New, Devastating Toy Story Theory Officially Shot Down
It sounds good, but it's just not true.
It's a well-known fact that Pixar movies are ripe for fan theories that make them even more emotionally devastating. The genius of the writing tends to leave open irresistible possibilities as we're fed snatches of stories that hint at something even sadder than the grown-up themes that tend to be explored in the foreground.
There's the unspoken heart-breaking back-stories of the adventurers killed by Charles Muntz in Up, or the fact that Wall-E had to watch every robot friend he ever tried to make die... And of course, the question of where Andy's dad is.
Over the years, it's been suggested that he died, or that Andy's parents had gone through a traumatic divorce (necessitating the house move in Toy Story), and for a very short time, it looked like we had an official answer. That came courtesy of toy consultant Mike Mozart who helped out on Toy Story and claims he was told the truth by his friend Joe Ranft before he tragically died.
In a video with YouTube channel Super Carlin Brothers, Mozart says Andy's dad had polio and was the original owner of Woody (hence the different hand-writing on Woody's foot) who was a one of a kind prototype toy that wasn't mass produced when his show was cancelled.
When he was diagnosed with polio, some of his toys were destroyed for his safety, but Woody, Slinky, and Mr. Potato Head were saved when he hid them. He survived, grew up and married and Andy Jr was born, but tragically, he contracted Post-Polio Syndrome and died, but not before passing on a key to his old toy chest in the attic.
From there, the toys reawaken, assuming Andy Jr is in fact Andy Sr and the main Toy Story timeline kicks off. It's a fitting story, and it does suit the emotional content you'd expect from Pixar - while offering a few answers to long-standing Pixar mysteries...
Unfortunately for everyone getting over-excited, the actual writer of Toy Story says it's not true. So presumably, someone is making it up and pretending it's gospel...
Nothing to see here folks.