New Toy Story Wiki
Advertisement

Toy Story of Terror! is a Halloween TV special that is based on the Toy Story films. It aired on October 16, 2013 on ABC. It was directed by Angus MacLane and produced by Galyn Susman. The score was composed by Michael Giacchino. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it was premiered on Sky Movies Disney. In this special, Jessie takes over as the protagonist.

Plot[]

The special opens with a woman named Betsy running for her life through a cemetery from a vampire. The camera then pans out, revealing that it is a movie being watched by Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Rex, Mr. Pricklepants, Mr. Potato Head, and Trixie inside the trunk of Bonnie's mother's car while on a road trip. The car hits a bump in the road, which leads to the car getting a flat tire and Jessie to be knocked into the toolbox she was sitting on to watch the movie. The others manage to free her, but this has greatly traumatized her. When asked by Trixie, Mr. Potato Head explains that Jessie spent years abandoned in a box and in storage, which resulted in her being claustrophobic.

Back in the front of the car, Mrs. Anderson notices the Sleep Well roadside motel. She and Bonnie (who has also brought the bag containing her toys) go into the motel to call the tow truck company, only to learn that the earliest they can get there is by 6:00 the next morning. Ron, the motel manager, hands them the key to Room #7 to spend the night.

Once Bonnie and her mother are asleep, Mr. Potato Head leaves the bag to check out the motel's amenities, soon to be followed by Mr. Pricklepants, Rex, and Trixie. Woody and Buzz then leave to get them back in the bag, while Jessie stays behind. But Jessie finds herself leaving the bag once her claustrophobia takes over, running over to Buzz while the audience sees the shadow of a strange creature cross the screen. Buzz assures her that she is safe and that they are all here, but is forced to eat his words when Mr. Potato Head is nowhere to be seen. Mr. Pricklepants states, a la classic horror films (which he, apparently, believes this to be), "And so it begins." The toys then find a strange goo-like substance (which Mr. Pricklepants compares to "slime from the creature's metamorphosis") that Mr. Potato Head managed to step in, leaving behind footprints that lead to a vent heading below the floor of the motel where Trixie is taken by the creature, still not fully seen. Mr. Pricklepants declares that the vent would be the story's threshold, and that "once the heroes enter, there is no turning back." The toys fall down it, where Mr. Pricklepants states that here is where the characters would get separated and fall victim to the creature one at a time. At that moment, the creature takes him and, seconds later, Rex. Realizing that the creature is close, Woody, Buzz, and Jessie run for their lives until they find Mr. Potato Head's arm, which holds up one finger in the air, and Jessie finds a hole back into the motel above them. Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the arm find their way into a bathroom in the motel, but Woody and Buzz argue about which way the hand is pointing. While fighting, the creature takes them both and the arm.

Jessie is then grabbed by an eccentric Combat Carl action figure under the sink who tells her that he has "seen horrible things" that have resulted in his separation from his friends and the dwindling hope of seeing his owner Billy again, reassuring himself with his iconic phrase: "Combat Carl never gives up. Combat Carl finds a way." He also warns her to turn back now if she ever wants to see her owner again. Jessie says that she needs to find her friends, which Carl quickly silences her on by showing her the lack of his right hand the creature took while he was trying to find his own friends. At that moment, they hear footsteps belonging to the creature, which then takes Carl. Jessie hides herself in the bathtub, but the creature eventually finds her, where it is revealed to be the manager's pet iguana Mr. Jones. He then takes Jessie to Ron the motel manager, who is stealing toys from his kid guests and selling them on the Internet. Jessie is then placed in a cabinet where she is reunited with Buzz and the others, as well as Combat Carl and the rest of Billy's toys. The reunion is cut short when Ron reenters upon hearing that he has a sale--someone has purchased Woody for $2,000. He then puts Woody in a box that is set to be delivered in the morning. The toys fret over what to do when Ron gets another sale. This time, it is Jessie. He then takes her out of the cabinet. But before she can be put in a box, the tow truck guy enters about the Anderson's flat tire, and the delivery woman takes the box with Woody in it to the truck. Jessie begins to panic about what to do, knowing that if she does nothing, they will all end up in boxes. Combat Carl gets an idea, telling her that she needs to get into a box and into the truck to save Woody. Jessie protests this, stating she can't get into a box. Combat Carl insists, saying that this is the only way, and teaches her his iconic phrase, "Combat Carl never gives up. Combat Carl finds a way." She then repeats it, substituting her name for his. Jessie finds her way into a box, and then places another on top of it so the delivery woman won't notice that it isn't sealed, but she quickly discovers the ruse and tapes the box shut. In the truck, Jessie repeats to herself that she'll find a way until she discovers a paper clip which she uses to unseal herself and free Woody. The two of them run back into the motel, where Woody climbs up to get the others, but Jessie hears Bonnie about to check out, and runs to the red curtain that prevents guests behind the check-in table from seeing the stolen toys. But this catches the attention of Mr. Jones, who grabs her by the boot. Just when it looks as if she's iguana chow, Jessie notices Carl's hand and Mr. Potato Head's lost arm inside Mr. Jones' throat. Jessie manages to get them out, and pulls away the curtain with some help from the arm at the last minute, revealing the toys to Bonnie and her mother. Bonnie puts all of her toys back into the bag, and the toys go home when Rex asks if they have seen Potato Head. Pricklepants says that maybe the creature has claimed one last victim when Jessie points out that he is just on the other side of the trunk enjoying a reunion with his lost arm. Then the car starts up, causing his parts to scatter, resulting in him saying, "Nuts!" And the rest of the toys then laugh. Mr. Pricklepants closes the special by stating that laughter is a definite sign that the worst is over and the credits are about to roll.

During the end credits scene, Carl and his friends go home to their owner Billy while the police arrive to take Ron (and possibly Mr. Jones) to jail. However, Ron flees, crashing into the motel's sign with the police cruiser before running out. The last line in the special is one of the cops saying that they've got a runner.

Characters[]

Characters Introduced[]

Voice Cast[]

Transcript

View the episode's transcript here.

Gallery

6b4a0c9945677555ce6f22623604a1e8.jpg 960x960q80

Click to view the gallery for Toy Story of Terror.

Trivia[]

  • This special premiered on October 16, 2013, the day of the 90th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company.
  • LEGO Bunny and the Fork Lift Girl are the only characters who do not speak.
  • This is the first Toy Story production where Hamm doesn't appear, making Buzz and Rex the only two Toy Story characters to appear in every medium in the franchise. However, that changed in 2019 with the Forky Asks a Question episode What is Money? which is the first Toy Story production they don't appear in.
Advertisement