Toy Story
A tale of friendship created from 2 mythological tales
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$142-173 V $192MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
12.05% – 14.73%
Script Score
0.42
The first movie from Pixar is about sentient toys who believe that their only purpose is to make a kid happy. The story is about two toys getting lost and overcoming multiple challenges to return back home. It explores basic human quests of tranquillity, honour and power. Mythosis uses 3 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. The invisible plot structure of Toy Story
1A. The script of Toy Story borrows 94% of its events from 3 mythological tales
Woody’s quest is driven by the desire to return home and mirrors the tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology. Odysseus and Woody navigate their way back through hostile environment.
Buzz’s quest is driven by the desire to serve their clan/order and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Hanuman & Buzz demonstrate loyalty, showing a willingness to sacrifice themselves.
Sid’s quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology. Both Ravan and Sid take whatever they want without any concern for the consequences.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
#9,293
Tales interweaved
Honour, Tranquillity & Power
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of Toy Story’s plot structure: $142-173MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Toy Story
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Toy Story uses 3 universal quests of Tranquillity, Honour & Power.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Sid mirrors the universal quest of Power. Woody mirrors the quest of Tranquillity. Buzz mirrors the quest of Honour.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Woody borrows 39% events from the universal quest of Tranquillity. Buzz borrows 44% from the quest of Honour. Sid borrows 10% from the quest of Power.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Toy Story has a quest interweaving score of 0.67 and is above par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Woody & Buzz:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Toy Story
Toy Story’s plot structure reveals that the only drawback with its script is a weak third quest.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.42
Audience appeal
12.05% – 14.73%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Toy Story
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Woody mirrors the universal quest for Tranquillity
Woody’s desire for Tranquillity stems from the need to be in a secure environment. The tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Tranquillity.
Quest 2: Buzz mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Buzz’s desire for Honour stems from the need to serve one’s clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 3: Sid mirrors the universal quest for Power
Sid’s desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Ravan from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Power.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
A shallow third quest is the only gap in Toy Story’s plot structure.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The plot of Toy Story’s is a subset of blockbuster plot structure #9,293 that interweaves the universal quests of Honour, Tranquillity & Power.
Contact us for Toy Story’s plot structure #9,293
Tags: Ravan, Hanuman, Odysseus, Power, Honour, Tranquillity, John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, Joe Ranft, Pixar Animation Studios, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, 1995