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 hatĀ again.
There’s a faded mark where the white laceĀ shouldĀ 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 aĀ 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
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Even though it all adds up very well, I think they just recycled the model for the hat when making the second film. Most 3d studios reuse models, most of the times without knowing it. What I am getting at is that I don’t think this was planned, it is an interesting and likeable idea though.
Non-believer.
http://writingdownouryears.ca/writingdownouryears1.html
There are a only one deference between Andy’s and Jessieās hat which hat has a white lace around the center.
Which is something Andy could have removed to more resemble Woody’s.
Why and how would he do that?
Why? To more resemble Woody’s, like I mentioned.
How? A ribbon or band is probably not hard to remove.
There is a line on Andy’s hat where it could have been. It may have fallen off.
something I’ve noticed also, at the end of Toy Story 2, Andy called Jesse “Bazooka Jane”, while at the end of the 3rd movie, he knows her name is Jessie.
Perhaps his mom heard him call her Bazooka Jane and corrected him on who she actually was.
Nice catch!
Good catch! I’ve seen many people notice that Andy calls her Jessie at the end of the third movie and speculate on how he knows her name. Here are my top three theories:
Jessie has a pull-string like Woody, right? Maybe some of the phrases she says are things like, “Howdy partners, I’m Jessie!” or “Ride like the wind, Bullseye!” Andy could have pulled her string a couple of times, put two and two together and figured out that she was Jessie and the horse was Bullseye.
What you said: Andy’s mom, knowing about the show from when she grew up and recognizing her old cowgirl doll, told him their names. This would fit with the theory above!
When Andy grew older, he checked online. He could have done a little research and learned about “Woody’s Round-Up” and what the toys’ names were. Some people say this can’t be possible because then he’d know that the toys were highly sought-after collectibles, and clearly he has no idea how much they’re worth — in the beginning of the third movie, he calls them “junk” and says that no one wants them. But it’s not necessarily true that he’d definitely figure out how valuable they are — you can read thousands of words about, say, Captain Kirk’s character on Wikipedia without ever mentioning that rare collectible Captain Kirk figurines can be worth hundreds of dollars. Or maybe he just didn’t want to just sell them for money because they had sentimental value. I have a Molly American Girl doll that’s retired now, and that would probably be worth hundreds of dollars. But I don’t want to sell her, because she’s special to me. Maybe it’s as simple as that.
Dont know how this would fit, but my wife told me that the Jessy doll appears in boo’s room in monsters inc. She would know, cause our daughter watches monsters inc… up to three times a day! My wife believes that Andys mom is boo. What way you?
It is true that Jessie appears in Boo’s room…so does (at minimum) Nemo and the Pixar ball. I don’t know enough to speculate further.
Boo could be Bonnie… The little girl Andy gave his toys to at the end of toy story 3…?
Interesting theory. I 100% believe it.
Did you hear that Pixar is considering a Toy Story 4 plot around this theory? I know shocking. Looks like they do listen to you after all. Gotta say I’m jealous. Nice work dude. Looks like Pixar let you out of the vault with the promise of this being allowed as a possible plot.š
Well, Emily and Andy’s mom haven’t ever been seen in the same room at the same time….
Um, duh.
We only see Emily as a little girl. Of COURSE we wouldn’t see her and Andy’s mom in the same room.
Also they’re the same person, so…
Ouch. Cold, man.
But seriously, this is a cool theory. I’ve always wondered if there was a connection.
I wish YouTube was like this. Online people are so mean and rude. But here, you all deserve a prize
What was that?
I just figured this out while watching toy story 2.
While Andy’s mom was searching for items for the yard sale she comes across a very old rollerskate. Forward to Jesse’s room scene and we notice the same old single rollerskate under the bed. Conclusic evidence.
Why would Andy’s mom/Emily keep an old rollerskate and/or pass it on to her son?
Why doesn’t Woody remember anything before Andy? He didn’t know he was famous
Andy’s mom (or dad) probably picked Woody up from a garage sale or thrift shop somewhere. If he was stuck in a store or someone’s attic, he would be hidden from view, and therefore, anything that would tell him he was famous.
Reblogged this on shannonlouiise and commented:
I love the fact that Disney Pixar do this; it’s what makes their films so good!!
This is a staple of all Disney films even as far back as Smow White if you dig deep enough and look for the tiny details. Having one or no parents I mean.
Smow White’s mother wasn’t the best at names jk.
But you’re right. Disney’s almost always left their characters with one or no parents. Some people think it’s because Walt Disney’s own mother died in an explosion. Whatever the reason, Pixar’s carried on the tradition.
Flora Disney died of asphyxiation caused by gas fumes in the home, not an explosion.
I think of andy’s mom in the
second movie of toy story 2
Like she could’ve known how special
Her cowgirl doll Jessie was while she
The mom was growing up playing
With Jessie in the sad sequence
That Sarah McLauglin got to do
Her song of “when she loved me”
Once that particular sad scene
Came on the first time seeing
Toy story 2 in theaters of 1999
The scene made me cry like a
Baby because I couldn’t stop
Myself from crying back then
I was only around 10 yr’s old
I just couldn’t stop crying:(
I think Andy’s mom would have told him if this was true. She would have recognised Jesse, so why keep it from him?
Maybe she doesn’t try to. Maybe she doesn’t recognize Jessie as the one she had. As seen in the Buzz Lightyear Aisle there are multiples of these toys. Maybe that’s the same with the Woody’s Roundup Gang. I’ve heard weirder.
Now it is going around that Riley from Inside Out became Andy’s mom because they both have dirty blond hair ans share the same last name.
Will these people ever stop?
No. No they won’t.
No they don’t. Riley’s family name is Andersen. Andy’s mom’s name is Mrs. Davis. Honestly, if these people are going to try and make film theories, at least make them valid, dang it!
it’s really good story thank you very much all the best.
very wonderful toy story……………thank you.
As much as I wanted to believe this theory, I have come across some evidence that completely destroys it. š CinemaSins pointed out in their Toy Story 2 review that Emily’s room has a concert poster on her wall. The date on the poster is November 1999. Which is odd for two reasons: 1. The room is definitely decorated in 60s/70s apparel, record player and all. 2. The date on the poster is one day AFTER Toy Story 2 was released in theatres. Odd, huh? I’ve got the photo to prove it, but I can’t post it on here. Interesting facts and evidence, though!
I’ve got nothing to counteract you, but I don’t want the theory to be false. I am desperate enough to question if this is just an easter egg.