Of course everyone remembers the time Simba and Buzz Lightyear showed up on the set of Home Improvement to help tackle the burgeoning candy surplus in suburban Detroit, right? Okay, admittedly, this is not exactly a crossover in the classic sense, since the episode didn’t feature the proper characters, instead giving us two young trick-or-treaters dressed up as the Disney characters for Halloween.
But recall, if you will, that the voice cast of the 1994 classic, The Lion King, featured a young Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Young Simba. And, at the same time, keep in mind that the Toy Story franchise features Tim Allen as everyone’s favorite Space Ranger. So when the aforementioned candy-seekers show up at the Taylor residence and Randy Taylor (Thomas) turns over some sweet loot to the costumed Simba and Buzz, you’re witnessing a clever wink and nod at two Home Improvement cast members’ projects outside the show. It wasn’t the only time Simba and Buzz showed up on Home Improvement, though the other instances are not nearly as fun as re-watching Toy Story and seeing Buzz on screen with a Binford tool box in Sid’s room, a nod to the hardware brand for which Tim Taylor worked on Home Improvement. No, seriously, it’s true!