'Toy Story 3' Alternate Ending Revealed: Includes Revisit To Al's Toy Barn
"Toy Story 3" screenwriter Michael Arndt told "Script Apart" -- a podcast hosted by Al Horner about "the first-draft secrets of great movies and television shows" -- how different the film's ending originally was in the first draft.
According to Arndt's podcast interview, a lot has changed from the first draft to the final version of "Toy Story 3," released on the big screen in June 2010.
In the initial draft, the toys realize they are right next to Al's Toy Barn, where several radio-controlled toy vehicles are. To get to Andy in time, before he leaves for college, they try to take off with the toy cars but eventually collide with each other because they all grabbed the wrong remote controllers.
"It's sort of this comedy sprint to the finish where you have a ticking clock, and Andy's about to leave for college," shared Arndt.
As the toys sprint to Andy, their vehicles run out of batteries, causing them to eventually hop on the plane, sliding through the window and smashing into Andy's bedroom. But upon finding his toys, he packs them all away.
While the final script and the first draft have the same ending, where the toys escape the Sunnyside Daycare to get back to Andy before he leaves, the treatment and tone are different.
In the final script, where the ending is more emotional, Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie, as well as the other remaining toys, face their mortality and almost get incinerated.
After being saved, the toys find their way home before Andy heads to college. However, Andy decides to donate them to a new owner, Bonnie.
In the final shot of "Toy Story 3," the toys watch Andy drive away while sitting on Bonnie's porch.
According to Arndt, the opening sequence of "Toy Story 3" was also different in the first draft. Instead of the big train heist, the opening sequence was initially a "sort of Western showdown" between Buzz Lightyear and Woody after meeting each other on a street in the Old West.
"There was no story being told, so it ended up being very boring, and we ended up just sort of throwing it out and coming up with [something bigger and more fun]," he revealed.
