Toy Story's Woody Was Almost a Mean Ventriloquist Dummy, Not a Cowboy

Woody was not always the warm, loyal cowboy fans know from Toy Story. In an earlier version of the film, Woody was going to be mean, and he was actually going to be a ventriloquist dummy.

This is a fun bit of Toy Story history for fans because it shows just how different Pixar's most iconic duo could have looked before the story came together.

Woody Was Originally Written as a Sarcastic Jerk

In this early concept, Woody would have been a sarcastic jerk who was constantly insulting the other toys, a far cry from the encouraging, protective leader he became on screen.

The Real Main Character Was Supposed to Be Tiny

It turns out that the main character in Toy Story was actually going to be Tiny. Tiny was the title character in John Lasseter's Oscar-winning short film Tin Toy, which came out in 1988.

The Story Would Have Followed Tiny and a Ventriloquist Dummy Named Woody

The story would have followed Tiny, who got lost at a highway rest stop and teamed up with a ventriloquist dummy named Woody to try and get back to his family.

Why Disney Scrapped the Original Script

However, in the writing process, the team realized that Tiny was too old-fashioned to be a child's favorite toy. Disney immediately shut down the production and called for a new script.

How That Rewrite Led to Buzz and Woody as We Know Them

That reset is where the team was able to rework Buzz Lightyear and Woody into the lovable characters audiences know today.

Would Toy Story have worked with a sarcastic, mean Woody, or are you glad the story was reworked into the version we got?