Was Toy Story's original pitch really so dark that Disney almost killed it?

The answer

On November 19, 1993 - later dubbed 'Black Friday' at Pixar - the team screened a storyboard reel of half the film for Disney executives, and it was a disaster. In this version, Woody was a cruel, sarcastic bully who deliberately threw Buzz Lightyear out a window out of jealousy, then bullied the other toys with no comedic relief. Disney's executive board, including Roy E. Disney, hated the joyless reel and threatened to shut down production entirely, demanding Pixar lay off the people responsible. Director John Lasseter begged for two weeks to fix it, and investor Steve Jobs personally funded the studio while animators worked around the clock. They made Woody sympathetic and Buzz's fall an accident, saving the film and ultimately launching a $3 billion franchise.