Fans have been left heartbroken after learning that the woman who saved Toy Story 2 from being lost forever has just been laid off by Pixar.
Toy Story is one of the most universally loved children’s film franchises of all time. Revolving around the antics of a group of toys led by Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks, and Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Tim Allen, the franchise has gone on to have 4 volumes, and numerous spin off projects. It was even confirmed earlier this year that there is a Toy Story 5 in the works!
But what some fans may not be aware of is the fact that the critically acclaimed second movie in the franchise was almost lost forever. Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull revealed the near-disastrous tale in his book Creativity Inc.
One day, an employee accidentally deleted the film’s root file when cleaning up their servers, meaning they thought that it had been lost forever. Pixar tried to shut the servers down in an attempt to save the movie, but they weren’t fast enough, and so ended up losing about ninety percent of the flick.
This meant that they would have to start from scratch again in order to make the film. Or that was what they thought, until one employee saved the day.
Technical director Galyn Susman had been working from home after having given birth 6 months prior, and thankfully she had a copy of Toy Story 2. Susman and a fellow Pixar worker went to her house, wrapped her computer up in blankets, and brought it to the company’s offices so they could recover the movie.
However, Pixar eventually changed the idea of what Toy Story 2 should be and the movie ended up being redone anyway, but Susman was without a doubt a total hero for being able to save months, if not years, worth of her and her colleague’s work.
She went on to work on movies such as Ratatouille and Toy Story 4, but sadly Pixar laid her off in their latest round of cost-cutting. Disney are planning to reduce their costs by $5.5 billion, and on May 23, they let go seventy-five members of Pixar staff, including senior employees such as Susman.
Fans have responded to the news with heartbreak.
One said: “I remember seeing her mini documentary on the Toy Story 2 DVD as a kid and it blows my mind that the movie I cherish so much wouldn’t be a thing without her.”
Another commented: “Should have a job for life, one of the best sequels of all time. What about laying off the person who thought the fourth was a good idea?”
While a third wrote: “That’s awful. She deserves better than that. She’s the one who literally saved Toy Story 2.”
