Toy Story Theories: Andy's Parents

[Carl]

Howdy, y'all.

So, in browsing the 'net today I stumbled upon some interesting theories that I thought some of y'all might wanna weigh in on about Andy's parents. These theories were found on the YouTube channel, SuperCarlinBrothers, and as a disclaimer, I will say that I am not sure what I think of the theories themselves (it's been a very, very long time since I saw Toy Story 2 and in fact I may rewatch the entire trilogy soon but I'm getting off topic) but it's clear that thought is put into the theories shared on this channel and as such I think these are worth discussing.

The first theory is about Andy's Mom, and instead of trying to summarize it all, I'll just let y'all watch the video for yourselves.

As I said, I can't say much about this theory as it's been a while since I saw TS2, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but it seems possible to me. Andy's mom being Emily would certainly make things a bit more interesting, and it's not out of the question for something like that to be hidden in the movie.

And, since then, the following theory was posted relating to his father:

Again, it does seem plausible to me, but I was wondering what you guys think? I find it interesting that he's seemingly changed his mind since the first video (when he says he likes to think Andy's father has died) to now believing that a recent separation is the cause of his absence, and I do see why he feels that way. I feel like recently separated parents would indeed make some things make more sense.

So what do you guys think about these theories? Do you have any theories of your own about Andy's parents?

[PrincessKiara]

I like the theory about Andy`s mother being Emily, the original owner of Jessie. The timeline makes sense (Andy`s mother would have been a teenager most likely during the 70s) and the similar cowboy hats really help to add substance to this theory, though I don`t personally think the creators intended it to be the case. If Andy`s mother was in fact Emily, she would have recognized the toy (or Jessie would have recognized her) and it would have been clearly stated in the film. Still, this is a theory I personally like and support.

As for Andy`s father, I always assumed he was dead, considering there`s not even a mention of him. I don`t think Andy`s parents are going through a separation, as I think the creators only added one parent for the sake of simplicity. (And for once, the mother got to be in the picture, yay)

[TheLionPrince]

I heard about that theory about Andy's mom (Mrs. Davis) on Yahoo! back in 2014 and while it may have seem like a revelation at first, I wasn't onboard with. That said, the timeline seems approximate. The cowgirl hat is obviously a merchandise product from Woody's Roundup that finished airing in 1957. Prospector mentions the cancelling of the show due to the popularity of spacemen which is attributed to the "space craze" of the late 1950s. So, Mrs. Davis was born in the early 1950s and would be a teenager in the late 1960s/early 1970s (as seen in Emily's room). Since the first movie is most likely set in real-time (1995, to be exact), Andy was born in the mid to late 1980s, which means Andy's mom was in her thirties that is an appropriate age to have a child.

However, there are holes in this theory such as how come Andy's mom doesn't recognize Jessie and vice versa? In Toy Story 3, Jessie mentions Emily again ("It's Emily all over again."), but surely, Jessie would have seen Andy's mom in between the two films and made the connection. And since Jessie's owner is Emily, that means Andy's mom is named Emily Davis, but according to this website, the book The Art of 'Toy Story' states Andy's mom's name is actually named Jennifer Davis. Lastly, Emily and Mrs. Davis's hair color doesn't match. The older Emily has orange hair while Mrs. Davis is blonde in all three films. (Probably, she dyed her hair as she got older, but there's hardly any context to support this.) The website also explains how Andy and Emily's hats are actually designed differently.

I didn't bother to watch the "Andy's dad" video because the filmmakers already explained why they didn't put Andy's dad into the film because humans were hard to animate through a computer so the fewer they were, the less work for the animators. To explain his absence, I tend to go for the divorce theory. Andy's parents have gone through a divorce and Andy's mother has custody of Andy and Emily. Since she can no longer support paying the house on her own, she decides to move to purchase a less cheaper house a few blocks down the neighborhood and to support a new addition into the family.

[Tsuki]

I've heard of the Emily theory and think it's possible but never heard of Andy's Dad theory and I find it quite interesting