Toy Story That Time Forgot

Plot

During a post-Christmas playdate, Trixie is sad that Bonnie never depicts her as a dinosaur when they play. Bonnie later takes Trixie, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex, and aphorism-spouting Christmas ornament Angel Kitty to her friend Mason's house for a play date. Bonnie ends up tossing the toys into Mason's playroom to join Mason in playing with his video game console.

Bonnie's toys discover the playroom is dominated by "Battlesaurs," a huge dinosaur-themed playset that Mason received for Christmas, led by warrior Reptillus Maximus and The Cleric. Trixie is delighted to interact with them as a dinosaur. She and Rex are armed as warriors, unaware that Woody and Buzz have been taken prisoner. Reptillus and Trixie quickly grow close, but it is soon revealed that the Battlesaurs have not yet been played with, and therefore do not know that they are toys. (Just like Buzz in the first film.) To Trixie's horror, Mason's other toys are violently attacked in an arena, Woody and Buzz are then brought in to fight, but Trixie defends them. The Cleric denounces Trixie for bearing Bonnie's name on her foot; she flees to get Bonnie's help, and Reptillus is sent after her. She shows him his own toy package, which enrages him.

In the arena, the Cleric takes control of Rex's robotic armaments and forces him to seize Woody and Buzz. They realize the Cleric is aware of Mason and their status as toys; with Mason preoccupied by the video game, the Cleric maintains authoritarian control over the Battlesaurs. The Cleric intends to destroy Woody, Buzz, and Angel Kitty. In Mason's bedroom, Reptillus confronts Trixie as she is about to deactivate the video game. She convinces him that "surrendering" to a child for playtime will broaden his horizons, and he turns the game off. Mason finds Reptillus, and Bonnie begins playing with him. The children return to the playroom just in time to unknowingly save Woody and Buzz, and they play with the Battlesaurs and other toys in a variety of non-combat settings. Reptillus calls the experience "glorious."

Back in Bonnie's room, Trixie tells the other toys that she is "Bonnie's dinosaur," and is happy in every role Bonnie has for her. Angel Kitty gives one last moral and inexplicably vanishes.

That night in Mason's room, Reptillus happily bears Mason's name on his hand and looks forward to seeing Trixie at Mason and Bonnie's next playdate, already scheduled for the following week.

Cast

Production

The special was originally planned to be a six-minute short, but John Lasseter liked the idea and suggested making it into a holiday special. The special took three years to make, with two years spent on story development. The team took time to design the Battlesaurs as if they were a real cartoon and toy line. The story was made in three acts.

In the UK, Toy Story That Time Forgot was broadcast by Sky Movies and aired on December 6, 2014, four days after the US' air date. In the Sky Movies commercial, a tablet's video promoting the holiday Toy Story special glitches, forcing the cleric to burn Woody and Buzz on a small candle. Angel Kitty says, "Joy has no limit, when you look to the sky."

Marketing

The first look poster for Toy Story That Time Forgot, created by comics artist Mike Mignola, was released at Comic Con 2014.

Home media

Toy Story That Time Forgot was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 3, 2015, the same day as the Blu-ray and DVD release of Inside Out. Bundled with the physical copies is a fake intro to the Battlesaurs cartoon, animated by the Japanese production company Studio Trigger.

Reception

The special received 6.79 million viewers, and received generally positive reviews from critics. On Disney Channel, it received 3.27 million viewers, making it the most-watched broadcast on the network that night.

IGN said, "Toy Story That Time Forgot may not have time for the addicting sentiment that we've grown accustomed to with these characters, but it's still a lot of fun." Cinema Blend rated it 4.5 out of 5, saying "Delivering the humor, heart and toy-filled adventure that we've come to expect from the Toy Story franchise, Toy Story that Time Forgot is another wonderful, entertaining and playful installment to the franchise, and well worth a watch for kids and kids-at-heart."