Shrek 2 (2004)

This is the second installment in the series

Summary
-After rescuing Princess Fiona from eternity in a tall tower and marrying her, it's time for Shrek to meet her parents. Shrek, Donkey and Fiona go to Far Far Away, where her parents live. While Shrek and the King struggle to get along, secretly Prince Charming, who was supposed to rescue the princess, works with his mother, a fairy godmother, to break Fiona and Shrek apart

Cast
-Mike Myers: Shrek
-Eddie Murphy: Donkey
-Cameron Diaz: Princess Fiona
-Julie Andrews: Queen Lillian
-John Cleese: King Harold
-Antonio Banderas: Puss in Boots
-Rupert Everett: Prince Charming
-Jennifer Saunders: Fairy Godmother
-Aron Warner: Wolf
-Cody Cameron: Pinnochio / Three Pigs
-Conrad Vernon: Gingerbread Man
-Larry King: Ugly Stepsister

Did You Know?
-When Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots are walking through the Fairy Godmother's factory, the employees are putting bottles on the conveyor belt. One of the bottles reads "Viagra"

-It was a pure coincidence when there was a poster of a Sir Justin Timberlake in the movie. No one had any idea that Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake were actually dating in real life. Justin would have a role playing Arthur in Shrek the Third

-Jennifer Saunders, who voiced the Fairy Godmother, did all her own singing for the movie

-In the police chase scene, there are references to a "white Bronco". This refers to the famous slow-motion highway chase which involved police officers chasing O.J. Simpson in a white Ford Bronco. The camera work and appearance also mimic the show Cops.

-The song "Changes", originally by David Bowie, was re-recorded by an artist named Butterfly Boucher for the movie. David Bowie was so impressed with this version of the song that he provided backing vocals on this version

-When Donkey, Shrek and Fiona left for Far Far Away, Donkey starts singing "Rawhide". Eddie Murphy ad libbed this and producers kept it in the movie

-To make sure his interpretation of Puss in Boots was accurate, Antonio Banderas, who owns several cats, studied them, studied their movements

-John Cleese and Julie Andrews recorded their lines together to get the right mood for their characters. This is considered unusual for an animated movie

-When the giant Gingerbread Man (Mongo) is hit with the flaming catapult ball, the roar it lets off is the same roar used by the original Japanese Godzilla

-William Steig, who wrote the book the movie is based on, died during the production of this movie

-When Shrek turns in to a human after drinking the potion, the human form resembles Mike Myers

-When the Fairy Godmother gives the King a potion to give to Fiona, the symbol on it is IX, which is the Roman numeral for 9. This makes it Love Potion No. 9, which is a popular song

-When Shrek and Donkey find the factory where the Fairy Godmother works, Donkey says "It's the old Keeble Place", referring to the Keebler Elves

-When Puss in Boots first comes after Shrek, he carves a P in to the tree. This is a reference to the movie The Mask of Zorro, where Antonio Banderas plays the title role.

-There are loads of references to the Lord of the Rings in this movie. One is the scene where Shrek gives Fiona a ring that comes from a fire and says, in the same type of Elvish font, "I love you" with the same type of cinematic angle. Another is The Poison Apple Tavern is similar to the inn from the movie, The Prancing Pony seen in The Fellowship of the Ring. The last one is in the first Shrek movie, the castle in which Fiona is held captive is in a mountain that resembles Mount Doom in Mordor

-There are references to Indiana Jones as well. The first one is when Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots are escaping the factory, Puss in Boots grabs his hat just in time for the door to close. This is a reference to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In the movie, Indiana reaches for his fedora hat before a door in a trap in the temple closes. Another reference is when the potion barrel is knocked over, this also references Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In that movie, Thugee cult leader Mola Ram has his assistants knock over a large barrel of water to chase Indy down a mine shaft.

-The pictures seen in the halls of the castle are of real kings and queens. In one picture is Queen Elizabeth I

-Fiona can be seen wearing an Irish Claddagh necklace when she is talking to her dad after Shrek and Donkey meet Puss in Boots. Typically, Irish Claddagh symbols can be worn as a necklace or ring and they symbolize friendship, love and loyalty.

-The billboard showing the Fairy Godmother is a spoof of the famous Hollywood billboard showing model Angelyne

-When this movie was released in the UK, some parents were worried because the Fairy Godmother uses the word "bloody", which some consider to be an offensive word in the UK

-When Jennifer Saunders was doing this movie, she was also recording Absolutely Fabulous. She had to do her vocal recordings in England

-Actor Jonathan Pryce was considered for the role of King Harold

-Cloris Leachman was considered for the role of Queen Lillian

Shrek (2001)

This is one of those movies that all but takes a fairy tale and changes the rules on it for the better.

Summary
-In order to clear his swamp of all manner of fairytale creature, a grumpy ogre and a talking donkey embark on a quest to rescue a princess for a lord looking to become king

Cast
-Mike Myers: Shrek
-Eddie Murphy: Donkey
-Cameron Diaz: Princess Fiona
-John Lithgow: Lord Farquaad
-Vincent Cassel: Monsieur Hood
-Jim Cummings: Captain of Guards
-Chris Miller: Geppetto / Magic Mirror
-Kathleen Freeman: Old Woman
-Cody Cameron: Pinnochio / Three Pigs
-Conrad Vernon: Gingerbread Man

Did You Know?
-When Mike Myers originally did the voice over work for Shrek, he did it in his natural speaking voice. He felt it was missing something though. Initially, he tried country Canadian accents, but still felt it didn't work. Then he came up with the genius idea to do the voice over work in a Scottish accent like his mother used when reading bedtime stories to him as a child. Unfortunately, it cost over $4 million to do twenty sessions to complete this re-voiceover

-Douglas Rogers, the art director for the film, wanted Shrek's swamp to look like a southern plantation. He visited a magnolia plantation in Charleston, South Carolina and was chased by an alligator while there

-The song "I'm a Believer", which was covered by Smash Mouth for this movie, was specifically chosen because of the line "I thought love was only true in fairy tales"

-When recording her fight scenes with Robin Hood and his Merry Men, Cameron Diaz had become very physical. She had studied kung fu for her role in Charlie's Angels and at times started speaking Cantonese.

-Experts in medieval armor were brought in to help make the armor in the movie more realistic

Toy Story 3 (2010)

This is the third movie in the series.

Summary
-When Andy finishes packing for college, he puts the toys in a bag destined for the attic to save them. Andy's mom thinks he is getting rid of them, so she mistakenly delivers them to a local day-care center and it's up to Woody to convince them they were not abandoned and leave

Cast
-Tom Hanks: Woody
-Joan Cusack: Jessie
-John Ratzenberger: Hamm
-Don Rickles: Mr. Potato Head
-Tim Allen: Buzz Lightyear
-Ned Beatty: Lotso
-Michael Keaton: Ken
-Wallace Shawn: Rex
-Estelle Harris: Mrs. Potato Head
-Jodi Benson: Barbie
-John Morris: Andy
-Emily Hahn: Bonnie
-Laurie Metcalf: Andy's Mom
-Blake Clark: Slinky Dog
-Teddy Newton: Chatter Telephone
-Bud Luckey: Chuckles
-Timothy Dalton: Mr. Pricklepants
-Kristen Schaal: Trixie
-Bonnie Hunt: Dolly
-Whoopi Goldberg: Stretch
-Jan Rabson: Sparks
-Richard Kind: Bookworm
-Jack Angel: Chunk

Did You Know?
-Director Lee Unkrich wanted the Sunnyside escape to be just right. He and the Pixar crew watched every prison movie ever. He even stated "There are a lot of prison movies out there, and I think we watched every single one of them."

-As Barbie is going through Ken's closet, she finds a blue and gold letterman jacket with a K on the breast and a blue and gold "State" pennant across the front. Blue and gold are the colors for Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, where Michael Keaton, who voiced Ken, graduated from.

-Two of the addresses used in the movie exist in real life. 1225 Sycamore Street (Bonnie's house) and 234 Elm Street (Andy's house) exist in two different cities: Cincinnati, Ohio and Denton, Texas. In Cincinnati, however, Sycamore is a main thoroughfare near the center of the city

-For the desert sequence, the Judas Priest song "Electric Eye" was used as temporary music because Lee Unkrich and every employee who worked on the film are fans of heavy metal

Toy Story 2 (1999)

This is the second movie in the series

Summary
-When Andy's mom is having a yard sale, Woody accidentally gets stolen by a vintage toy collector. Buzz and the other toys set out to rescue Woody with the rest of his roundup gang before they are sold to a toy museum in Japan

Cast
-Tom Hanks: Woody
-Tim Allen: Buzz Lightyear
-Joan Cusack: Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl
-Kelsey Grammer: Stinky Pete the Prospector
-Don Rickles: Mr. Potato Head
-Jim Varney: Slinky Dog
-Wallace Shawn: Rex the Dinosaur
-John Ratzenberger: Hamm the Piggy Bank
-Annie Potts: Bo Peep
-Wayne Knight: Al the Toy Collector
-Estelle Harris: Mrs. Potato Head

Did You Know?

-Stinky Pete was the first Pixar villain shown to be good at first. Circumstances had led him to be an antagonist later on when he reveals why he is angry at kids

-Jim Varney and Don Rickles, who voice Slinky Dog and Mr. Potato Head, died 17 years apart from each other while Joe Ranft and R. Lee Ermey, who voiced Wheezy/Lenny and Sarge, both died 13 years apart from each other

-It's almost obvious that Al's favorite snack is cheese puffs. They make appearances everywhere, from the trunk of his car to a bowl he spills on the floor. This could explain why he's overweight

-Stinky Pete the Prospector is based on the character Howard, played by Walter Huston, in the film The Treasure of Sierra Madre

-In an interview, Tom Hanks stated that he and Tim Allen watched the "Jessie's Song" sequence and when it was over, broke down in tears

-During the karaoke scene at the end, Wheezy's voice is based on Frank Sinatra, who died a year before the film was released

-This is the first Pixar film to feature Wayne Knight

-The character Jessie came about because director John Lasseter's wife Nancy suggested there be a strong female character

-Jessie is claustrophobic and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder from being abandoned and left in storage for so long it traumatized her

-Buster, Andy's dog, is one of the only people who knows toys come to life

-When Buzz is running up the luggage conveyor belt looking for Woody, he gets a sticker saying "Butte" stuck to him. This refers to Butte City, California. In another scene, there was a sticker stuck to Slinky Dog, saying "LHR". This is the IATA airport code for Heathrow Airport in London, England

-Bullseye seems to be more attached to Jessie than Woody, despite being Woody's horse. Jessie is always seen comforting him or putting her arm around him

-This was the last Pixar film of the 1990s

-Al's old-style car looks like Flo from the film Cars

-Carol Burnett, Florence Henderson and Betty White were some of the actresses who auditioned to voice Mrs. Potato Head

-The character Al the toy collector was based on Mark Luhn, the father of animator/storyboard artist Matthew Luhn. Mark owned a toy store called Jeffrey's Toys in addition to collecting toys. A group of animators followed him around, noting his mannerisms and learn about collecting toys.

-The car that Buzz and Hamm drive is the Pizza Planet truck. It's a Gyoza, which is a pun on Toyota. In real life, a gyoza is a type of Asian dumpling

-Mary Kay Bergman, who provided the yodels for Jessie, committed suicide two days before the film's release

-When the toys are leaving Al's apartment building, to get the door to stay open, Mr. Potato Head throws his hat in just a way to keep it open. This is a nod to the James Bond film Goldfinger, where Oddjob would throw his hat in that same technique

-When Utility Belt Buzz "arrests" normal Buzz, he is told that he is in direct violation of Code 6404.5, stating all space rangers are to remain in hyper-sleep until awakened by authorized personnel. In real life, Code 6404.5 is a California state law banning smoking in public places

-When Jessie first meets Woody, she exclaims "Sweet Mother of Abraham Lincoln!" Abraham Lincoln's mother was Nancy Hanks. Tom Hanks is a blood relative of him, a direct descendant from an uncle of Nancy Hanks

Toy Story (1995)

I love this movie. No matter how many times I watch it, I will still laugh at everything in the movie!

Summary
-A cowboy doll named Woody feels shoved aside when his owner Andy gets a new state-of-the-art space toy for his birthday

Cast
-Tom Hanks: Woody
-Tim Allen: Buzz Lightyear
-Don Rickles: Mr. Potato Head
-Jim Varney: Slinky Dog
-Wallace Shawn: Rex
-John Ratzenberger: Hamm
-Annie Potts: Bo Peep
-John Morris: Andy
-Erik Von Detten: Sid
-Laurie Metcalf: Mrs. Davis
-R. Lee Ermey: Sergeant
-Sarah Freeman: Hannah
-Jack Angel: Sharky

Did You Know?
-The neighbor kid, Sid Phillips, was said to have been inspired by a Pixar employee with the same name who disassembled toys to create bizarre toys and creations

-Tom Hanks, who voices Woody the Cowboy, did his dialogue recording during his breaks while filming Sleepless in Seattle and A League of Their Own. He didn't record his dialogue during Philadelphia or Forrest Gump because he felt that he shouldn't do comedy between serious roles.

-The thing that attracted Tom Hanks to the role of Woody was that when he was a child, he often wondered if his toys were alive and moved around when nobody was there.

-The carpet in Sid's house has the same hexagonal design as the carpet from the Overlook Hotel in The Shining

-The toolbox on top of the milk crate trapping Woody says "Binford" on it. This is a reference to the show Home Improvement. Binford Tools are the tools he used on the show

-At the Dinoco gas station, the Pizza Planet delivery boy asks for directions to West Cutting Boulevard. In real life, West Cutting Boulevard is the street that Pixar Animation Studios is located in Richmond, California

-When Sarge and his team are spying on the kids at Andy's birthday party, the kids who show up are the same character model of Andy except for different skin tones and different haircuts, clothes and accessories

-Originally, Pizza Planet was to be called Pizza Putt, a combination pizza parlor/mini-golf course

-The name of the kid, "Andy", was inspired by Andries "Andy" Van Dam, a Brown University professor of computer science and animation. He taught most of the makers of this movie

-Filmmakers have stated that the car chase scene towards the end of the movie was partially inspired by the toy train chase scene from English Claymation cartoon Wallace & Gromit, the episode "The Wrong Trousers". They used that as inspiration and took it a step further with using a remote control car being chased by a dog

-When the toy shark comes out of the toy box, wearing Woody's hat, saying "Look, I'm Woody! Howdy! Howdy! Howdy!", this is a reference to comic strip legend Gary Larson, known best for his hilarious Far Side Gallery of comics. The comic strip in reference shows a vulture wearing cowboy clothing and saying "Hey, everyone. Look at me, I'm a cowboy! Howdy! Howdy! Howdy!"

-Buzz Lightyear's name is inspired by Buzz Aldrin, the second man to land on the moon and light year, the amount of distance a beam of light travels in one year

-The idea of Andy favoring Buzz over Woody represents the cultural phenomenon of the 1950s. Kids would love playing with Western and cowboy toys. When the Russian satellite Sputnik went up, the space race between the US and the Soviet Union began, essentially leaving kids to favor space-related toys and want to be astronauts instead. This is addressed, literally, in Toy Story 2, by the character The Prospector

-Sid's dog Scud is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier

-R. Lee Ermey, who voiced Sarge, based his character off his character Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from the film Full Metal Jacket. In real life, R. Lee Ermey was a Gunnery Sergeant in the US Marine Corps. This is why most of the films he's in have him playing a military-type role.

-Sid's name was inspired by punk rocker and Sex Pistols member Sid Vicious

-Sid's dog is named Scud. This is a reference to the biological weapons carried by ballistic missiles used by Saddam Hussein during an attack on the US during the 1991 Persian Gulf War

-Unlike the dog in the film, Staffordshire Bull Terriers are very docile and gentle. They're non-threatening and very good family dogs