Credit: Disney/PixarThe writer of Toy Story 3 (2010) has revealed the original ending for the film – and it’s totally different to what actually played out on the big screen.
It’s a universally acknowledged truth that the ending Toy Story 3 provided the best natural conclusion to the Toy Story series, seeing Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and co. finally say goodbye to Andy as he heads to college and instead moving on to a new child, Bonnie.
However, it turns out that wasn’t always the plan. According to Michael Arndt – the screenwriter responsible for Toy Story 3 as well as other classics such as Little Miss Sunshine (2006), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) – the script originally had the toys find themselves next to Al’s Toy Barn after escaping Sunnyside Daycare. There, they commandeer toy vehicles and race against the clock to get back to Andy in time for his departure.
“Then the climax was, they all are on the plane and they just slide through the window and go smashing into Andy’s bedroom just as he’s walking up the stairs and he finds his toys there and packs them all away,” Arndt explained in a recent appearance on the podcast Script Apart, which delves into the first drafts of beloved films.
After a conversation with the film’s director Lee Unkrich, it was later decided that if it was the last Toy Story film (as was seemingly the original plan), then it should focus on the end of a toy’s life cycle. “We have to see what the end looks like for toys,” Arndt said.
Of course, the ‘ending’ of a toy’s life cycle is typically either the trash or being passed on to a new owner. The toys in Toy Story 3 come close to meeting the former fate while in a garbage incinerator before ultimately pursuing the second, more preferable path: Bonnie.
The final ending for the film definitely gives it much more emotional weight and it’s hard to imagine Toy Story 3 being as impactful without it. However, with the upcoming release of yet another sequel, Toy Story 5 – which is rumored to include the return of Andy – there’s always a chance that Pixar Animation will reincorporate part of these original plans and retcon the toys’ endings to actually see them reunited with their former owner once again.
Which ending do you prefer for Toy Story 3? Let us know in the comments!