It all started with a hat.
Several months ago, one of my anonymous Pixar Theory Interns (that’s a thing on a resume) came to me with a crazy proposition: Andy’s mom is Emily, Jessie’s previous owner.
I laughed. I then agreed.
For some time, I compiled all of the evidence and found some incredible support for this theory. For one thing, take a close look at Andy’s cowboy hat he frequently wears in the movies:
Here’s another close look:
As you can see, Andy’s hat is noticeably different from Woody’s. Why is this? Why wouldn’t Andy want to wear a hat that closely resembles the one worn by his favorite toy?
It’s no secret that Andy has a close connection with Woody. In Toy Story 2, his mom (who we only know as Ms. Davis) mentions that Woody is an old family toy.
Remember that Woody doesn’t even recall that he is a collector’s item – a toy made in the 1950s. This is a deviation from other toys who know full well where they come from. It’s possible that Woody doesn’t know because he’s been in Andy’s family for a long time, possibly belonging to his father.
But we need more evidence. Take a close look at Jessie’s hat:
Ah, this hat looks familiar. It’s the same red hat with white lace that Andy wears. The only difference is that Jessie’s hat has a white lace around the center. But look at Andy’s hat again.
There’s a faded mark where the white lace should be. Why do you think that is? And what does Jessie have to do with this?
(Bob Saget’s voice) Kids, you remember the story of Jessie. Her owner Emily grew up with her, much the same way as Andy. She was incredibly loved, but Emily eventually gave her away when she grew older. Jessie ended up in storage for a long time, as confirmed by her in the movie when she has a literal panic attack over having to go back.
Now, take a close look at what’s on this bed in Emily’s room:
That is a hat that looks extremely similar to, you guessed it, Andy’s. The room is also pretty old-fashioned, leaving room for this to take place years before Andy was born.
In fact, you can clearly tell that this isn’t modern day with shots like these:
The only difference between the hat that Emily wears throughout this sequence and Andy’s hat is an extra white lace around the center, which is visibly missing from Andy’s hat. Otherwise, the hats are identical.
Also, in the donation box that Emily puts Jessie in, we don’t see the hat. We do see other remnants of her connection with Jessie, but the hat is noticeably absent. The box isn’t even big enough to hold it. So Emily held onto that hat…and maybe passed it on to her child, who would grow to also love a cowboy doll.
We never get a closeup of Emily’s face, but we do see that she has light, auburn hair as a teenager. Also, it is very short.
Compared to:
The middle picture is closest to the strawberry blonde color we see when Emily is young. It’s perfectly reasonable to assume that her hair lightened as she aged, which is clearly the case in these photos (or she could have dyed it).
Here’s what we know for sure:
We don’t know the first name of Andy’s mom. We don’t know Emily’s last name. We know that Andy’s hat and Emily’s hat are the same. We know that Emily is old enough to be Andy’s mom. We definitely know that Pixar is perfectly capable of sneaking this in without being overt about it.
You may be wondering how the two characters could be the same if Emily was willing to give Jessie up so easily, while Andy was far more hesitant.
Actually, the scenarios are quite similar. Andy forgot about Woody as he grew up too, despite their strong connection. Andy even gave Woody away, albeit in a different manner than Emily.
In the end, it makes perfect sense that these two concurrent stories are so similar because they’re related by blood. It’s also a freak of destiny that Jessie would one day belong to her owner’s son, though we never get to see the mom’s reaction to seeing Jessie again.
She was probably indifferent and believed it to be a different version of the same toy. How would you respond if you saw your child with a toy that looked like one that you had as a kid? Your first assumption probably wouldn’t be that they’re the exact same toy.
What do you think? Do you believe that the two characters are the same and that Andy’s mom/Emily found redemption through the love her son had for the toy she left behind? Or, do you hate fun, love, and destiny? Let me know.
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All images courtesy of Disney/Pixar
I think this and the Pixar Theory are just wo0onderfully thought out theories! The only thing that always bugged me about Toy Story 2 is that when Andy sees Jessie and Bulleye he calls her “Bazooka Jane” that really has nothing to do with this theory I just always found it to be a head scratcher type of thing.
ON THAT NOTE, Andy DOES call her Jessie in Toy Story 3. Someone would have to have told him that that’s her name, right? His mom, perhaps?
is it not because that was her name in Woody’s Round-Up (the tv show)?
The show was cancelled, when would Andy have seen it?
You and your pixar theory interns are geniuses. That is all.
Not so much. There were people on the internet already posing the same question but over 4 YEARS ago. Check out Yahoo Answers.
I’m trying to think of something witty and awesome to say, but I’m blanking under the pressure. I’ll try again on some other post since I’m following you.
What did I think of the post?
Well, I’m pretty fun and loving, and I do beleive in destiny. So it only follows that I agree that Andy’s mom and Emily are one in the same. I’ve always speculated, but I like how you presented all the evidence together, makes a good case! 🙂
Well that is a really deep theory and I appreciate it. I do enjoy the Pixar Theories alot, very interesting to read, and always curious to ask John Lasseter if thats whats happening or if it’s all speculation.
Does Andy have a Stinky Pete logo on his shirt in the first movie when he’s playing in the living room, right before the birthday party?
but you are saying that Andy is wearing Jessies hat without the white lace but come on Jessies hat is a dolls hat and he is wearing a real life size hat?????
LOL
No… What he’s saying is that the hat matches Jessie’s, just like the human-sized version seen in Emily’s room on her bed next to Jessie. They are drawing the conclusion that this hat is the same hat that Emily wore to match her favorite doll (Jessie), passed on to her son (theoretically, Andy).
No, the theorist speculates that Andy is wearing EMILY’S hat, which is more similar to Jessie’s hat than Woody’s.
“Now, take a close look at what’s on this bed in Emily’s room:”
on the bed 😉
“but you are saying that Andy is wearing Jessies hat without the white lace but come on Jessies hat is a dolls hat and he is wearing a real life size hat?????”
-Sarah Champion
WHAT IS THIS?! A CENTER FOR ANTS?!
That really doesn’t blow my mind
Yes that is very logical
Neat. And awesomely exciting. But. Andy’s hat is a real cowboy style one, the top is shaped in a certain way. Jessie’s hat is completely circular on top and completely flat. Just sayin’…
Yes I agree with you! Jessie’s hat has a shorter crown and a flat brim. Andy’s hat could possibly have a brown band around it, like Woody’s hat, not a faded mark. Why do we care?
People, the theorist is talking about the similarities shared between Andy’s hat and Emily’s hat.
That is super cool – I had never thought of that and it makes great sense. I was always curious about Andy’s mom overall as a character and there must be a backstory to the fact that she does appear to be a single parent. She is an interesting and mysterious lady in general I must say. So Jessie never recognizes Andy’s mom as Emily as an adult. I know Jessie was very happy living with Andy and his sister, but if she knew that her Emily was there also, she would feel like she had completely found her way home again.
When Toy Story was first made, it was really expensive to make human characters, so they decided to cut a character out and make it appear that Andy had a single parent.
I always thought boo from monster’s inc. was Emily. (Jessie is a toy in the corner of her room when Sully enters it in the end.) But that could also mean Emily, Boo, and Ms. Davis are one and the same…
In Toy Story 2, Andy’s mom said Woody was an old family toy, and if that was true, Woody and Jessie probably would have remembered each other.
That is quite an awesome idea. I actually coincidentally just saw the same theory a couple of days ago and found to be very interesting especially now that you brought some “evidence”
To Agoonga: Woody could have been a family toy from Andy’s dad’s side which would explain why Jessie and Woody don’t know each other.
which would explain how to parents meet, with an old love for the toys
Exactly! I was thinking that as I was writing that……I feel like that is so sweet.
Woody can be a family toy without being a toy owned by Emily. Andy has a dad, we know it because Pixar worked on it but didn’t have the time/ressources to calculate one more human character, and was forced to create a monoparental family so Woody can be the toy of Andy’s dad and Andy’s mom can be Emily.
No I don’t think Woody & Jessie would remember each other. The theory is that Woody was the FATHER’S toy, and he’d had the sense to keep him to pass down to his kids, unlike Emily. It would explain why Andy’s mom was so adamant about not selling Woody at the yard sale in 2, remembering her own eventual regret over parting with Jessie. And yes, those who do so ALWAYS end up regretting it, either through pangs of nostalgia, or of greed once they see what these things are going for on eBay now.
Woody could have belonged to Andy’s Dad, and mom kept him after ( whatever happened to him…not part of story)
I think the hats are different. Andy’s seems to be wearing Woody’s hat with the brown band and a different shape than Jessie’s. It just has a white string laced around it instead of brown like Woody’s. The one on the bed is shaped more like Jessie’s but the picture is too fuzzy to see if that hat has Jessie’s white rim as well as white laced around it and the white band. But I say they are two different hats. The shape is different. The only thing that makes it resemble Jessie’s is the white laced through, but it doesn’t have her white rim or band and the shape is different. Nice theory though.
As much as I love the deep thinking here,and we all know Pixar like to sneak things into their movies! But I have one flaw,surely Jesse would make some sort of reference when she sees Andy’s mom? Yea she’s older,but surely she’d recognise her if she spent so much time with her growing up! Yet she never suggests anything to acknowledge the fact she knows who Andy’s mom is :/ just a thought!
In reply to the comment regarding Monsters Inc…If you notice, there are a couple of Pixar themed toys in Boo’s room, not just Jessie. Nemo is there too. Think it’s just a cute little link Pixar do in a few of their films 🙂
Somebody’s got waaaay too much time on their hands.
true!
I always thought his mom gave up her doll and she returned later when I first saw the movie it hit me.just thought it was a coincidence.
Also, not many people write names on the bottom of their toys’ feet but both Woody and Jessie had that. I assume that Andy was taught/told to do that by his mother. Not only that, but Jessie was with a toy fixer and Emily probably played with her all the time and she needed repairing, thus how she got there.
There’s another clue that you missed: I believe that the truck that Jesse is loaded into at the end of her flashback is marked “Tri-County Charities”. “Tri-County” is the generic name in the Toy Story films for the area that Andy and his mother live in. There’s a lot of references to it in the movies. This means that Emily must have lived nearby to where Andy and his mother lives, making it more likely that the mother and Emily are the same person.
Reblogged this on Playback Gaming and commented:
Here is a fun read for everyone! What do you make of this theory?
Reblogged this on Charina Manalili.
Emily had a secretary named Lincoln and Lincoln had a secretary named Emily!!!
HA!!! XD
I’m actually surprised no one has pointed it out yet but if you look at the the two people in the portrait on the desk from toy story 2, the two people there resemble Andy’s mom, Perhaps one Is Emily or a relative perhaps
This is genius
Reblogged this on Dreooooo.