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
For cryin’ out loud. we’re talking about an animated feature; not real life. Had it been real life, the toys came from the “Round-up Weedy” TV show; (depicted in TS2) hence the hats would be of similar design .Just enjoy the films, rather than trying to read in all this “”What if” stuff, okay?
Look. The point of films and literature is to entertain people, make us feel, and make us THINK. He obviously did enjoy the movies, because “for cryin’ out loud”, he wanted to make a theory out of it for the sake of the details implanted, and the intricate stories. I will agree, that sometimes it is a bit over-bearing, his theories I mean. But that doesn’t mean he can’t post them. He loves doing this. So why don’t you just take a breather and enjoy the theory, okay?
Well said Michelle. For Robert why this bother you so much? Have a life and enjoy life is short.
People just need to accept that their just theories. Theories are ment to get you thinking and be fun. I also get that they can be fun to disprove too, but some of you need to stop being so rude while writing and let the other people that read these enjoy thinking about the theories themselfs.
You seriously are a complete idiot! Obvious you missed the point of The Pixar Theory the blog is talking about. And yet, you were stupid enough to comment how you don’t care. You are ridiculous and completely foolish. Congrats, Robert Rowland. You embarrassed yourself. -_-
I think you should have a little fun with imagination this stuff could be true , don’t be all grouchy , the person who actually found this information out worked hard which is accomplishing something its not a waste of time at all.
The whole point of this website is for THEORIES. If you don’t want them, than leave!
If u don’t like his theories don’t read them, you were interested enough to look it up.
Okay so I said this a bit back because I thought the picture in Emily’s room (running horses?) was the same picture from toy story one that Andy runs woody past. I never have compared them it just went through my mind for a moment.
This blog reminds me of the episode of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ when Stuart told Sheldon that a certain comic book was “mind blowing.” Having stated this I feel grateful that I have seen the ‘Toy Story’ movies and my mind will not be going in pre blown. This would have to be the best animated flick I have ever had the pleasure of viewing.
My kids love Disney movies so of course we have seen all of these along with Monsters Inc…isn’t it strange that Boo from Monsters Inc has the same toy and all the same Toy Story toys(pay attention to when she is returned to her room by Sully) Is it possible that Boo is Emily who is also Andy’s mom and yes as teenagers do…she dyed her hair. Their faces do look similar…Food for thought (;
*Pixar movies 🙂
I think Boo from Monsters Inc. is Andy’s mom because if you watch the scene from M.I, it shows Boo holding Jessie. So maybe that Boo = Emily = Andy’s mom
Boo appears in Toy Story 3… Lasseter himself mentioned it…
I personally absolutely love his blogs!
Some of the theories may not be true, but who knows, they could be,
and even if they aren’t it’s so fun to imagine!
he’s just a very creative person, and he makes others creative too, including me
Cool!
It’s funny too that we see Jesse was donated and later Andy’s mom asks her children to box up any toys they want to donate!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4wzgIKAiuI&w=560&h=315%5D
Reblogged this on about me janette.
wow ._. this makes sense.. it is asdngjknfjkgf
Nice my dear,have a lot of fun.
Reblogged this on SameOldWar.
Love this! Thanks for sharing
I have one problem with this theory. Sure, Emily could be Andy’s mum, but in my opinion, Emily’s hat and Andy’s hat are not identical as this article says. When you look at them you can clearly see they have a different shape. Andy’s is triangular whereas Emily’s is circular.
Actually, I served a church mission in Washington from 2011 to 2013. In my final area weeks before I was to go home my companion and I visited a member in our congregation. As I sat down, something caught my eye. To my shock it was a toy santa bear that played Christmas songs when you pressed his hand. I had the exact same bear when I was little. I did wonder if perhaps it was the same bear as my family lived in Washington when I was a child but several hours away and I don’t remember if the bear was given away before or after we moved to Michigan. It was so awesome to see it and so tempting to ask if I could have it. I took a picture of me with the bear at the woman’s house and I’ve got pictures of the other from when I was a kid. It was too cool for words.
I just laugh reading everybody’s comments. I feel that it’s possible that Emily is Andy’s mom. It could also be possible that Boo is also Emily/Andy’s mom as well. It’s Disney! I wouldn’t put it pass them! They have done all sorts of tricks over the years with their movies and made all sorts of connections between them all. I think it’s fun and funny to make those connections! I love Disney movies! haha
Reblogged this on I Am Not The Batman and commented:
I know I said no more reposts, but I could not put this theory any clearer without stepping into the undeserved realm of plagiarism. In this argument Jon Negroni puts forward the argument that Andy’s mum is the same little girl who owned Jessie (in a very IAMNOTTHEBATMAN way, may I add). It is definitely worth a read.