You've Got a Friend in Me: A Toy Story and the World of Pixar in the TVCU

And since my last one was very much steeped in Wold Newtonry, I get to go the opposite direction with this one.  This one might be even more controversial than my Sesame Street blog.

Here's the deal.  The Toy Story trilogy is firmly in the Television Crossover Universe because it has a connection to Home Improvement which connects the the Drew Carey Show which connects to NYPD Blue which connects to Hill Street Blues which connects to St. Elsewhere which connects to Chicago Hope which connects X-Files which connects to Star Trek which connects to Sherlock Holmes, and well, once you get to Holmes, that's the center.

So let me explain.  I believe the town in which Toy Story occurs, which is somewhere in the the Detroit area, has some kind of magic going on there, which animates toys and give insects intelligence.  Perhaps it's some kind of tablet like in Night at the Museum.

Note that this started off as a Toy Story blog, but since it was published, I've been asked a lot why I didn't just cover all of Pixar, since it's all pretty much interconnected, so here it is.  Note that my son has come up with a theory of his own, after noticing that Toy Story, Phineas and Ferb, and Johnny Test are all said to be in the Tri-State area, believes that those must all be in the same general region.



32 years BBY--STAR WARS INFINITIES--Ivan Ronald Schablotski You may not wanna dwell on this tbidbit too much, but Buzz Lightyear (presumably of Star Command) is seen eating at the same diner on Coruscant that Mace Windu and Master Yoda are sitting in when they discuss whether or not to let young Anikin Skywalker become a Jedi. I'm pretty certain this was in the same issue of STAR WARS INFINITIES that had the Solo / Jones crossover.  Buzz could be a real denizon of the STAR WARS Galaxy and wind up with toys based on his likeness; after all the same thing happened to Yoda, R2-D2, etc. This means of course that the cartoon BUZZ LIGHTYEAR OF STAR COMMAND probably took place in the TVCU, a few short years before the movie STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE (maybe even contemporous to it).

A Long Time Ago--STAR TOURS--Matt Hickman says:  apperanttally sometime between revenge of the sith and a new hope Elastic Girl Mickey mouse and Genie buzz lightyear well at least one of the Buzz of the Buzz lightyear toys a Wall -e trash droid Major Domo and minor Domo form Captain EO Stich maybe Yen Sid judging by his hat and and Madame Leota form the hunted mansion went on star tours on the day of the Boonta Eve Classic



C. 10,000 B.C.--BROTHER BEAR--During Great Spirits scene, when the mammoth which Kenai is riding on knocks all the fish down with its trunk, Nemo can be seen briefly.  Obviously can't be Nemo, but likely an ancestor.

Once Upon a Time--BABES IN TOYLAND--Ollu and Buzsla know the real Bo Peep, from whom the later toy is based off of.

Once Upon a Time--GREEDY HUMPTY DUMPTY--This story may take place in Wonderland.  Humpty Dumpty is king and thinks that gold is in the son, so orders his subjects to go get it.  Bo Peep is amongst them.

Once Upon a Time--MOTHER GOOSE ON THE LOOSE--More of the fairy tale characters including Bo Peep.



10th Century--BRAVE--The Pizza Planet truck is portrayed as a wood carving in the Witch's woodwork shop.  The witch's message to Merida (when she and her mother go to the cottage and find it empty) says that the witch is not home because she's attending the Wicker Man festival in Summerisle.  A relief carving of Sulley is visible in the Witch's cottage.

1360--FAIRY TALES--Bo Peep is part of the story of Sleeping Beauty.

1936--TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN VOLUME 6: GRAND GUIGNOL “THE MAN FOR THE JOB” (SHORT STORY BY XAVIER MAUMEJEAN)-- A Mr. Piper is interviewed for a job as an exterminator and goes over his past experience. Mr. Piper is in fact the Pied Piper.  His past experiences involve ridding the world of some rats from some famous stories, such as Lovecraft’s “The Rats in the Walls”.   Another of the cases is that of the film Willard, which is a problem.  Willard was a 1971 film that had a contemporary setting, but this story takes place in 1936.  Either there was another Willard Stiles who had an incident with rats.  Perhaps it’s the father of the character from the film, and the ability to communicate with rats is hereditary.  Or the Piper (whose original story is from 1842) is a magical time traveler.  Either way, the author intended the reference to be a crossover with Willard, so I will use this story to bring in Willard.  Another of his cases involves the events of the 1974 novel The Rats.  This one too had a contemporary setting, so my comments regarding Willard apply here as well.  The Salem Horror featured Carson Primm, who is the interviewer here.  Though that story came out in 1937, we can assume that it is happening concurrently with this tale.  Another one of the Piper’s past cases regarded the Giant Rat of Sumatra, mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes tale “The Sussex Vampire”.  And finally, the story concludes with the Piper going to the restaurant from the animated film Ratatouille.  This film from 2007 was also contemporary, so the Piper must once more be traveling in time.  Either that, or the same restaurant 70 years earlier had a chef/owner with the same name (again, father or grandfather?) and they had another rat problem in the 1930s.

C. 1969--INCREDIBLES--Sorry, more super-heroes.  In this film, the company Eggman Removals appears, which also appears in Toy Story 2.  The "Men in Black" who appear after the super baby causes massive destruction erase the babysitter's memories just like THE MEN IN BLACK.

1978--BIG APPLE BIRTHDAY--A woman learns that her life is a fairy tale after meeting several other legendary fairy tale characters.

1986--LUXO, JR--The story of an animated lamp and a ball.  This must take place in the same town, which explains why they move.  This is evidenced because the ball reappears in Toy Story 3.  And in fact, the lamp later belongs to Andy.

December 1986--THE CHRISTMAS TOY--Kermit narrates this tale that is strangely familiar.  Toys come to life, but if a human sees them, they will be permanently frozen.  A new toy comes but thinks they are a space explorer on an alien planet and not a toy.  So the child's favorite toy must try to convince the new toy that he is a toy, even though he's jealous and afraid of being replaced.  Really.  So this could potentally bring that CARTOON ALL-STARS TO THE RESCUE into the TVCU, except that there is no crossover in that special to really pull it in.  However, TOY STORY (yes, with the same story years later) does fit into the TVCU due to it's crossover connection with HOME IMPROVEMENT.  So in the TVCU, toys come to life...except even I can't swallow that.  I do believe that in one town, there might be a magical spell that brings toys to life.  And likely THE CHRISTMAS TOY and TOY STORY take place in the same town, years apart.





1988--TIN TOY--An abused toy finds other toys in hiding and run away.  They must have run to Sunnyside Daycare, because they are seen in TOY STORY 3.


1989--KNICK KNACK--All the toys seen here will belong to Andy Davis.


1990 to 1999--HOME IMPROVEMENT--This is the story of Tim Taylor and his family, who live in a suburb of Detroit.  He works as the host of a home improvement show called Tool Time, which is sponsored by Binford Tools, for which Tim used to work as as salesman.  In one episode, Tim is seen playing with a Buzz Lightyear action figure.



1991--MONSTERS UNIVERSITY--The Pizza Planet truck can be seen in the driveway of the JOX fraternity house.  The ball from the short Luxo Jr. is graffitied on a wall in the first Scare Games challenge.



1995--TOY STORY--Andy Davis gets a new toy for his birthday, a Buzz Lightyear action figure, which causes his other favorite toy, Woody, to get jealous.  Meanwhile, Buzz thinks he's a real space ranger, stranded on an alien planet.  Eventually Buzz come to terms with his being a toy and Woody learns to share the spotlight.  One of the scenes takes place in Sid's room.  Sid is Andy's neighbor, who likes to break toys for fun.  In his room there is a Binford Tools tool box.






Early 1996--TOY STORY TREATS--Little adventures of the toys.



Spring 1996--A BUG'S LIFE--Some intelligent insects have an adventure.  Along the way they pass through the yard of Andy Davis and encounter some of his toys.  The Pizza Planet truck appears near the trailer with the deadly bug light.



Summer 1996--TOY STORY 2--Woody is sold at a garage sale to a collector, and learns that he is a a collectible and part of a set.  Heimlich, the caterpillar from A BUG'S LIFE, appears in Andy's yard.  It seems as if the story of BUG'S LIFE must have occurred within the backyard of Andy Davis, very near his bedroom window. Before Andy leaves for Cowboy Camp, his shirt and hat bear the logo of the "Triple R" Ranch. This was the name of the ranch from the "Spin and Marty" serials on the Micky Mouse Club.  At the airport, the line "The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading only" can be heard over the intercom.  This is a reference to Airplane! 

1997--GERI'S GAME--Geri previously appeared as the man who professionally cleans antique toys in TOY STORY 2.



2001--MONSTERS, INC.--Monsters from another dimension travel to ours to scare children, since the children's fear fuels the monsters' home world.  One of the children, Boo, has a Jessie doll in her room.  This is kind of odd, since Jessie is a rare doll that was sold based on a children's show of the 1950s.  I guess Boo happened to have one passed down through the generations just as Andy Davis did with his Woody doll.  Jessie was in TOY STORY 2 and TOY STORY 3.  There's a Pizza Planet truck parked to the left of the trailer where Randall ends up at.  The ball from Luxo Jr. is in Boo's room.  The chair Krang, enemy of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, uses is seen being sat in by Mike Wazowski for the company play.  Randall ends up in the trailer first seen in A Bug's Life.





2003--FINDING NEMO--When a young clown fish named Nemo, the only surviving child, goes missing, his father sets out to find him.  A Buzz Lightyear action figure and a Planet Pizza delivery truck appear in the film.  Both are from the TOY STORY trilogy.  Note that the fish and other sea life aren't talking animals like in the Looniverse.  They are just normal fish and other sea life to humans.  That fact that they communicate with each other and seem intelligent is simply from their perspective, and also perhaps fish are just a little smarter then we know.  Mike Wazowski is seen swimming with flippers at the end credits of Finding Nemo.  The leader of the sharks is named Bruce which is what Steven Speilberg called the mechanical shark, and similar music to the jaws theme plays when Bruce goes into a feeding frenzy.  Excessive references to number 42, which is the answer to life, the universe and everything, as revealed in The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy.  Luigi the car from Cars can be seen briefly in the background in a scene towards the end.



2005--TOY STORY 3--Andy is all grown up, and heading to college.  The toys are meant to go to attic, but instead go to the curb for garbage pick-up.  They escape and head to a daycare center, but learn that life there isn't so great either.  A postcard in Andy's room is from Carl and Ellie Fredrickson, from UP.  Boo, the little girl from MONSTERS, INC. (who owned a Jessie doll), is one of the kids attending the Sunnyside Day Care Center.  The batteries used to power Buzz Lightyear are from Buy N Large, a chain of convenience store gas stations.  A Buy N Large building (abandoned) is seen in WALL-E.  In the home movie and photograph of Andy playing with his toys he wears a shirt with the logo of the "Triple R" from The Adventures of Spin and Marty.







2006--HAWAIIAN VACATION--Ken and Barbie are left behind when their new owner leaves them to go to Hawaii.  The other toys try to cheer them up by recreating the beach experience.

2006--UNNAMED SHORT--Another story with the TOY STORY characters.

September 2006--DRAWN TOGETHER--"Lost in Parking Space"--(FINDING) NEMO and other fish from that film are in a tank that is drank by Toots.  (I still believe Finding Nemo is in the TVCU.  This must be a counterpart.)



2007--Ratatouille--A Planet Pizza delivery truck appears.  (Note that Planet Pizza was a real restaurant chain in the 80s and 90s, a competitor to Chuck E. Cheese's.  However, any references in fiction are clearly references to TOY STORY.)  Bomb Voyage appears, who was a recurring foe of Mr. Incredible in the 1950s.

2008--DRAWN TOGETHER--"Lost in Parking Space"--Popeye is among several that are kidnapped by Hot Topic to be tortured by paying customers.  It seems his death was misleading two years earlier.  Perhaps he had just gone into a coma and had an out of body experience, astrally projecting his image to Captain Hero.  Others appearing are from SPEED RACER, HE-MAN (from Eternia), WONDER WOMAN (the version who has met the POWERPUFF GIRLS), KIRK CAMERON (LOONIVERSE counterpart), LION KING, DAVEY AND GOLIATH, STAR WARS (from TVCU), FINDING NEMO, FLINTSTONES (in this case, Fred Flintstone from the Looniverse), CARE BEARS, DARIA (from the Zed Anomaly), SCOOBY-DOO (from TVCU), POWERPUFF GIRLS, SIMPSONS (from Zed Anomaly), POPEYE, THE NEVERENDING STORY.

Summer 2009--PHINEAS AND FERB--"Perry Lays an Egg"--Dr. Doofenshmirtz attempts to communicate with whales, making the same sounds that Dory uses.




2009--UP--A Planet Pizza delivery truck is seen.  Also a Lotso stuffed bear like the one in TOY STORY 3 is seen in a child's room in this film.  Also, the film seems to be a sequel to THE LOST WORLD.  The characters visit Maple White Land.

May 2009--SIMPSONS--"Coming to Homerica"--A scene where Lenny and Carl are floating in a balloon chair, there is a house floating in the background (with balloons).

July 2009--HEWY'S ANIMATED MOVIE REVIEWS--"The Black Cauldron"--Hewy says he's back from his vacation on Paradise Falls

2009 to Present--NCIS:  LOS ANGELES--OK, not a real crossover, but I'm pretty sure Hetty is former super-hero costume designer Edna from the INCREDIBLES.  



October 2009--WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE--"Halloween"--A character dresses as Bo Peep.

October 2010--HEWY'S ANIMATED MOVIE REVIEW--"The Adventures of Mark Twain"--Hewy: "As you can see [...] I'm flying my house again. But this time I'm not going to Paradise Falls. "

March 2011--SIMPSONS--"A Midsummer's Nice Dream"--Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear seen

2011--JENSEN & JENSEN--The Old Man and The Boy from UP appear in the movie

2012--NIGHTSHOT--"Imagination"--Two kids are playing in a commercial fora product  being sold at Al's Toy Barn.  The commercial also depicts a scene from the unfinished 2011 Halloween story THE FEAR THAT CAME TO FENWAY, featuring Ivan Ronald Schablotski.  The commercial itself is fictional, existing within the world of Pixar's Toy Story because the toys are sold at Al's Toy Barn, and the action sequence then would be a fiction within a fiction.  Of course this faux commercial would imply that these toys are merchandising from the film THE FEAR THAT CAME TO FENWAY, which must have been finished and mass marketed as a commercial success in the TVCU.  Which is more complicated, since Ivan Ronald Schablotski is a character who also exists in the TVCU, but we all know that many real folks of the TVCU often get their adventures turned into fictionalized books, films, and television series.


2013--THE BLUE UMBRELLA--The Pizza Planet truck is one of the vehicles that can be seen on the streets.



Sometime in the far, far future--WALL-E--Humans have turned Earth into a dump, and have abandoned it for space.  Seen on Earth is a Planet Pizza delivery truck.  Sully's garbage cube in Wall-E's garbage; Mike Wazowski statue in other scene.  Skinner's scooter, which is pretty banged up, is lying on top of a trash pile. The robot mice on the Axiom's garbage level are called REM-Es.  Advertisements encouraging people to leave an overcrowded, polluted Earth are seen in this film, and were also seen in Blade Runner.  Red (from Red's Dream) appears briefly amongst the junk.  Rex the Dinosaur is in WALL*E's collection.  Periodic hurricanes through trash mounds seen in this film resemble Soldier.  As he is filling his cooler with the bobblehead dog and bra, a bottle of Leak Less can be seen in the garbage.  future earth with giant mountains of garbage - crop failure solved by hero finding sprouting plant may imply that Idiocracy is in at least this same future timeline of the TVCU.  A garden gnome from Half-Life 2: Episode Two is seen among Wall-E's trinkets.  Also, in Oblivion, Earth has become inhospitable for humans and only machines are left there; Jack has a small flower that he keeps planted in a can.  When the captain asks the computer to define "earth," the first image that appears is a shot of a farmer from D.W. Griffith's 1909 film A Corner in Wheat

ALTERNATE UNIVERSES, POCKET DIMENSIONS, AND DIVERGENT TIMELINES:

BARBIE UNIVERSE--This is the reality where all the animated Barbie movies and television series and comics take place.  This includes historical tales that feature past life versions or ancestors of Barbie.



CARSVERSE (???)--In CARS, there is a cars based on Toy Story characters.  A logo for the CDA can be seen on the race cars.  In TOKYO MATER, Jumbotrons in the background advertise Buy N Large "lug nuts in a cup".  I don't want CARS and PLANES to be in the TVCU.  Out of all the Pixar films, those make the least sense.  But then there are these clever crossover links.  So I'm forced to place CARS and PLANES into their own pocket dimension, or something.  For more connections, both valid crossovers and homages, click here, here, and here.

CINEVERSE--Bo Peep is forced to retire after the Wolf kills her sheep.  She becomes a defense attorney and is forced to defend the Wolf when he is accused of raping Red Riding Hood.

EARTH-PRIME--Citizens of THE MAGIC LAND OF MOTHER GOOSE travel to Earth-Prime.

FAIRY TALE LAND--Casper the Friendly Ghost travels from the Looniverse to this reality and meets Bo Peep.  This reality is where WEE SING:  KING COLE'S PARTY must occur.  Also THE MOTHER GOOSE VIDEO TREASURY, JACK MILTON:  FAIRY TALE DETECTIVE, MICHAEL POPPINS IN THE CASE OF THE BEASTIE YEASTIES and MOTHER GOOSE ROCK'N'RHYME.  (Note when I came up with this it was before Once Upon a time aired.  I'm not sure if this is the same Fairy Tale Land or not.  Likely not, but it is refered to as Fairy Tale Land in the Casper cartoon.)

ROBOT CHICKEN UNIVERSE--Yeah, you know.

TOONIVERSE--Here also is the home reality of HAPPILY N'EVER AFTER 2.  If this is the universe where the toys are real, then perhaps POTATO HEAD KIDS also takes place here.

TOYLANDS--Each Toyland has a separate version of the events of MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS and BABES IN TOYLAND.

To all my readers (all 6 of you), I know you will criticize me for this one.  But it's just fun.  Accept it or don't.  I feel it works.