 The script went through many changes before the final version . Lasseter decided Tinny was " too antiquated " , and the character was changed to a military action figure , and then given a space theme . Tinny 's name changed to Lunar Larry , then Tempus from Morph , and eventually Buzz Lightyear ( after astronaut Buzz Aldrin ) . Lightyear 's design was modeled on the suits worn by Apollo astronauts as well as G.I. Joe action figures . In addition , the green and purple color scheme on Lightyear 's suit was inspired by Lasseter and his wife , Nancy , whose favorite colors were green and purple respectively . Woody , the second character , was inspired by a Casper the Friendly Ghost doll that Lasseter had when he was a child . Originally , Woody was a ventriloquist 's dummy with a pull @-@ string ( hence the name Woody ) . However , character designer Bud Luckey suggested that Woody could be changed to a cowboy ventriloquist dummy . John Lasseter liked the contrast between the Western and the science fiction genres and the character immediately changed . Eventually all the ventriloquist dummy aspects of the character were deleted , because the dummy was designed to look " sneaky and mean . " However they kept the name Woody to pay homage to the Western actor Woody Strode . The story department drew inspiration from films such as Midnight Run and The Odd Couple , and Lasseter screened Hayao Miyazaki 's Castle in the Sky ( 1986 ) for further influence . 
