Toy Story is having a bit of a revival at the moment, cause it’s been a few months since Toy Story 4 came out and we’re all riding that wave of nostalgia. If you thought Sid was bad though, strap yourself in because there are a whole heap of references to The Shining across the franchise.
If you’ve never seen The Shining, it’s a horror movie based on the Stephen King book and follows a family who move into a hotel that was built on a Native American burial ground. Things go south very, very quickly, and it’s the movie we get “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” and “heeeeeeeere’s Johnny!” from.
It’s got a very different target audience to Toy Story, let’s just put it that way.
Sid’s Carpet
In the very first Toy Story, when the toys venture over to Sid’s house, the carpet is identical to the carpet on the second floor of The Shining‘s Overlook Hotel. In both movies the main characters are being chased by another violent character, so it makes sense.
Room 237
The most haunted room in The Shining’s Overlook Hotel is Room 237. In Toy Story 3, there are three references to Room 237: the daycare security camera is labelled OVERLOOK R237, Woody chats online to someone named Velocistar237, and the licence plate of the garbage truck is RM237.
Mr. Tony
The janitor at Sunnyside Daycare is named Mr. Tony, just like Danny’s imaginary friend in The Shining. Toy Story’s Mr. Tony is also staring straight into the mirror, like Danny does when he speaks to his version of Mr. Tony.
The Radio and Tissue Box
Still in Sunnyside Daycare, the control room has a radio exactly like the one that Wendy from The Shining uses to call for help, and the tissue box has that carpet pattern again.
Midnight, the Stars and You
This song is the song that plays in the very final scene of The Shining, but it also plays when Woody first meets Gabby Gabby, the villain of Toy Story 4. Yes, both scenes are super creepy.
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