As you may have come to realize, I have a burning passion for anything related to Disney productions and mind-bending conspiracy theories. It should come as no surprise that I would like to utilize one of my weekly Odyssey articles to delve into an element of “The Pixar Theory.” It is fondly referred to as “The True Identity of Andy’s Mom.” Pixar theorists believe Andy’s mother, Ms. Davis, and Emily— Jessie “the yodeling cowgirl’s” original owner— are one in the same. The key aspect that supports this theory is a red and white hat.
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In "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2," Andy— the toys’ owner— dons a red hat that is trimmed in white. It also has a large, faded mark encompassing the center. This hat looks nothing like that of his favorite toys— Woody. “The rootin’est, tootin’est, shootin’est, hootin’est cowboy in the wild, wild west” proudly sports a brown cowboy hat. However, Andy’s hat is nearly identical to Jessie’s. A white band surrounding the center of Jessie’s hat is the sole difference between the two. This is imperative as another character in the franchise possess such a hat: Emily!
Jessie’s life story is told through a series of flashbacks in "Toy Story 2." An early scene shows Jessie sitting on Emily’s bed, next to a child-sized hat of red with a white trim and matching band. Several years presumably pass, as Emily transitions from a cowgirl phase to a “hippy-dippy”, gossiping teenager. She accidentally rediscovers her beloved childhood friend, when she gathers makeup that has tumbled from her purse and landed beneath her bed. It is in this moment that Emily, who is growing up, makes the decision to donate Jessie along with her other cowgirl merchandise to a charity. The one object not pictured within the box of keepsakes is her cowgirl hat.
Through this evidence, an intern working for John Negroni (the creator of The Pixar Theory) concluded that Emily must have saved the hat and later passed it on to her eldest child and only son, Andy. He shares his mother’s adoration of all things Wild West related and gladly dons the red hat as he plays with Woody and the gang. As for why the white band is missing, the anonymous intern and Negroni theorize that Emily/Ms. Davis removed a feminine aspect of the hat in order for it to appeal to a boy. They back up this theory by pointing out that Emily’s room (from Jessie’s flashbacks) appears to be rather old fashioned and contains items from the ‘60s (e.g. record player, tie-dye posters). This allowed plenty of time for Emily to finish growing up and start a family of her own. Additionally, we catch a glimpse of teenage Emily’s short, light auburn hair; which is nearly identical to that of Ms. Davis’.
Negroni concludes his blog entry concerning this conspiracy by stating, “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…It’s also a freak of destiny that Jessie would one day belong to her owner’s son…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!” No certainly not, Jon…certainly not…
Well, what’s you take on “The True Identity of Andy’s Mom” conspiracy? Was your mind as blown as mine was when I first learned of it? Comment your thoughts below, or share with your friends!
Negroni, Jon. “The True Identity of Andy’s Mom in ‘Toy Story’ Will Blow Your Mind.” Web blog post. Jon Negroni: Film Reviews and Conspiracies. WordPress.com, 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 08 July 2016.
