Whenever Pixar Animation has a strong desire for an actor to lend their voice to a certain character, they like to take dialogue from one of their performances and create animation to illustrate what the character would be like with their voice. This was especially true when Pixar was looking to make Toy Story their first feature film, and they had to show actors just what the movie was going to be like with their voice attached to it.
Even though Tom Hanks and Tim Allen ended up landing the roles of the cowboy doll Woody and the space ranger action figure Buzz Lightyear, Pixar had someone else in mind for the latter role, and it would have changed the character dynamic between the two characters severely. Believe it or not, Billy Crystal was the first choice to voice Buzz Lightyear, and Pixar wanted him for the role so badly that they animated Buzz Lightyear along with dialogue from When Harry Met Sally.
Watch the Toy Story screen test with Billy Crystal after the jump.
It’s obviously for the best that Billy Crystal ended up passing, even though the actor has said, “It’s the only regret I have in the business of something I passed on.” Crystal was smart enough to know that this part wasn’t right for him, and the rest is history. Plus, as we know, Crystal ended up getting a much better character that fit his personality in the form of Mike Wazowski in Monsters Inc.
For that screen test, Crystal said, “They used a test from My Giant where I’m saying, ‘Without Goliath, David is just a punk throwing rocks.” That’s probably the last time anyone ever watched My Giant as well. In addition to that screen test, Pixar had Steve Jobs call Crystal with the offer for Monsters Inc., and thankfully, it was enough to get him to sign on. Thanks to The AV Club for bringing this video to our attention.
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