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
too much free time, I’m afraid.
yup obviously
What the uninspired always say about someone else’s creative work. Too much free time gives us art, theories, novels, etc.
It is time well spent. believe me.
Emily’s hat is round, on the brim and the centre piece, it’s identical to Jessie’s. The hat Andy wears is triangular in shape. The same as Woody’s. Sorry dude, admire your dedication to Pixar and love your Pixar theory, but you’re wrong on the hat connection.
Sorry to rain on the toy parade, but no, it’s impossible for Andy’s hat to have been Emily’s. You’ve clearly studied the movies enough to know that you’re purposely leaving out 2 basic facts which disprove this theory.
Here’s the proof, in 4 better still frames (sorry if the links don’t embed, just follow them to the jpgs):
In TS1, Andy’s hat looks brand new, with a clean red band. We can see it’s a band at the left edge. No signs of wear or fading or of the hat being a hand-me-down.
http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag362/IraEds/1AndysHatTS1-cleanredband_zpsdd9e3161.jpg
In TS2, Andy’s hat now has a brownish band, and the brim’s beaded trim is the same color. Either it faded or was slightly altered since TS2. But it’s not Emily’s hat with its white band removed. It’s clear at the left edge that the brown band is indeed a band, not a faded mark where a band once was:
http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag362/IraEds/2AndysHatTS2-fadedbrownishbandandrim_zps01657d89.jpg
But here’s the real reason it can’t possibly be Emily’s hat. Her hat, like Jessie’s, is ROUND. But Andy’s hat, like Woody’s, is CANDY-CORN SHAPED (or ROUNDED TRIANGULAR) — and it has a taller crown than Emily’s. Here’s Emily’s round hat:
http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag362/IraEds/3Emilyshat-roundsmaller_zps19225d50.jpg
And here’s Andy’s hat – in both TS1 (left) and TS2 (right) – and with Woody’s hat (bottom). Andy’s and Woody’s are clearly different hats than Emily’s and Jessie’s. The only big similarity is the style of the loopy brim stitch, and it makes sense they’d all have that design element in common.
http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag362/IraEds/4AndyshatTS1ampTS2andWoodys-candycornshapesmaller_zps7cdc1ffe.jpg
This shouldn’t detract anything. These movies are spectacular and fun just as they are. No need to invent things about them.
Oops, I meant that as a reply to the article, not to a comment. Will repost appropriately.
Well played, G.
But nice article, nonetheless.
Thank you! I know the films pretty well, but I noticed from the first viewing that the hats were different designs. I hear you, but I’ve got to say, it’s hard for me to call anything that’s purposely deceptive “nice,” even if it’s just about a movie. It comes off as an attempt to gain attention dishonestly, and in the process makes a lot of people feel embarrassed (or unjustifiably defensive) down the road when they finally discover they were wrong after having insisted to everyone they knew that they had this privileged info. But hey, here I am wasting a couple minutes too.
This.
I love the hat theory but you’re missing one thing: It is understandable that Andy’s mom/Emily wouldn’t necessarily recognize Jessie, however, Jessie would probably have some recognition of the hat if not Emily. Based on Toy Story 3, where Jessie uses the phrase “It’s Emily all over again” I would guess that it is not her. 🙁
“It’s Emily all over again” – could translate to ‘like mother like son’!!???? I might just have convinced myself!!! lol
Hey, I like that! Way to convince me <3
I think you on right on about Emily being Andy’s mom. They should have wrote that in the 3rd toy story.
I really don’t think so. Why would she give up Jessie and keep Woody? Also timetable doesn’t fit. Andy’s mom is around 35 so she was a teenager during de late 70s but Emily was shown wearing black &white shoes which are late 50s. BUT it could be his grandma… 😉
Florencia, being from the 70’s I know that the black and white “saddle shoes” were also worn in the 60’s and 70’s.
Actually Woody was Andy’s Dad Toy. And she may have passed it down to Andy when Andy’s dad left or passed away. We never see Andy’s Dad.
I think Andy’s mom is Emily.
Reblogged this on Shania's song..
I have a query that is a little off-topic – when Andy came home from cowboy camp and sees his “new toys” sitting on his bed with the “Welcome Home Andy” Etch-a-Sketch (after Woody and Jessie and Bullseye got back from the airport ), and then he says, “Wow, new toys! Thanks mom!” This means that he assumed his mom got him the new toys including Jessie. So what if one day his mom asks about the new cowgirl doll and he goes “I thought you gave her to me”? Or do we just take for granted that his mom just thinks that he got it from a friend or something, and never brings up the topic of how the new Jessie doll ended up in their house?
Andy also called Jessie “Bazooka Jane”. How did he find out her real name?
I’ve thought about that a long time ago. okay, I admit, it wasn’t a thought where I had the idea of the theory, but a dream. I’m glad to hear that someone has been able to pick up more evidence and I’m not super crazy
I think we have to at least consider that when the animator needed imagery to create Jessie in TS2, he might have shrunk down Andy’s existing hat drawing. As to the difference between Andy’s hat and Woody’s, I think Andy’s hat had been designed to make him look childlike and playful rather than similar to an albeit small, adult toy gunslinger. Oh, hell, screw that. It’s fun, love and destiny. Yn Dzynr
This will change something in the movie? No. It will change something in your life or mine? No. So this text serves only to raise visitors to the site.
I think you’re totally wrong on this one. Clearly just getting the theory out of the writer’s mind was the point. Many people think about pop culture and analyze films, etc… How have you missed this in life?
this is all beginning to sound a little Starwars… or maybe it was the Noooooo… comment.
Yeah I Think Andy’s Mom 4got About her When She Grew Up Though In The Airport Part. It Shows The New Toys Andy Thought His Mom Got So I Think Your Wrong On That Note. Plz Reply If Im Right Or Wrong
I saw in exact same theory on Reddit a week ago…
My family always say that I am wasting my time here
at web, except I know I am getting know-how daily by reading
thes nice posts.
This is amazing… 🙂 try to let Disney know about this probable connection and they might come out with a short 10 movie on this. Thanks!
Good theory!!
Sounds plausible. And even if it’s not true, it’s still fun to think.
Osea que la mama de Andy es Boo ? Jajaja
Sorry to rain on the toy parade, but no, it’s impossible for Andy’s hat to have been Emily’s. You’ve clearly studied the movies enough to know that you’re purposely leaving out 2 basic facts which disprove this theory.
Here’s the proof, in 4 better still frames (sorry if the links don’t embed, just follow them to the jpgs):
In TS1, Andy’s hat looks brand new, with a clean red band. We can see it’s a band at the left edge. No signs of wear or fading or of the hat being a hand-me-down.
http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag362/IraEds/1AndysHatTS1-cleanredband_zpsdd9e3161.jpg
In TS2, Andy’s hat now has a brownish band, and the brim’s beaded trim is the same color. Either it faded or was slightly altered since TS2. But it’s not Emily’s hat with its white band removed. It’s clear at the left edge that the brown band is indeed a band, not a faded mark where a band once was:
http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag362/IraEds/2AndysHatTS2-fadedbrownishbandandrim_zps01657d89.jpg
But here’s the real reason it can’t possibly be Emily’s hat. Her hat, like Jessie’s, is ROUND. But Andy’s hat, like Woody’s, is CANDY-CORN SHAPED (or ROUNDED TRIANGULAR) — and it has a taller crown than Emily’s. Here’s Emily’s round hat:
http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag362/IraEds/3Emilyshat-roundsmaller_zps19225d50.jpg
And here’s Andy’s hat – in both TS1 (left) and TS2 (right) – and with Woody’s hat (bottom). Andy’s and Woody’s are clearly different hats than Emily’s and Jessie’s. The only big similarity is the style of the loopy brim stitch, and it makes sense they’d all have that design element in common.
http://i1373.photobucket.com/albums/ag362/IraEds/4AndyshatTS1ampTS2andWoodys-candycornshapesmaller_zps7cdc1ffe.jpg
This shouldn’t detract anything. These movies are spectacular and fun just as they are. No need to invent things about them.
Exactly. If the original poster had just bothered to watch a few minutes of the movie again rather than spin such an intricate conspiracy theory, he would have seen the same thing. Shame on him, and shame on all the media outlets who ate this up without questioning it in the slightest bit.
Yep, Tedd. Though I have trouble believing he didn’t know this was bogus. I noticed the hats were different designs the first time I saw TS2. He had to watch them closely to choose the particular frame grabs he did. You just can’t miss it.