Brothers spend eight years recreating 'Toy Story 3' using real toys

There's loving a movie – and then there's recreating it painstakingly over the space of eight years using toys and stop motion.

The latter is what brothers Morgan and Mason McGrew have done, finally posting the results of picking apart Pixar classic Toy Story 3, and then putting it back together.

Read more: Bambi ‘live-action’ remake planned

The result is a shot-for-shot remake, all done on their iPhones, and using – Lotso would say, 'spare parts, super glue, and enough fresh batteries to choke a Hungry Hungry Hippo'.

Posting to Facebook, the committed pair said: “How did this project begin? Well, it all started after my brother and I had seen Toy Story 3 on its opening night. It instantly became our favorite film and….you could say an obsession kinda ensued.

“I mean, we began collecting just about EVERY new toy from the film to accompany the ones we had as kids. Yeah, a slight obsession. Let’s fast forward 2 years. By this time I’m (Morgan) 16, and I finally realize that Toy Story 3 was more than just my favorite film. It actually was kinda my life.

“I was growing up, and I still am (obviously). Anyway, I didn’t want to miss my chance to thank Pixar for making ‘Toy Story 3’ and every other film for that matter. So with a love for Pixar, Toy Story 3 and filmmaking, the Live Action Toy Story 3 project began.”

Read more: Disney+ launch moved forward

All the characters are lovingly recreated, from heroes Woody and Buzz, through to smaller but nonetheless pivotal bit-part players like the three-eyed aliens who save the day in the final act.

A trailer for the movie arrived a year ago, with a second emerging a few months back, but the commitment to the cause is pretty breathtaking.