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Toy Story 2 was nearly destroyed. Seriously.
Posted on 6/20/26 at 1:05 pm
Posted on 6/20/26 at 1:05 pm
WSJ reported today:
WSJ article
quote:
Before anyone ever saw it, one of the most beloved movies of all time was nearly destroyed by a single line of code.
It had to be saved by an unlikely cast of characters that included a 6-month-old baby.
It only survived after a computer with the last known copy of the movie was strapped into the back seat of a Volvo station wagon and chauffeured to Pixar Animation Studios.
And inside that computer was billions of dollars of intellectual property: Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Mr. Potato Head. ...
It was a battle that began with this string of code:
/bin/rm -r -f *
Let me translate: go into every directory (r) and remove (rm) everything (*) by force (f), and don’t ask for confirmation—just do it. In other words, delete it all.
WSJ article
This post was edited on 6/20/26 at 6:04 pm
7
Posted on 6/20/26 at 2:28 pm to prplhze2000
Thanks for posting this. That’s a crazy story. Something like this would never happen these days.
Posted on 6/20/26 at 2:41 pm to prplhze2000
quote:
When Pixar employees went looking for the lost data, they discovered that the backup systems were not working properly—and nobody was aware until it was too late.
Whoever was responsible for the backup systems is completely to blame for this entire kerfuffle.
Posted on 6/20/26 at 5:04 pm to imjustafatkid
quote:
Whoever was responsible for the backup systems is completely to blame for this entire kerfuffle.
this was 1999 bro. most people were still backing up on tape at best.
backups now are 10x more robust.
in 2005, I was still backing up state data to these and then copying it at taking it to the bank safety deposit box and my home.
Posted on 6/20/26 at 5:29 pm to 3nOut
quote:
this was 1999 bro. most people were still backing up on tape at best.
backups now are 10x more robust.
in 2005, I was still backing up state data to these and then copying it at taking it to the bank safety deposit box and my home.
You're right of course.
I just find it hard to believe a company in 1999 whose entire existence was based on not losing files didn't have someone in charge of that.
Posted on 6/20/26 at 5:36 pm to prplhze2000
And then Disney laid Susman off. 
Posted on 6/20/26 at 6:09 pm to prplhze2000
quote:
It was a battle that began with this string of code:
/bin/rm -r -f *
Let me translate: go into every directory (r) and remove (rm) everything (*) by force (f), and don’t ask for confirmation—just do it. In other words, delete it all.
This command to wipe out the files as fast as possible nuked “Toy Story 2” in the time it takes to play “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.”
Nobody knew who was responsible. But everybody inside Pixar knew it could have been anybody.
Unix has had individual user security, user permissions, and system logs since the 1970's. Unless everyone was sharing a single sysadmin level account ... an astonishingly stupid thing to do for a corporate computer system that should get everyone involved fired.... then there has to be some bullshite to this story.
Posted on 6/20/26 at 8:12 pm to prplhze2000
As someone doing IT in the 90s, I am calling bullshite on this.
100% they had a backup ecosystem in place and even if not it would have been recoverable unless they formatted drives right after.
100% they had a backup ecosystem in place and even if not it would have been recoverable unless they formatted drives right after.
This post was edited on 6/20/26 at 8:21 pm
Posted on 6/21/26 at 8:37 am to prplhze2000
In 2023, Galyn Susman, the lady that had the backup was laid off in broader corporate restructuring to eliminate 7,000 jobs and cut costs.
Got to love Corporate America
ETA: CollegeFBRules beat me to it
Got to love Corporate America
ETA: CollegeFBRules beat me to it
This post was edited on 6/21/26 at 8:39 am
Posted on 6/21/26 at 9:51 am to imjustafatkid
quote:
Whoever was responsible for the backup systems is completely to blame for this entire kerfuffle.
Posted on 6/22/26 at 10:58 am to Sterling Archer
Posted on 6/22/26 at 11:21 am to prplhze2000
Thank goodness!
TS2 is my favorite Toy Story movie.
I’m a bit surprised the hate it’s getting in the Toy Story 5 thread.
Honestly 1,2,3 are all perfect and it comes down to just which one you prefer but quite a few posters say it’s the weakest one which is shocking to me.
TS2 is my favorite Toy Story movie.
I’m a bit surprised the hate it’s getting in the Toy Story 5 thread.
Honestly 1,2,3 are all perfect and it comes down to just which one you prefer but quite a few posters say it’s the weakest one which is shocking to me.
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