Where the story began Toy World spoke to Albert Chan, founder, CEO and president of Thinkway Toys, master toy licensee for the Pixar’s Toy Story brand, about how the company’s involvement with the brand came about, and both the challenges and opportunities it presented. What was your initial reaction when you were presented with the Toy Story opportunity? Who can forget such a moment? I still remember that evening very well. During the 1995 January Toy Fair in Toronto, Mr. Jim Rayburn, head of the Disney licensing group of Canada, dropped in to our showroom at the end of the day. We walked over to a quiet area where he discreetly pulled out a couple of sketches of a cowboy and a spaceman. He told me these were the hero and antagonist in an upcoming movie hitting theatres on Thanksgiving that year. My adrenaline was steadily rising as I listened. Finally he popped the question and asked if Thinkway Toys would be interested in making products for this property, as the global master toy licensee. Jim went on to explain that there was a condition to the offer: Thinkway would need to go to the New York Toy Fair a month later for an official Toy Story presentation. Afterward, the Disney US office would make a final decision on which company would make the toys for Toy Story. I was excited and honoured at the same time. My company’s track record of speedy production and delivery with Disney Canada had prepared us for this incredible opportunity. Now my humble company was being invited by the entertainment giant to make toys for a full-length feature film! That would be the dream of any toy company. I instinctively knew the answer and without hesitation, I said “Yes”. In February 1995, Thinkway Toys successfully acquired the global rights to the Toy Story licence. Things were never the same again!
Why did you take a chance on manufacturing toys for Pixar when it was an unknown and untested studio? What appealed to you about the opportunity? Even though Pixar was an unknown and untested studio at the time, I was still very excited about making toys for its first movie for a number of reasons. First of all, an animated movie about toys coming alive when humans are not around was a really interesting idea. I could imagine young children watching Toy Story in theatres and going wildeyed when they saw the toys come alive. The lead characters - a spaceman and a cowboy - were my favourite toys when I was growing up. From personal and business experiences, I believed these action figures would be strong enough on their own, if by chance the movie didn’t succeed. Secondly, I took a chance on Toy Story out of respect for John Lasseter, the film director. I was impressed by his creativity and passion for the film and I was ready to give him full support. Little did I know at the time that John had already won an Oscar for his short film Tin Toy in 1998. Finally, Toy Story was at the frontier of computer
animation - it was to become the very first computergenerated feature film. It was a chance to be a part of history. Besides, Disney would be promoting the film, so I knew there would be substantial marketing support behind the property. With emotions and sentiments aside, there were real risks involved in taking on Toy Story. Being the first fully computer-animated film, a brand new medium back in 1995, no one could guess how the final footage would look on the big screen. For most publicly held companies, it was risky business. For me, it was an investment that paid off. But the real challenge lied in the extremely short production lead-time. That was the main reason major toy companies like Mattel and Hasbro turned down Toy Story. We, on the other hand, were eager to take on the challenge to prove ourselves. In the few months after obtaining the Toy Story licence, we literally worked around the clock, designing a full line of products such as action figures (talking and non-talking), bendables, plush, electronic banks, etc. We used stereography 3D printing, another first in the toy industry, to make prototypes to help speed up product approval. We then switched to focus on manufacturing and logistics. We were very proud when we shipped out the world’s first Toy Story products in August 1995. By October that year, there were more than three million Buzz Lightyear action figures in retail stores around the world. It was a big miracle by a small company.
Were you worried about the challenge of creating a larger scale action figure than the toy industry was accustomed to at the time? John Lasseter firmly believed that the Buzz and Woody action figures should be the same size as their movie counterparts. He explained that Buzz Lightyear was designed as a 12” action figure in reality and that was the scale applied throughout the film. At the time, traditional action figures in North America were only 5 1/2”. What John wanted was more than double the industry norm. I was unsure if retailers would accept the larger size and the groundbreaking higher price point. Adding to the challenge, I was faced with an impossibly short lead-time. A smaller prototype had already been made and I would need to go back to the drawing board and start over again to redesign, produce and ship the toys before the movie hit theatres in just five months. To persuade me, John looked at me and said: “Albert, just trust me”. I gave him my trust and followed his guidance to make the jumbo-sized action figures. As it turned out, John’s vision was right on the mark. Children and collectors alike loved the actual movie size Buzz and Woody action figures. Today, the 12” size remains a key item with most action figure lines.
How have you found working with John Lasseter? Working with John Lasseter over the years, I have learned to respect and follow his instinct to make toys for his movies. John is an avid toy collector. We met for the first time in 1995 at the Pixar office in Richmond, California (not the current Emeryville location). The room was filled with all kinds of wonderful toys. Five minutes into the meeting, John and I started talking about his toy ideas and that transpired into playing with his toys on the floor - it was a toyetic beginning. I realized that John possessed great knowledge about toys and it would be wise of me to follow his directions. As a case in point, we produced a Jessie doll based on Toy Story 2 and Edna Mode from The Incredibles as a result of John’s recommendations. Even though those films would appeal primarily to boys, John saw a niche for girl toys. The result was that Edna was a complete sellout, and Jessie’s sale numbers are now close to Woody’s!
What role has the Toy Story brand played in Thinkway’s history? Toy Story has been and remains the most important project in the history of my company. It catapulted Thinkway Toys to the global level and opened doors with other licences. Buzz and Woody have become Disney Pixar’s icons and Toy Story is an evergreen franchise. To this day we are still manufacturing and shipping 12” Buzz and 16” Woody all over the world. Toy Story has changed my life and I will be forever grateful for this unbelievable opportunity!