I just learned that in development of the first TS film, Pizza Planet was originally called Pizza Putt, with a mini-golf theme instead of a sci-fi theme. I think it sounded like a cute idea, but when I first saw Pizza Planet introduced on the big screen, I was blown away! Bear in mind, I was seven years old, but I thought it was the coolest thing and I can’t imagine that scene being anything else. But that’s just me; do the rest of you think that Pizza Putt would have been as memorable?
Well, based on The Art of Toy Story that I got for Christmas, the Pizza Putt idea did look pretty cool. The whole theme was Pizza (as the name implies), so there were things like Pizza Windmills and a Wiener Dog that the players went through. But I think the reason why Pizza Planet works so much better is because delusional Buzz Lightyear believing this is an actual spaceport. It was an 11th hour change for PIXAR.
Haha, Pizza Putt does sound cool, but I do absolutely love Pizza Planet, and as Pixar Builder pointed out, it ties in very well with Buzz’s background.
When they came up with Pizza Putt they didn’t really realize until thinking about it that it needed to be a space themed restaurant because after being stranded at the gas station that would be the only thing that would convince Buzz to go with Woody, and the movie is so much better now cause they changed it (plus those aliens are some of the most memorable characters and they wouldn’t have even existed). If they had stuck with Pizza Putt then this forum would be called Pixar Putt and that doesn’t sound like a very good name.
That would be funny! I wonder how much different Pixar Planet would look like if they had stuck with the Golf Course idea. Perhaps instead of the Alien logo, we’d be using the Pizza Slice-with-Sunglasses character that was the original idea.
In think it would be just as memorable, mabye a bit more. I like “Pizza Planet” a lot though because it keeps with the space theme.
Another good reason that I realized for changing it was when Andy’s mom tells him he can only bring one toy with him, which makes things even harder for Woody cause if you’re going to a space themed restaurant than the toy you’re most likely going to take with you will be Buzz (like in Toy Story 2 when Woody was supposed to go to Cowboy Camp), so it pushed Woody even further to find some way of getting Buzz lost before Andy comes back into the room. If it were like a regular golf course it would have seemed like he could bring any toy to it.
yeah, that’s the thing about Pizza Planet that always kind of confused me. If Andy’s favorite restaurant is already space themed, as opposed to western theme, that means that Andy was already growing more and more attached to space toys than Woody. So then why is Buzz Lightyear the only space toy Andy has (the robot doesn’t count, since it’s on a more educational basis)?
That’s an interesting question, Pixar Builder. It’s obvious that Andy’s really into space stuff as he decks out his whole room with it, but then along with that you’d expect him to have a whole host of space toys, including Zurg, for example.
In the same vein, when he was obsessing over the cowboy theme, he only had one cowboy toy- Woody. That might’ve been because there wasn’t much cowboy stuff in the shops at the time though, especially as Woody is a family heirloom as opposed to just any old toy bought then.
Maybe his mum said that he already had enough toys? After Andy’s birthday, it’s not like he keeps getting more and more toys really. Plus, from a film-maker’s point of view, for there to be more space toys outnumbering Woody would seem a bit unfair as well as confusing the whole issue. It’s much simpler if it’s Woody versus Buzz.
That’s certainly true lizardgirl. I was also kind of thinking that perhaps Pizza Planet could have been newly discovered by Andy before his Birthday, and perhaps that is the reason why he wanted a Buzz Lightyear. But you’re completely right, it makes more sense to just simplify it as Woody vs Buzz.