Toy Story 4 Trivia

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

References to Toy Story

• Dur​​ing the flashback scene, Slinky is used to pull RC to safety similar to the moving van scene, this time being more successful (with the help of The Barrel of Monkeys).
• 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.
• In the teaser trailer, Ducky says "You Are A Toy", the same phrase Buzz Lightyear heard from Sheriff Woody repeteadly about not being a real space ranger. It is also said by Woody to Forky during his pep-talk on the walk to Grand Basin, this time in a more assertive and mature manner.
• 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. 
• Woody's theme which plays in the beginning of Toy Story plays during the ending of the Toy Story 4, signifying the completion of Woody's character arc.
• Just like Toy Story, there was no real villain as like Sid and Scud, Gabby Gabby was a misunderstood doll who genuinely never hurt others despite using extreme measures in getting Woody's voicebox. However, unlike Sid who ended up being a garbage worker in the third film, Gabby Gabby finally gets a kid to be played with.
• In the teaser reaction, Ducky and Bunny has mocked Buzz Lightyear's catch phrase (To infinity and beyond!") with their own adult humor. This would carry forward to the film where they mocked him with their own version of his catchphrase.
  • The catchphrase is given a new meaning in the film's ending as the first half is said by Buzz with the second half being said by Woody. This is a call back to their friendship as they parted ways, knowing they will remember each other in their hearts.

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.
• Woody's decision to leave his friends for to live out his better purpose as a lost toy is similar to his initial decision in Toy Story 2, except that he and his friends parted in more peaceful terms than he did in Al's apartment as they knew Woody was happier living with Bo Peep in helping lost toys gain their kids compared to his decision to live as a museum display in Japan.
• Geri's words "You handle him too much, he's not going to last!" was applied here when Woody caught himself in a tug-o-war situation between both sides of Bo Peep and Gabby Gabby to the point that his voicebox was nearly ripped out of him as he was pulled too hard on the pullstring by Gabby Gabby and the Bensons.
• Jessie shows a bit of anxiety when she and the other toys were put away in Bonnie's closet which is a callback to her pain caused by Emily abandonning her in the second film.
• Woody ultimately giving up his voicebox to Gabby Gabby to help her find her kid as well as getting Forky back is a callback to one of the bloopers where Jessie pulled his pullstring too hard that it snapped,

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.
• In the film's flashback, Bo Peep resigns to her fate of donated to another kid, parting ways with Woody. This could be the reason why Woody felt heartbroken when Rex mentioned her in the third film.
• In the third film, Woody feels briefly conflicted over his decision for the toys to be in the attic and himself to be with Andy in college that he ultimately donated himself and his friends to Bonnie. It becomes more apparent in the fourth film when he was no longer Bonnie's favorite to the point of him saying Andy's name instead of Bonnie's to Forky.
• Buzz's triple reset in the third film had consequences. Here, it become apparent that he took Woody's advice on his inner voice too literally that he uses his voice box to help him make decisions until that night when Mrs Anderson tries to put him away for acting up.
• Woody's scream when he pulls off Bo Peep's arm is recycled from when he falls off the train at the start of the third film.

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, and a model of Flo from Cars.
  • A photograph of Geri from Geri's Game. 
  • Knick in his snowglobe from Knick Knack.
  • The Captain’s hat from WALL•E
  • 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.
  • An alebrije figure of Pepita from Coco.
  • Elastigirl's "Elasticycle" from Incredibles 2. 
  • Board games entitled Lifted, Lava, Red's Dream, and Knick Knack.
    • Below those, there’s one called Ed´s Hand, referring to Ed Catmull´s A Computer Animated Hand.
  • Old-fashioned signs advertising Eggman Movers, TripleDent Gum, and Poultry Palace.
  • A coffee mug with the picture of EVE.
  • A dinosaur trophy resembling Arlo from The Good Dinosaur. 
  • A VHS tape of Lifted.
  • A model of the barracuda from Finding Nemo.
  • The Scream Canisters from Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University.
  • Frying pans from Ratatouille.
  • Sewing machines that were being made by the Rivera family from Coco.
  • Bing Bong's wagon from Inside Out.
• 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 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' RV are numbered "2319", the CDA code from Monsters, Inc.
• In the first mid-credits scene, the bouncy castle at the carnival features the same pegicorn design as Guinevere (Barley Lightfoot's van) from Onward.
• Ducky and Bunny mocking Buzz Lightyear to the point of mocking his catchphrase ("To infinity and my foot!") is call back to how "To Infinity and Beyond!" is parodied in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command TV series.

Easter Eggs Gallery

In the prologue, the calendar in Andy's room (left) has a picture from A Bug's Life.

General

• If calculations are correct, then the movie takes place in 2012 (and the end-credits are set in 2013, a year after the events of the fourth film), seeing as it takes place two years after the third movie. Toy Story took place in 1999, Toy Story 2 takes place in early 2000 (just a few months after the first film), and Toy Story 3 takes place in 2010. 
• Toy Story 4 is the second Pixar film to be released on June 21, after 2013's Monsters University. Coincidentally, Toy Story 4 was released six years 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, Buzz's, and Jessie's boots say "Bonnie" instead of "Andy". Bullseye has a "B" on his front left hoove rather than each letter of Andy's name written on them.
• 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.
• A vintage action figure of Obi-Wan Kenobi cutting off Ponda Baba's arm from the Star Wars franchise appears with the other forgotten toys.
• 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.
• Gabby Gabby is revealed to have been made in the late 1950s, just like Woody.
• 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 of the following:
  • 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 since the original Toy Story not to have Woody missing his hat for a moment of the film.
  • The first Toy Story film not to have A113 on Ms. Davis' minivan.
• This film is the second Pixar film to feature Figment the Dragon. The first film being "Inside Out".
• This is the last Pixar film to air in the 2010s.
• Multiple Kon plush toys from Bleach were seen hanging in the carnival booth during the mid-credits, making the second PIXAR film to include a cameo from Japanese anime after the third film became the first to include a cameo from Japanese anime (in which Totoro appeared)
• When the first full trailer was released, Disney fans from the Middle Eastern countries launched a huge campaign on Twitter with the hashtag #احنا_مش_مجرد_لعبة (literally meaning #WeAreNotAToy) asking Disney to dub the movie into Egyptian Arabic, as Disney used to dub all their movies to Egyptian Arabic since 1975, before unfortunately stopping in early 2012.
  • As a side note, the original Toy Story trilogy is considered as the most popular and loved Disney owned franchises in the Middle East, next to The Lion King, with all three movies dubbed in Egyptian Arabic the same years they were released.
• This is the first and only Toy Story film not to have a video game based on it, unlike three previous films.

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

The comparison between the Pegicorn design on the bouncy castle (Enhanced) and Barley Lightfoot's van from Onward

The bouncy castle in the carnival with the pegicorn design

Two easter eggs referencing both Señorita Cactus scrapped from Toy Story 2 and Obi-Wan Kenobi chopping Ponda Baba's arm off