Toy Story, released in 1995, was the first feature-length computer-animated film and grew from a Pixar short. John Lasseter had been fired from Disney after pitching a computer-animated film, then joined Pixar, which Steve Jobs bought in 1986. Pixar's short Tin Toy won an Academy Award in 1989, and Disney's Jeffrey Katzenberg offered Pixar a production deal to make a feature. Disney kept control of the films, characters and sequels, while Pixar received a share of ticket sales. The script went through many changes: the toy Tinny became Buzz Lightyear, the ventriloquist dummy became the cowboy Woody, and a buddy-film structure replaced the earlier concept. Screenwriter Robert McKee's teaching on how a main character reacts to obstacles shaped the final story.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.