When we spoke John Lasseter, the vice president of creative development at Pixar animation crew of Toy Story had just finished celebrating the rendering of the computer-animated features final frames. "Now its just a matter of getting it done," he told us. "Were down to the final stages, starting the post-production, the remixes for sound effects..,in another week, Randy Newman will be recording the score, down in L.A, with a huge orchestra; that should be really exciting. Weve been working on this picture for four years now, and were finally seeing it all come together."
The first pitch meeting between Pixars creative staff and Walt Disney Studios took was made, and the green light followed in August 1991.
Though the final screenplay is credited to Joss Whedon—the young tyro best known for the final rewrite of Speed and a forthcoming Aliens sequel—the films story was developed in-house by Pixar and, like Pixars short films Tin Toy and Knickknack, reflects Lasseters own fascination with the secret lives of playthings. "In all the Pixar films, the characters are alive to me, in my mind," the director confides. "I almost think of them more as employees here at Pixar than as Pixar creations. I love toys, Im a big toy collector, love playing with toys with my kids. I think animators in general tend to have a fondness for them.
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