The Toy Story series of films is one of the most beloved and iconic animated franchises of
all time. The characters, the stories, and its themes have all been firmly cemented in
animation history. While it’s definitely an iconic series of movies, we would also like to argue that
it’s one of the more mysterious franchises in animation. There are plenty of questions that
we’ve all probably thought about while watching the movies. Whatever happened to Andy’s dad?
Why do some toys act like toys, while others do not? Can toys ever truly die? Thankfully,
legions of fans have created their own theories to resolve these questions and many others. But
of all these theories, which ones are fact, and which are little more than fanfiction?
I’m Caleb with WickedBinge, and this is Toy Story Theories: BS to Truthbombs
To start things off, these are the theories that are more speculative
than anything else, or have been disproven by creatives. These theories are Bullsh*t.
Wheezy is the Real Villain in Toy Story 2
In Toy Story 2, the character of Wheezy plays a small yet still vital role in the story of the
movie. He’s the one who informs Woody that a yard sale is happening, and the possibility of
him being sold in the sale is what puts Woody in the hands of toy collector Al. So what if this was
all some sort of master plan on the part of Wheezy to take Woody out so that he’d be Andy’s favorite?
That’s what Redditor CircleofKnife suggests. In his theory, he claims that Wheezy used Woody’s
do-good attitude to his advantage. He knew he’d be picked for the yard sale, and he knew Woody
would try to help him. This would allow Woody to be taken out of the picture, and allow Wheezy more
playtime. Though this theory is very creative, we feel that things just don’t make much sense when
you look at what happens in the movie through this theory. Why would Wheezy just assume Woody would
get sold at the yard sale? He’s Andy’s favorite toy, and when he does get himself involved,
Andy’s mom makes a point to say he isn’t for sale. We also can’t assume Wheezy knew he’d be stolen
either, as that feels even less likely for a toy that had a ripped limb. Overall,
there’s a few too many assumptions in this theory for it to make sense, which detract from its
likelihood. Wheezy might be a lot of things, but an evil and cunning mastermind he is not!
Andy’s Dad is Dead
There’s a lot of mystery in the Toy Story world surrounding the fate of Andy’s father. His
character never appears once, and is never even mentioned in dialogue, either. It should come as
no surprise that finding out what happened to him is the focus of a lot of theories. This theory,
written by Redditor JustATypicalGinger, states that Andy’s dad has passed away sometime before
the events of the first movie. The author argues that this is why Andy is so attached to Woody.
He looks to him as the father figure that he lost. This could be why he’s not talked about in the
films, as the subject is still a sore spot for the family. While there is certainly some truth
in Woody’s fatherly relationship with Andy, which has always been an intent on the creators part,
the rest seems a tad dark for the feel-good world of Toy Story. Even if he had died, however,
why would there be absolutely no photos of him at all in Andy’s house? That feels very
unlikely given his tragic fate. Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley and producer Mark Nielsen
also suggested this theory didn’t hold water in a Vanity Fair video discussing fan theories.
Between a tone that feels out of place in the franchise, as well as the fact that
those involved with the movies don’t agree with it, we have to classify this theory as bogus.
These next theories are a little bit more plausible,
but they could still use a lot more thought. As they are now, these theories are full of holes.
Woody is a Knock-Off Toy
The plot of Toy Story 2 heavily revolves around Woody realizing he is a collectors item. Hailing
from a cancelled 50’s TV series, Woody is the last piece in an elaborate Woody’s Roundup collection
that is to be displayed at a Japanese toy museum. But what if Woody was little more than a knock-off
of the actual collector’s item? That is what user SheriffHeckTate believes. In his theory,
it’s asserted that Woody is actually a bootleg version of the original Woody’s Roundup doll.
This is because, despite being a toy well over forty years old by the time of the second film,
Woody doesn’t seem to have any owners prior to Andy. This seems a bit strange considering how
old he is. So maybe he is a bootleg toy after all. There is some sound reasoning with this theory,
but we do have our hangups with it. First off, if there was ever a person who could tell an original
toy from its knock-off, Al from Al’s Toy Barn would definitely be that guy. This is a man who
has been obsessed with finding this toy, but we’re supposed to believe he can’t tell the difference
between the real deal and a fake? Woody also seems to be a pretty good imitation of the actual doll
if he is a knock-off. If you’ve ever seen a bootleg toy before, you would know that this does
not tend to be the case. Usually, you can spot a fake toy from a mile away. We doubt a knock-off
Woody would have, say, the authentic voice box the original has. While it’s definitely weird
that Woody has had no owners before Andy, from what we know regarding Jessie and Stinky Pete,
it seems like the Woody’s Roundup toys weren’t exactly popular after the show had ended.
Woody probably did languish on a shelf until the day when Andy’s mom bought him for her son. That
might be a bit hard to believe, but in a world full of talking toys, anything is possible.
Overall, we have to classify this theory as bunk, which we are sure will satisfy Al just fine!
Toys Can Never Die
It’s blatantly obvious that in Toy Story, the rules that humans follow don’t necessarily apply
to their toy counterparts. That’s true of many things, but in the eyes of Redditor nameless88,
you can also count death as something that they won’t have to worry about. This theory posits that
toys are unable to die, unless they are flat-out destroyed, like the Combat Carl figure that was
blown-up in the first movie. He uses the toys Sid had created as proof. While they are all cobbled
from various pieces, each one still is very much alive. It makes sense to come to this conclusion
given what the movies have shown us, but we don’t think it’s completely accurate. Toys are made
of plastic, and plastic does degrade over time. In the words of Andy’s mom in the second movie,
“toys don’t last forever”. We even see this in the second movie with Woody’s arm predicament.
Given that he’s already almost fifty by the time of this film, it’s likely that his arm
ripping could in part be due to the materials in his body weakening. Toys will all eventually
degrade into nothingness, and there’s little anyone can do to stop that. Thus, we can
confirm that toys can most certainly die. Well, that was a statement we never thought we’d say!
Jessie Belonged to Andy’s Mom
One of the most popular Toy Story theories revolves around Jessie and her mysterious owner.
Writer Jon Negroni, author of the popular Pixar Theory, happens to have a theory of his own on
this matter. He contends that Jessie actually belonged to Andy’s mom. Negroni notes that both
Andy and the girl in Jessie’s flashback have a very similar red hat. What if this hat was passed
down from mother to son? Andy’s love of cowboys in general could come from his mother as well. The
timeline also seems to match up well. Since the first two movies are set in the 90’s, Andy’s mom
probably grew up around the 60’s and 70’s. While she probably didn’t get the Jessie doll when the
show was still airing, she could have gotten her from a family member or some type of thrift store.
There’s a lot going for this theory, but we must say that there is just as much going against it.
For starters, is the red hat really a key element in connecting Andy to her mother? If both of them
liked cowboys and westerns, it seems rather obvious that they would have a cowboy hat. The
girl who owned Jessie also appears to have ditched anything related to cowboys by the time she gave
her up, so why would the hat stick around? Really though, our big question is why didn’t Jessie ever
recognize Andy’s mom? You could say it’s because she didn’t recognize her, but surely she would
have heard her name and made the connection. In all the time the toys spent with Andy, did Jessie
just never discover she was living in the same house as her previous owner? That all seems a
bit doubtful, and as a result, we can’t really buy into this theory as much as we’d like to.
Our next batch of theories aren’t perfect, but they do have a noticeable amount of credibility
backing them up. These theories are possible.
Sid Becomes a Garbage Man to Save Toys
In the third movie, Sid has a very brief cameo as a garbage man picking up trash at Andy’s house.
While the character could’ve been included as nothing more than a reference to the first movie,
what if this was to signify that Sid had a change of heart? That’s at least what Reddit
user londongarbageman’s theory postulates. In this theory, Sid has changed drastically since
we last left him in the first Toy Story. No longer a bully who tortures toys for pleasure,
he now wants to save toys, and becoming a garbage man is the job he felt was the best
at accomplishing this. There’s definitely some truth buried under all this. First,
it’s unrealistic for Sid to continue treating toys the way he used to following the end of
the first movie. It’s totally possible that he learned to love toys, and now wants to help them
anyway he can. However, would Sid even want to help toys after what happened to him? While he
doesn’t seem as sadistic as his younger self, we can’t imagine him being in a rush to help toys.
Just as it is possible that he grew to love toys, it’s also possible that he is now scarred by toys,
and doesn’t even want to be around any for fear of what it could do.
Because Sid’s presence in the movie is so brief, either one could be argued in some way. Still,
we think this theory is onto something. Sid already showed in the first movie that he could
cobble toys together from random parts, so there is a chance he now repairs toys that he finds on
the job. We just think it needs a little bit more work before we can call this one a truth bomb.
Woody Belonged to Andy’s Dad
An earlier theory argued that Jessie once belonged to Andy’s mom, but now, we look at a theory that
believes Woody was once a toy that Andy’s dad had owned. This one comes courtesy of Redditor lan078.
He references Woody’s father-like relationship to Andy, as well as Woody’s background as an older
toy, as evidence to support the theory. While connections to Andy’s father are noticeably
slim in the movies, this could very well be a possibility. When Woody is almost bought
by Al during the yard sale in the second film, Andy’s mom stops him from doing so, and says
he’s an “old family toy”. While she could have just been saying this to inform Al he
wasn’t for sale, it’s a pretty interesting line the more you think about it. You could easily
argue that this does indeed mean Woody has been in Andy’s family for longer than Andy himself.
He couldn’t have been the toy of Andy’s mom, so his dad is the most obvious option. The only major
flaw in this theory is that there isn’t a lot of evidence within the movies themselves that suggest
Woody has ever had prior owners. In the third movie, he is extremely scared of Andy moving on.
If he had an owner before this, wouldn’t he have had some experience going through this ordeal?
Still, we think there’s definitely some credibility behind this one. Jessie probably
isn’t a toy that belonged to Andy’s mom, but Woody just might be a toy that his dad once had!
We are now approaching theories that have far more fact on their side than fiction.
These theories are probable.
Toys Personalities Come From Their Owners Imagination
One thing that has always intrigued people about Toy Story is why do certain characters act the way
they do. Why does Woody act mature and fatherly, while Mr. Potato Head is kind of a jerk? Well,
a theory from Redditor Jacob_wallace claims that it could be because they take on the personality
of whatever their owner imagines them to be. Woody is the authority figure in Andy’s
room because he’s the hero in all of Andy’s adventures. Mr. Potato Head is rude because
he’s always portrayed as a villain. Toys like Buzz and Emperor Zurg act like their fictional
counterparts out of the box because their owners have yet to attach a distinct personality to them.
It very much seems like a logical conclusion given what we know about the toys and how they
act in the movies. Buzz himself is actually a good test for this theory. Out of the box, he acts just
like a space ranger, as he has no personality from Andy yet. When he learns he’s a toy,
he is discovered by Sid’s sister, which is when he adopts the “Mrs. Nesbitt” persona.
When he finally comes back to Andy, he starts to settle into the personality we know him for.
While there are plenty of characters that this logic could be used for, there are some noticeable
outliers who don’t follow this theory. The toys Sid created are all nice and friendly, very much
unlike their owner. Rex is usually portrayed in Andy’s stories as a wrathful dinosaur,
which is the polar opposite of his actual personality. While it isn’t accurate for each
and every character, we could still absolutely see this as the filmmakers intentions behind
connecting the toys to their owners. The owners play a huge part in making the toys who they are,
so why would their attitudes be any different?
Andy’s Parents Had a Divorce
A major plot point in the first Toy Story is that Andy and his mother are moving houses.
This raises the stakes for Woody and Buzz’s quest back home, but it is never elaborated upon why
the move is happening in the first place. However, an extremely popular theory claims
the move is the result of a messy divorce. Andy’s parents are in the midst of a divorce, and Andy’s
mom has decided to move following the ordeal. There’s definitely elements in the movie that give
this theory credence. Remember earlier when we mentioned the pictures in the house not featuring
Andy’s dad? While we argued that would seem strange in the event that his father passed away,
had he gotten into a divorce, his absence in them would be a lot more understandable.
Maybe Andy’s mom didn’t want to think about her divorced husband, so she only kept up photos
that excluded him. The theory also argues that this is why Andy is so close to Woody and Buzz,
as they fill that fatherly role he has recently lost. Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley himself
also suggested that Andy’s father had left the family in the aforementioned Vanity Fair video.
While he didn’t work on the original trilogy of films, his words still give this theory
more credibility than most others. While we may never know anything about Andy’s dad or
why he was never brought up in the movie, the idea that he had separated from them
is easily the most reasonable theory out of all that surround his character.
At last, we’ve reached the theories that just have to be true. These theories are the truthbombs!
Each of Mr. Potato Head’s Limbs are Sentient
In Toy Story 3, we are treated to a big revelation in regards to how Mr. Potato Head works. All of
his pieces can move on their own, and the body is nothing more than the thing that
joins them together. If that weren’t the case, how did Mr. Tortilla Head come into existence?
Thus, Redditor Primetime22 has come to the conclusion that all of Potato Head’s body parts
can operate independently, with the mouth acting as the “brains”, so to speak. This is absolutely
supported by the canon, and you don’t have to look much further than the Toy Story of Terror
TV special to find it. In this special, Potato Head goes missing, but one of his arms is left
behind. This arm is then able to communicate to Woody and friends where the rest of him is. So
not only can they operate on their own, but they can also keep track of the others whereabouts,
meaning that Mr. Potato Head’s parts must form some sort of hivemind, much like the user had
theorized. It isn’t the potato that makes the man, but instead his interchangeable limbs, eyes,
and accessories! This is one theory that we can safely mark down as canon!
Lotso is What Woody Would Become if Andy Abandoned Him
Toy Story 3 is a big moment of change and evolution for Woody’s character. It is
the film that shows him moving on from Andy, and finding a new home with an all new owner. However,
if things had just gone a bit differently for Woody, his life could have been much darker.
Reddit user Itchy_Rabbit believes that, had Woody been abandoned by Lotso in the first movie,
Woody would have essentially turned into Lotso. He would have been a cold, hateful, and jealous toy,
forever angry at his kid for abandoning him. This theory, out of all the ones we have covered today,
seems the most likely to have been the intent on the part of the filmmakers. Woody in the first Toy
Story already has a few of the traits we associate with Lotso. His feud with Buzz makes him very
jealous, to the point that he even tries to take Buzz out of the picture himself. Besides that,
Lotso does seem to be a foil to the sheriff. Woody is a character who is incredibly focused
on having a relationship with an owner, while Lotso disregards having any connection like that
after what happened to him. Their stories also do parallel, as both journey to find their owners.
While Woody’s ends in success, Lotso’s ends in tragedy, and that is where the characters split
off. Woody evolved as a character, while Lotso stayed bitter and resentful. The DVD commentary
itself even mentions that Lotso was intended to be a foil to Woody. Can you get any better
proof than that? Woody and Lotso are absolutely two sides of the same coin. The two serve as a
clear reminder that there are but a few things that separate a hero from a villain.
But let us know in the comment section if you agree with our ranking.
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