In the world of animation, where every frame is carefully crafted and every scene demands precision, the idea of losing an entire film sounds like a nightmare. But that’s exactly what happened at Pixar in 1998 during the production of Toy Story 2. In a blink, nearly 90 percent of the movie’s files vanished from the studio’s servers.

It wasn’t a hacker or a system crash. It was human error. A command was accidentally triggered that began deleting everything related to the film characters, scenes, storyboards, and even months of animation work. By the time someone realized what was happening, most of the movie had disappeared.

Worse yet, Pixar soon discovered their backup system had not been functioning properly for weeks. What should have been a simple restore operation turned into a crisis. The team was on the verge of losing the entire project.

The Unlikely Hero Working from Home

Just when it seemed that years of work might be gone forever, hope arrived from an unexpected place. Galyn Susman, a technical director at Pixar, had been working from home while on maternity leave. As it turned out, she had a recent copy of the film’s files saved on her personal computer.

Susman had been reviewing scenes and contributing remotely, a relatively new concept at the time. Her decision to keep a copy of the project on her home workstation intended only to keep pace while caring for her newborn ended up saving Toy Story 2.

Pixar quickly rushed to her home with equipment, carefully transported the computer, and recovered the files. It wasn’t everything, but it was enough. The studio could rebuild from there.

Video:

How Toy Story 2 Almost Got Deleted: Stories From Pixar Animation: ENTV

From Catastrophe to Creative Breakthrough

While the team managed to recover most of the movie, the event sparked serious reflection within Pixar. The film, at that stage, had already gone through years of production. But the creative team, including John Lasseter and others, had lingering doubts about the quality of the story and characters. Some thought the film felt rushed and uneven.

The near-loss turned into a rare opportunity. Instead of just restoring the film, Pixar made the bold choice to start over and rework large portions of it. The team revamped characters, sharpened the emotional arcs, and breathed new life into the story.

It was a massive undertaking, with animators working overtime to meet deadlines. But the result was undeniable. When Toy Story 2 finally hit theaters in 1999, it was met with overwhelming praise. Critics and audiences loved it. The film grossed nearly $500 million worldwide and cemented Pixar’s reputation as a studio that could consistently deliver emotional, thoughtful, and visually stunning films.

Lessons in Error, Innovation, and Trust

The Toy Story 2 near-disaster has become more than just an inside story at Pixar it’s a lesson in how creative teams can deal with mistakes. No one was fired for the deletion. In fact, leadership recognized that human error is a part of the process, especially in environments that depend on innovation.

Video:

Pixar Just FIRED The Person Who Saved Toy Story 2

Galyn Susman was not only celebrated for saving the project, but she continued to rise within Pixar, working on future films like Ratatouille and Lightyear. Her role in saving Toy Story 2 became legendary within the company and among animation fans worldwide.

Pixar also overhauled its backup and digital asset protocols, ensuring such a near-loss wouldn’t happen again. But they never forgot the human story behind that technical error a working mom, balancing life and career, who quietly held the future of one of cinema’s most beloved franchises on her home computer.

Conclusion: When Mistakes Make Magic Possible

The story behind Toy Story 2 is a powerful reminder that even disasters can lead to something extraordinary. What began as a potential failure became one of Pixar’s greatest success stories. And it happened not through perfect planning, but because of people flawed, brilliant, dedicated individuals who showed that creativity thrives not in perfection, but in resilience.

Thanks to Galyn Susman’s quick thinking and Pixar’s culture of support and reinvention, the world didn’t lose Toy Story 2. Instead, we got a better version one that continues to inspire filmmakers, animators, and parents everywhere.