Toy Story That Time Forgot

Toy Story That Time Forgot is a 2014 22-minute Christmas television special based on the Disney/Pixar Toy Story movies. It is Pixar’s second television and was written and directed by Steve Purcell, produced by Galyn Susman and composed by Michael Giacchino. Toy Story That Time Forgot aired on ABC on December 2, 2014 and is set after the events of Toy Story 3. The special focuses on Woody, Buzz, Trixie and Rex getting trapped in a room full of warrior Dinosaur toys and having to escape.

Plot
Two days after Christmas, Trixie is depressed that Bonnie Anderson never plays with her like a dinosaur. Bonnie later takes Trixie, Sheriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex and Angel Kitty to her friend Mason's house for a play date. When they get there, Bonnie sees Mason playing a video game and tosses her toys into Mason's playroom. There the toys discover that for Christmas Mason got a complete toy line of battling dinosaurs called the Battlesaurs, which are led by Reptillus Maximus and The Cleric. Reptillus takes Rex and Trixie to get suited up by their armor guy Ray-Gon, while unbeknownst to them the Cleric orders some other Battlesaurs to take Woody and Buzz hostage. Trixie and Reptillus start to develop romantic feelings. Trixie is admirative of the Battlesaurs, while Reptillus is intrigued by her world. Later, Trixie and Reptillus enter the "Arena of Woe", where Trixie is horrified to see Reptillus attack Mason's toys in a gladiatorial combat setting. Soon Woody and Buzz enter the ring. Woody, who is armed with, to Buzz's surprise, nothing more than a red crayon, warns Trixie that Mason has never played with the Battlesaurs and that they don't even know they're toys. Reptillus breaks Woody's crayon and battles both Woody and Buzz till Trixie demands he stop. However, a beast named the Goliathon enters and swallows Woody and Buzz. The Cleric deems Trixie an enemy after seeing she has the name of Bonnie on her hand. Trixie escapes the arena to get Bonnie's attention. The Cleric orders Reptillus to stop her. While chasing her, he is shocked to discover the box he came in. Meanwhile, the Cleric gets Rex, who has been outfitted with remote-controlled robotic arms, to pull Woody and Buzz out of Goliathon. They then discover that the Cleric is the only Battlesaur who knows they're all toys and is determined to make sure the others don't find out so he can stay as their ruler. The Cleric then forces Rex to dispose of Woody and Buzz in a ventilation fan that would shred them. Meanwhile, Trixie reaches Mason's video game power core, but Reptillus confronts her. Trixie convinces Reptillus of the greatness and importance of being a toy. He turns the game off, getting the attention of Bonnie and Mason, and they go to play with the toys, and save Woody and Buzz in time. The Battlesaurs are transformed by their experience with play and settle on a more peaceful existence. Bonnie's toys head home and they tell Jessie, Mr. Potato Head, Mr. Pricklepants and the Aliens about their adventure. During the credits, Reptillus says he looks forward to seeing Trixie again.

Characters

 * Main Characters
 * Trixie
 * Buzz Lightyear
 * Sheriff Woody
 * Rex
 * Supporting Characters
 * Bonnie Anderson
 * Mason (Single Appearance)
 * Ray-Gon (Single Appearance)
 * Angel Kitty (Single Appearance)
 * Villains
 * The Cleric (Single Appearance; redeemed)
 * Reptillus Maximus (Single Appearance; redeemed)
 * Goliathon (Single Appearance; redeemed)
 * Mr. Jones (cameo)
 * Other Characters
 * Bonnie's Mom
 * Jessie
 * Mr. Pricklepants
 * Mr. Potato Head
 * Aliens
 * Transitron (cameo)

Cast

 * Tom Hanks as Sheriff Woody
 * Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear
 * Kristen Schaal as Trixie
 * Kevin McKidd as Reptillus Maximus
 * Emily Hahn as Bonnie Anderson
 * Wallace Shawn as Rex
 * Steve Purcell as The Cleric
 * Jonathan Kydd as Ray-Gon
 * R.C. Cope as Mason
 * Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head
 * Timothy Dalton as Mr. Pricklepants
 * Lori Alan as Bonnie's Mom
 * Joan Cusack as Jessie
 * Emma Hudak as Angel Kitty
 * Ron Bottitta as Mason's Dad

Trivia

 * This is Pixar's second TV special after Toy Story of Terror!.
 * It is revealed in this special that Trixie has Bonnie's name written on her left front leg in permanent ink.
 * Andy Davis is mentioned by Rex.
 * There are references to Toy Story of Terror!:
 * A Transitron poster is on the wall in Mason's house.
 * Mason has an iguana in a terrarium on top of a shelf. It is laying on a branch of the same shape as that of Mr. Jones in Toy Story of Terror!.
 * Plus since Trixie is the protagonist here, There are also references to Toy Story 3 (her first appearance in the Toy Story franchise:
 * The two posters next to the Transitron poster come from Andy's room in Toy Story 3.
 * The toy train and thinker toy constructions in Mason's house are the same as the one Andy owns and uses for the Wild West opening of Toy Story 3.
 * One picture next to the chimney in Bonnie's house depicts the moment where Bonnie is holding Andy's toys, from the ending of Toy Story 3.
 * Mason has a repaint of the claw toy noticed by the Aliens at Sunnyside Daycare.
 * There appears to be a truck similar Lotso Hugging Bear's Dump Truck when Trixie is escaping from the arena.
 * The Battlesaurs not knowing they're toys echos how Buzz didn't know he was a toy back in the first Toy Story movie.
 * When Reptillus holds Buzz against his chest, his voice box goes, "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!" This also happened when Woody bashed Buzz during their fight at Dinoco in the first Toy Story movie, and when Emperor Zurg battled Utility Belt Buzz in Toy Story 2.
 * The Aliens returned in the special; however, Jeff Pidgeon didn't reprise their voices. This is the first time they've been seen since Partysaurus Rex.
 * This is the second time Jessie is seen without Bullseye.
 * However, Bullseye is featured in one of the special's deleted scenes along with Dolly and Hamm.
 * When the special was planned as a 6 minute short film, it was only going to be Rex and Trixie who were going to go over to Mason's house with Bonnie. When John Lasseter convinced the film makers to make it a 22 minute Christmas special to give the characters and idea more screen time, he suggested that they add Woody and Buzz.

Pixar References

 * A LEGO version of the Pizza Planet truck appears in Mason's house.
 * Knick, the snowman from Knick Knack, appears in his snow globe in the bottom left corner of the very first shot.
 * Under the gingerbread house's window is what looks like a blue owl; its face forms a Hidden Mickey.
 * The Battlesaurs boxes bear the distinctive pattern of the Luxo Ball along with the inscription "Luxo".
 * Two of Mason's toy cars (a black one and a white one) reuse the model of the ambulance from Up.
 * There also appears to be a toy version of Tractor from Cars.
 * Several of Mason's toy cars are repaints from World Grand Prix racers Shu Todoroki, Rip Clutchgoneski, Carla Veloso and Miguel Camino, as well as the sewer truck in which Acer falls in Cars 2.

Culture References

 * The Cleric references Star Wars when he says, "I find their lack of armor disturbing."
 * The Battlesaurs army is similar to the 1987 animated series Dinosaucers.
 * The Cleric bears a striking resemblance to the Skeksis from the 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal.
 * Angel Kitty bears a striking resemblance to Hello Kitty.
 * Michael Giacchino indicated during the 2014 San Diego Comic Con that one of his musicians owns the original horn used in Planet of the Apes and that he intended to use it in the special.
 * At the beginning of the special, Bonnie plays with Woody as Santa Claus. Coincidentally, Tom Hanks, the voice actor of Woody, also played Santa Claus in the 2004 film The Polar Express.
 * Tim Allen, the voice actor of Buzz, also played Santa in The Santa Clause trilogy.

Production
The special was originally planned to be a six minute short. However, John Lasseter liked the idea and suggested making it into a holiday special. The special took three years to be made, with two years spent on story development. The team took time to design the Battlesaurs as if they were a real cartoon and toy line. The story was made in three acts. Steve Purcell says he chose to cast Kevin McKidd as Reptilius Maximus because he liked his role in Rome. This choice eventually inspired them to give English accents to all Battlesaurs. According to Purcell "It made it feel even more exotic to an American audience, and it felt like that kind of genre." According to McKidd, the expressions of Reptilius are largely based on his own expressions. Purcell mentioned that a story element that was ultimately dropped involved a bastion of rebel toys fighting against the Battlesaurs

Reception
The special received 6.79 million viewers, and received generally positive reviews from critics. On Disney Channel, it received 3.27 million viewers, making it the most-watched broadcast on the network that night. IGN said, "Toy Story That Time Forgot may not have time for the addicting sentiment that we've grown accustomed to with these characters, but it's still a lot of fun." Cinema Blend rated it 4.5 out of 5, saying "Delivering the humor, heart and toy-filled adventure that we've come to expect from the Toy Story franchise, Toy Story that Time Forgot is another wonderful, entertaining and playful installment to the franchise, and well worth a watch for kids and kids-at-heart."

Home Media
Toy Story That Time Forgot was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 3, 2015.