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 want to believe, but I don’t think Pixar would have left that deep well of emotion untapped through three films and several shorts.
You guys know these are not real people right?
LOL NO I don’t think they are aware…. 0_o* Ahem * Akward…..
LOL
No shit get a fucking life, instead of focusing on a stupid ass kids movie why not try to become a productive member of society and get out of your parents basement. Come on now once you pass 30 it gets creepy hahahhaah
They need to leave something for Toy Story 27 😀
In your posting at http://moviepilot.com/posts/2014/02/24/the-true-identity-of-andy-s-mom-makes-toy-story-even-more-epic-1247874?utm_source=fb-stream-post&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=the-true-identity-of-andy-s-mom-makes-toy-story-even-more-epic&subscribe_to=1247874 you claim Andy turned 6 in the first movie where are you getting that from?
Mr jon… could you do another look through the movies .. im not sure if im adding or looking at it wrong but isnt that lamp in andy’s room as well.. the same in emilys room?just a thought..
No Andy had two lamps in his room. One near the bed was round and red, and the other was much like th Pixar lamp, just red.
The hat is very compelling evidence. The director isn’t confirming or denying, but why wouldn’t he confirm it after all this time? http://www.hypable.com/2014/02/24/andys-mom-jessie-toy-story-theory-director-denial/
Isn’t it more fun this way?
But the hats are not the same…..
oh geeze! I love this article lol
I was at a flea market and saw a game gear for sale with a sticker on the front that looked really familiar. I turned the game gear over and saw my name on the back written on a label. I had given away the game gear at some point. I have no idea how it ended up for sale at the flea market (especially since it already didn’t work when I got rid of it), but it was pretty weird seeing it again.
I think I saw a munchkin in the background hang himself from a tree in Andy’s backyard. And Buzz walks out right after that and looks a lot like the Tin Man. I haven’t worked the whole thing out yet but it’s taking shape.
What scene exactly? I’m interested!!
Why wouldn’t jessie recognize Andy’s mom as her former owner?
Because she is an adult now
Wouldn’t Jessie have recognized Emily though when she got to Andy’s house? Surely Jesse wouldn’t keep quiet about this.
Brillant insights, Mr. Negroni. Excellent analytical thinking, deduction, induction and logic. Thank you. It was a pleasure to read your post. Enjoy my blog! Paul Daniel http://www.theblogaboutbeautifulthings.wordpress.com
In all honesty, I think it’s right. Jessie found Andy’s house, but maybe it was just her memory that led her to it?
while this is a nice theory it’s not true.
what if the loss of andy’s dad has to do with the toys talking. meaning what if andy’s dad knew that the toys talked and had gone “crazy” and had gone to a mental institute which describes that he’s been absent. O.o
that’s the plot for toy story 4 out the window lol
Nail on head
Awesome theory Jon. I do have a question, which I tweeted to you: If the white lace on Woody’s hat faded with age/time, wouldn’t the toy fixer guy that the chicken man hired paint it white again? I thought maybe it was too hard, but he seemed like an expert, and something as obvious as that should have technically been fixed, right? Then I thought the lace was an actual piece of string that fell, but it doesn’t seem that way when you look closely at the picture you posted above. This would suggest that the hats are not the same, but I don’t think they need to be for all of this to make sense, does it?
But isnt he talking about Andy’s hat? Read more carefully next time.
Sorry, but in animation things like hats and rooms are re-purposed throughout every film. Even characters are reconfigured to look like someone else. Oh, well, you had some fun:)
“Animation things”, this is Pixar we’re talking about. They love doing this kind of things. Looks like you’re not any fun. 🙂
Haha. Actually, I’m a lot of fun, Rin. Did you mean I don’t SOUND fun, or look fun, as in my appearance? Listen, I want this theory to be true as much, if not more, than most people here. But, being that I’m knowledgeable in the way animated films are made, I simply wanted to point out that the probability of it being one of MANY items re-used in the film, is quite high. Especially when they have a lot of objects from the first film that they could use and not have to spend weeks creating. But, hey there is a chance it is indeed true…just not likely.
Likely just re-used the 3D object. Just like the Pizza van or that ball with a star on it.
which are both placed specifically as easter eggs.
As is references to ‘a113’
and something from the next film in each film.
I can easily see this hidden (or possibly unused and followed up) story being something they came up with for Toy Story 2 but it dropped during production even though the asset had already been created and the flashback scene planned and set up.
When I saw the headline I seriously thought Andy’s mom grows old with her husband who ends up tying balloons to their house.
Reblogged this on I just can't keep my mind shut and commented:
What does everyone think?