Galyn Susman talks about Pixar’s first-ever Xmas special, “Toy Story That Time Forgot”

Jim Hill

10 years ago

So what's been going on with the Toy Story gang since we
last saw Buzz, Woody & Co. on the
steps at Bonnie's house, as they sadly watched Andy drive off to college? Quite
a lot, actually.

On the heels of the June 2010 release of "Toy Story
3," Pixar Animation Studios took a two-tiered approach toward keeping
these much-beloved characters front-of-mind. The first part of this program
involved the creation of "Toy Story Toons," a series of stand-alone
shorts which showed how Andy's old playthings were settling in at Bonnie's
place.

The first in this series — "Hawaiian Vacation" —
was released to theaters in June 2011 with Pixar's next full-length animated
feature, "Cars 2." And to hear Galyn Susman (i.e., the producer of
this particular animated short) talk, there was a very specific reason that
this was the first "Toy Story Toon" out the door.

"The people who work here at Pixar are just like the
fans of the 'Toy Story' films. We genuinely care about these characters. So
with 'Hawaiian Vacation,' we wanted to show that — since we'd last seen them
in 'Toy Story 3' — Bonnie's toys and Andy's toys had actually come together as
a family. That they could now work together as a group on a project like trying
to save Barbie & Ken's romantic get-away," Susman explained during a
recent phone interview.

The second part of Pixar's front-of-mind effort for its
"Toy Story" characters involved the creation of two holiday specials:
"Toy Story of TERROR!" (which debuted to great reviews back in
October of 2013) and "Toy Story That Time Forgot" (which premieres
tonight on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/PT).

"And as the producer of these two holiday specials, I
can tell you that what was fun about working on 'Toy Story of TERROR!' was that
we got to circle back on two story elements that Pixar had introduced with
previous 'Toy Story' movies: the Combat Carl action figure that Sid blew up in
the first film and Jessie's fear of being boxed up in small tight spaces in
'Toy Story 2.' And it was nice to be able to tell a story about how Jessie grew
as a character, overcame that fear with Combat Carl's help," Galyn
continued.

Whereas "Toy Story That Time Forgot" had a very
different origin. It actually started off life as something that was supposed
to appear on the big screen, rather than the small screen.

"When we first started working on 'Toy Story That Time
Forgot' three years ago, it was originally supposed to be a 'Toy Story Toon.'
This six or seven minute-long story about how Rex and Trixie befriended some
Battlesaurs, which are these dinosaur-themed action figures. Buzz and Woody
weren't really in this short at all. At best, those characters made cameo
appearances," Susman recalled.

But as soon as John Lasseter saw the preliminary Battlesaurs
designs, he loved these characters and their world. Which is why he urged Galyn
and her team to think bigger. To take Trixie & Rex's brief interaction with
these action figures and then turn it into a full-blown adventure.

"And since a lot of the artists & designers who now
work at Pixar grew up playing with 'He-Man' and 'Transformers' action figures,
to now be asked to envision an entire line of warrior dinosaur toys was a
dream-come-true. They designed everything from the armor these characters wore
to the weapons they carried right through to the Arena of Woe. Which is where
the Battlesaurs battle," Susman said.

And because the Battlesaurs have yet to be played with as
"Toy Story That Time Forgot" is getting underway… Well, just like
Buzz Lightyear did in the original "Toy Story," these characters
don't know that they're toys. The Battlesaurs think that they're this proud
race of warriors protecting their world from intruders.

Speaking of which … One of the more intriguing aspects of
this holiday special is that — as Buzz, Woody, Rex, Trixie and Angel Kitty
(i.e., the Christmas ornament that Bonnie has recently added to her array of
playthings) enter Mason's bedroom (EX: Mason is Bonnie's friend-from-school who
has invited her over for a post-Christmas play date) — the area that these
"Toy Story" characters are exploring is clearly a young boy's
bedroom. But that begins to change as "Toy Story That Time Forgot"
unfolds.

"As Trixie, Rex, Buzz, Woody and Angel Kitty enter the
elaborate Battlesaur playset that Mason received for Christmas, his bedroom
begins to fall away. Since these dinosaur action figures think that
Battleopolis — the world that the Battlesaurs supposedly live in — is a real
place, we actually changed the art direction of this holiday special to reflect
their delusion," Galyn explained. "So during this portion of 'Toy
Story That Time Forgot,' sharp-eyed viewers may notice that the style of
lighting that's used in this part of the show changes. And that while Trixie,
Rex, Buzz, Woody and Angel Kitty are deep inside the Battleopolis playset, they
can no longer see the walls, windows and doors of Mason's bedroom."

As one watches "Toy Story That Time Forgot" (which
— FYI — makes its ABC Family debut on Sunday, December 7th at 8:30 p.m.), it's pretty obvious that Pixar
didn't stint on this production. From the size of the crowds of Battlesaurs who
look on as Trixie and Reptillus Maximus (who is winningly voiced by Kevin
McKidd of "Grey's Anatomy" fame) do battle in the Arena of Woe to the
fact that the original voice cast from the original "Toy Story" film
trilogy (i.e., from Tom Hanks and Tim Allen all the way through to insult
comedy legend Don Rickles) all returned to reprise their roles, this is one
holiday special that truly is special.

Mind you, "Toy Story That Time Forgot" may be
Pixar's last holiday special for a while featuring this particular set of
characters. Given that — just last month — Disney CEO Bob revealed (as part
of a quarterly earnings conference call) not only revealed that a "Toy
Story 4" was in the works, but that this Pixar Animation Studios not only
had a release date (i.e., June 16, 2017) but a director (i.e., Pixar and Walt
Disney Animation Studios' Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter) and a producer
(i.e., one Galyn Susman).

"As you might expect, I'm not really in a position to
talk about 'Toy Story 4' right now. What I can say is that — while I was ready
to say goodbye to these characters at the end of 'Toy Story 3' — the story
that was pitched to me for the next feature-length installment of this series
was so smart and so strong that I understood immediately why John wanted to
revisit the world of these characters," Susman enthused. "Beyond
that, what else can I say about 'Toy Story 4' ? Well, if people go to see this
new Pixar movie in 2 & 1/2 years, they might see a new toy."

Speaking of new toys … If you like what you see during
tonight's holiday special, just be aware that action figures inspired by
"Toy Story That Time Forgot" will begin popping up on store shelves
starting early next year. So if you've ever dreamed of owning your very own
Goliathon …

… now might be a good time to add that Mattel-produced
product to your Christmas 2015 shopping list.

This story was originally posted on the Huffington Post's Entertainment page on December 2, 2014