You've Got a Friend in BV

January 24, 2020

The room looks nearly identical to Andy's. From a messy desk to his memorable blue bedspread, and even a handmade toy box with Mr. Potato Head, a bedroom in Ankeny is now an exact replica of the recognizable scenes from Disney-Pixar's Toy Story. Morgan and Mason McGrew dedicated much of the last decade to creating Toy Story set pieces in order to re-create the third film within the franchise.

Both digital media majors at Buena Vista University, Morgan graduated in 2018 and Mason is a junior. The live-action recreation of the Disney/Pixar film premiered on campus in September 2019, and was uploaded worldwide to YouTube in January 2020.

“As soon as Toy Story 3 came out, we realized that we loved the movies just as much as we used to, and we decided to create something based on the films that have always inspired us,” says Morgan.

The project clearly stems from the brothers' love of the 1995 Disney classic, which may be a simple concept for the McGrews, but the media has a much different take. ABC News, Business Insider, the Today Show, and Disney/Pixar all caught wind of the “Disney magic” going on in the bedroom Mason grew up in, and covered their story on multiple networks and social media outlets.

The brothers shot live action scenes at a daycare, a local junkyard, and on the BVU campus, but none have garnered as much attention as the life-sized replica of Andy's bedroom. For the McGrews, who are both interested in videography, it was something new and creative to work on each day. “It's cool seeing how something you dreamed about comes together and really succeeds. From building the sets completely on our own to the animation, it's gratifying for us,” says Morgan. While finding and building lookalike props proved to be a challenge, the hardest part of the project for the pair was collecting stickers to replicate the ones seen in Andy's room, and placing them exactly as they are seen in the film.

“It's cool seeing how something you dreamed about comes together and really succeeds.”

Morgan McGrew

Both Morgan and Mason chose to attend BVU because of the digital media program and creative leadership opportunities it provides. They also identified with the passion professors hold for their profession. In fact, Jerry Johnson, assistant professor of digital media and BVU Class of 1985, is considered the resident Disney expert on campus, which is evident upon entering his Disney-clad office. Johnson leads an annual January Interim travel course to Disney World to teach students about the power of storytelling. Morgan sought Johnson's advice, learning about video perspectives, three-point lighting, and setting up shots. From a marketing perspective, the brothers have also applied classroom lessons to raise awareness about their special project.

“It's really fun to make things with Morgan because he is so creative and does a fantastic job filming and editing. Any project I work with him on is fun,” says Mason. One of their favorite aspects of directing and producing the re-creation of Toy Story 3 is filming at different locations, then going back and watching the footage to see what they like and finding aspects in which they can improve upon.