Toy Story 2 First Draft 1996 Pixar Animation 77 Pages

Written by
Doug Chamberlin & Chris Webb

Random Thoughts:

Pg 5

Woody sees Mrs. Davis hammering a 'Garage Sale' sign into the ground.  He 's not impressed.

WOODY
(sighs)
Great... this is the last thing
the toys need.

Pg 8

This is the turning point for Woody.  He enters a new world.
Woody climbs onto the roof, slips on a shingle and tumbles into a cardboard box on a table.

Pg 10

THE MAN distracts Mrs. Davis and steals Woody.  Now Woody is in serious trouble.

The First Ten Pages.

This is definitely different to the eventual movie.

I seem to remember Buzz is flying through space extremely quickly at the start and lands on the surface of a planet and subsequently surrounded by hundreds of robots. He then faces off to Zurg and loses. 
This is actually a videogame Rex and Buzz are playing and Rex loses.

In the actual movie, Woody meets Wheezy the penguin.  And Wheezy is the one Woody tries to rescue from the actual garage sale.  And in doing so gets stolen by The Man.

Pg 22-23

Again this is different to the movie.  I'm pretty certain they hide in orange road cones to cross the highway and cause all sorts of mayhem.  Seem to remember they cause a large traffic jam as vehicles skid to a stop and Mr. Potato Head almost gets squished.

Okay, I've read through it.  There are still some scenes and dialogue that made it to the final movie.  The main change was the addition of Jessie the cowgirl and not having Bullseye speak.

Also the ending was completely different.

I don't think having a talking cactus would have worked.  Having Jessie in the final movie added a new dimension for Woody.  It was the perfect choice and I'm glad they made it.

I'm going to watch the movie again and compare it to this draft.

First 25 Pages

There are elements that are similar to the actual movie.

The fight between Buzz and Zurg at the start.

Woody being kidnapped by The Man.

Woody meeting The Prospector, Bullseye.

Buzz and the gang going off to rescue Woody from Al's Toy Barn.

It's just how it's written in this first draft.

In this Woody goes on the roof, loses his footing and falls into a cardboard box.

In the actual movie, Woody goes to save Wheezy the penguin when Mrs. Davis puts him in the garage sale.   And ends up being kidnapped by Al.

There is one major difference, well two actually.  In this version, Bullseye can talk.  In the movie Bullseye doesn't talk.  We also have a talking Cactus in this instead of Jessie the cowgirl.  And I can honestly say I'm glad they chose to get rid of the talking Cactus.

It just doesn't work.

Having a cowgirl named Jessie changes the dynamics of the story.

There are a few other moments like when the toys cross the highway.  In this draft they just amble across the highway avoiding the motorvehicles.

In the movie, they hide in orange road cones and end up causing mayhem and chaos when they cross.  And poor old Potato Head almost gets squished. 

This is enjoyable and you can learn a lot from it, but at 77 pages, I feel it falls short considering the movie is around an hour and a half.

It has a few elements that make the movies what they are.

I'm glad they changed the start and the ending.  I really didn't feel The Prospector got what he deserved in this draft.  In the movie the Prospector ends up in the kids bag and meets the defaced Barbie dol.  This is far more satisfying.

Having Jessie instead of the talking Cactus in the movie also changed the dynamics.  I really don't think a talking Cactus would have won any audiences.

There were also lots of other moments in this draft that were similar but eventually turned out differently in the actual movie.

The way the toys cross the highway in this was far too easy.

When Buzz meets Ultra Buzz, again this scene is far too easy.  In this version they get on and have a male bonding moment and Buzz walks away.

Much better in the movie.  Ultra Buzz traps Buzz in the toy box and goes and joins Andy's toys on their quest to save Woody.  More conflict.

The ending of the movie was far better as well.  Especially when you see them fighting on the luggage conveyor belts and Woody and Jessie escaping from the airplane with the help of Buzz and Bullseye.

Worth a read just to see how much the first drafts of a screenplay can change through the course of being developed.  In this business, nothing is written in stone.  Especially when it comes to a screenplay.  Scenes are written and rewritten.

And I'm glad they made the changes.