it. We should do it again. And then, in 1993-4, Pixar and Disney approached Hasbro to use Mr. Potato Head in their upcoming Toy Story film. And that's when Mr. Potato Head's fame was solidified. As most people probably still think of him in this form today. Bo Peep. Bo Peep is a porcelain doll. I don't know why Andy's mom let him play with this. Because these types of dolls are very old. They were made in the mid-1800s in Germany. And they became popular for their unique designs and collectability. You know, it's something that the old ladies would have lying around. You didn't really know how they got there. They just were there. No two really looked the same. And sometimes they were passed down from generation to generation. And out of all the toys, Bo Peep is probably the oldest and the most expensive toy of the bunch. Because there are some crazy collectors out there. Woody. Woody doesn't have a real brand behind him. Before Toy Story, he was really based off cowboy shows from the 50s like Cheyenne and Howdy Doody. Man, that thing is creepy. And cowboy dolls can be traced back all the way to the late 1800s. Most of them back then were homemade by kids. But by the early 1900s, companies started making their own to mass produce and sell. And then those 50s cowboy shows really began making the cowboy genre pop off. John Lasseter, one of the creators of Toy Story, also said, was inspired by his own childhood holstering toy. Which was Casper? Okay. Buzz. Buzz also doesn't have some sort of toy brand based off him either. Besides some TV shows sharing similarities to him like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. And I wouldn't say Star Wars has any influence on Buzz. Like this piece of work suggests. He's based off the space toys from the 60s that would replace cowboy toys of the 50s. One of the first astronaut figures I could find online was the major Matt Mason action figure by Mattel in 1966. Some have also pulled some similarities between the 1980s G.I. Joe Deep Six figure. But that's really about it. Product placement. So these are toys that appeared in the film that don't really have that much of a backstory that vetted their own slide. Anyhow, the Etcher Sketch was made in the 50s in France. It came to the United States in the 60s, originally using a glass screen. But that was changed 10 years later due to obvious safety concerns. And it was successful for a bit, but around the late 80s to early 90s, it began falling off. And then Toy Story came around to save it. Sketch was only in the film for 12 seconds. But those 12 seconds saved this brand. And sales were hitting record numbers. And then it was facing financial troubles again. But then Sketch came back in Toy Story 2. And it saved the company again. The boys in green. The figures were first being sold during World War II in 1938. Made by Baton. At first they were made out of metal. But after World War II, they switched to plastic and painted them green. To represent the uniform. Canonically in the film, there are over 200 of them. Sir Spell. This toy was made in 1978 by Texas Instruments. Yeah, that calculator company. The purpose of the toy was to help kids learn how to spell words by inputting them. And then it would speak the words aloud. The design has not changed at all. And the toy made an appearance in the first two Toy Story films. The Jurassic Park toy. Dinosaur toys have been made for almost a century now. With them really starting in the 1930s. Made by Mark's toys. Around that time, more and more dinosaur films were being made. And I mean, after that, dinosaur toys just continued appearing. Until we got Rex. Lenny the little binocular toy is based off of a lineup of toys from Tomy in 1982 called Roving Eyes. These little binocular toys. And coincidentally enough, this toy also appears in a Disney movie. From 1984 called Where the Toys Come From. The Baby Monitor. The Baby Monitor, which I feel like we all mistakenly thought it was a walkie-talkie when we were kids. But in the first film, the Baby Monitor is actually real. This model specifically came out in 1987. And you can still grab one on eBay for a lot of money. As the film turns 30 next year, geez. I wonder how many of these toys will be recognizable to kids as time goes on. In their original form. Will they just be recognized for their Toy Story versions? Or will their history live on? Have you played with any of these toys growing up? Let me know. And thank you guys for watching and I will see you in the next one.