Toy Story 4 Trivia

Cameos, in-jokes, re-used animation and other trivia from Toy Story 4.

References to Toy Story

• The opening sequence features a close-up of Woody with the phrase, "You're my favorite deputy!" being played before he is moved out of the way to reveal the film's logo. Toy Story features a similar opening.
• Ducky says "You Are A Toy", the same phrase Buzz Lightyear heard from Sheriff Woody repeteadly about not being a real space ranger.
• While walking across the side of the road, Woody recounts the events of the first film to Forky, specifically Buzz's arrival. 
• When Ducky kept hitting Buzz Lightyear in the head with his foot, Buzz closes his helmet on Ducky's foot at the right moment. This is a reference to when Buzz did something similar to Woody's hand, when the cowboy hit him in the head.
• Bo Peep calls Buzz her “old moving buddy” when they reunite on top of the antique store, calling back to Bo's line "I found my moving buddy" after seeing Buzz "fly" in the first film. 

References to Toy Story 2  

• Bo helps Woody up after the skunkmobile crashes, Woody accidently pulls off Bo's arm, like how Andy accidently tore Woody's arm.

References to Toy Story 3

• The film expands on the fate of Bo Peep following the previous two films, as the third film established that as with other toys like Wheezy and Etch A Sketch, Bo was either sold, donated or given away before the events of such film.
• When Woody is telling Forky his life story, he tells him how Andy gave him and the gang to Bonnie.

Easter Eggs

• Tinny from Tin Toy appears inside the pinball machine, opening the door for Bo and Woody. 
• Duke Caboom first appeared as one of Jack-Jack's toys in Incredibles 2, foreshadowing his appearance in this film.
• In the beginning flashback of the film, Andy's calendar has a picture of the circus bugs from A Bug's Life sitting at the welcoming party. 
  • Similarly, Andy's calendar featured a concept picture from A Bug's Life in Toy Story 2.
• Old Timer from Toy Story of Terror! appears in Bonnie's closet as one of her outgrown toys.
  • Three Combat Carl, Jr. figures appear at the playground. First speaking to Woody before the campers arrive, then later finding Bo Peep to tell her about a nearby birthday party.  
• Woody hides behind a Battlesaurs lunchbox (featuring an image of Reptillus Maximus) while running to the trash can in Bonnie's kindergarten classroom.
• During the "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away" montage, Bonnie and her parents stop at a Dinoco gas station and a Poultry Palace.
• Bo's radio-control skunk runs on a Buy n Large nickel-cadmium battery pack.
• Billy finds and shows Bo a Grape Soda bottlecap, similar in design to Carl Fredricksen's pin from Up. 
• Several items from and references to previous Pixar films can be spotted inside Second Chance Antiques:
  • A Casey Jr. Cookies box, notably used as P.T. Flea's circus wagon in A Bug's Life.
  • P. Sherman's green scuba mask from Finding Nemo.
  • Carburetor County license plates, a Dinoco neon sign, and gas pump from Cars.
  • Carl's cane and scale models of a Muntz bi-plane and the Spirit of Adventure from Up.
  • A painting featuring Charles Muntz, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Dug playing poker, a parody of the painting Dogs Playing Poker. 
  • A napkin featuring the name and image of Wally B.
  • Board games entitled Lifted, Lava, and Knick Knack.
  • Old-fashioned signs advertising Eggman Movers, TripleDent Gum, and Poultry Palace.
  • A dinosaur trophy resembling Arlo from The Good Dinosaur. 
  • A VHS tape of Lifted.
• The Pizza Planet Truck appears in the form of a tattoo on a carnival booth owner.
  • This is the only Pixar film in which the Pizza Planet Truck appears in a non-physical manner.
• On Ducky and Bunny's game booth, plastic toy rockets feature the pattern of the Luxo Ball, while pink and blue toy guitars closely resemble Ernesto and Héctor's guitar from Coco.
• Figment from Epcot's Journey Into Imagination attraction can be seen on the "Dragon Zone" carnival game.
• A Chinese Food Box (first used in A Bug's Life) is seen in Margaret's fridge during Ducky and Bunny's "plush rush" fantasy sequence.
• The title design for the "Tiki Party" pinball machine bears the same tiki heads from the Tank Gang's fish tank.
• While Bo and Woody are loading Duke's launcher onto the shelf, a sign near them reads "Lucky 7", referring to the eponymous lounge inside Pixar Animation Studios.
• Duke zooms past a Pixar Image Computer while chasing Dragon the Cat (with the other toys in tow) out of the antique store.
• Just before the toys crash through the antique store's back window, a partly-visible Ken's Dream House appears tucked away in a corner. 
• The police cars that chase the Andersons' frantic RV are numbered "2319", the CDA code from Monsters, Inc.

General

• If calculations are correct, the movie currently takes place in 2008, having to have taken place two years after the third movie like how the second movie only took place a few months after the first film, Toy Story took place in 1995, Toy Story 2 takes place in early 1996, Toy Story 3 takes place in 2006, The Toy Story Toons took place for two years, claiming how Toy Story of Terror takes place six months after the third movie, and Toy Story That Time Forgot takes place in December 2007.
• Toy Story 4 is the second Pixar film to be released on June 21, after Monsters University.
  • Both films are also the third and fourth Disney animated films in general to be released on the aforementioned date after The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Lilo & Stitch.
• This is the first Toy Story film to be produced in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio, unlike the first three films of the franchise (which were produced in the 16:9 ratio).
• While the film was first officially announced in late 2014, John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton had started working on a treatment in 2012.
• Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, the main antagonist of Toy Story 3, was seen on stage at the 2015 D23 expo to promote Toy Story 4, though he does not appear in the actual film in person.
• Don Rickles, Mr. Potato Head's voice actor, passed away on April 6, 2017 before he could record any lines for the film. As such, with permission of Rickles' family, the film features Rickles' voice by using unused recordings from the first three films, from the video games and from Disney Parks.
  • This is the second Pixar sequel to feature archival records of a deceased actor after Cars 3.
• John Lasseter was set to direct the fourth Toy Story film after directing both Toy Story and Toy Story 2. Lasseter left the direction of Toy Story 3 to Lee Unkrich while he directed Cars 2. However, Lasseter stepped down as director due to his busy schedule and later left from both Pixar and Disney at the end of 2018, leaving Josh Cooley as the film's sole director in his directorial debut.
• Toy Story 4 was #1 in ad spending for the week of its release.
• The bottoms of Woody's and Buzz's feet say "Bonnie" instead of "Andy".
• Not counting the December 8, 2017 reissue of Coco, this is the second Pixar film not to be accompanied by a short film after the original Toy Story.
• In reference to The Shining: the song Midnight, the Stars and You from the film plays when Woody meets Gabby Gabby.
• One of Ducky's insults to Buzz on the game booth is "In a galaxy far, far away, you got kicked in the head!", a nod to the opening text of every Star Wars film in addition to other forms of media in the franchise.  
• In the first mid-credits sequence, Ducky gets the two plush frogs' attention by saying "Up here, Rainbow Connection!", referencing Kermit the Frog's song "The Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie.
  • In the same scene, Bunny asks the frogs "Do you Mr. Toads want to take a wild ride with a kid?", referencing the Disneyland attraction Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
• Woody is revealed to have been made in the late 1950s.
• Gabby Gabby's broken and scattered voice box may be inspired by John Lasseter's childhood Casper the Friendly Ghost doll, whose voice box is similarly broken and hardly understandable.
• This is the first Toy Story film that doesn't feature or mention the Green Army Men.
  • However they did appear in two posters for the fourth film.
• Mr. Anderson has a prominent role in the film, unlike in Toy Story 3 (where he only appeared in background shots).
• This is the only Toy Story sequel in which the entire logo appears at once as opposed to the number appearing a few seconds after the "Toy Story" part.
• This is the first Toy Story film not to involve a Buzz Lightyear of any sort that believes he is a real space ranger rather than a toy. It is also the first not to have Woody missing his hat for a moment of the film.
• This film is the second Pixar film to feature Figment the Dragon. The first film being "Inside Out".
• This is the first movie to not have A113 on Ms. Davis' minivan

Gallery

1st Poster to feature a Green Army Man

2nd film to feature a Green Army Man

View inside the Lucky 7 Lounge at Pixar

Eggman Movers sign found inside the Second Chance Antiques store