So Andy's Dad Died Of Polio In "Toy Story" And The Story Is Devastating
Y'all don't even want to know what happened to Andy's dad before Toy Story.
Okay, so you know how in Toy Story we only ever see Andy's mom? His dad is not in the picture and we never learn why.
WELL. According to YouTuber Jonathan Carlin, the story of Andy's dad was revealed to artist Mike Mozart by Pixar writer Joe Ranft many years ago.
That's Mozart on the left and Ranft on the right. Sadly, Ranft — who wrote on Toy Story and A Bug's Life and also provided the voice of Heimlich in the latter — died in a car accident in 2005.
Are you ready for this? Because fair warning, it's REALLY SAD. Like, the opening of Up is a jolly romp compared to this.
SO 👏. First off, Andy's parents aren't divorced. Andy's dad is dead, and the house we see in the movie is actually Andy's grandparents' house.
Which makes sense, because those pictures on the wall clearly aren't of Andy, they're of Andy's dad. How do we know? Because the kid in the picture is wearing glasses! So either Andy got some early Lasik or those pics aren't him.
As Carlin explains in his video, Andy's dad (who was also named Andy, so Andy is an Andy Jr.) came from a poor family, but he LOVED watching Woody's Roundup.
Andy Sr. was apparently very sickly as a child too, and overcame polio, AND he was bullied by none other than this guy:
Yeah, Andy's dad went to school with Al from Al's Toy Barn.
So anyway, being poor, Andy's dad saved up a bunch of box tops to get his own Woody doll, which was the only way you could get one — Woody himself was the only toy not sold in stores.
That explains why Woody is such a rare toy...Andy Sr. could've been the only kid to actually get his hands on one before the show was cancelled. In fact, Mozart's tale says that all the other kids that sent in got a space toy instead, and a secretary fished Woody out of the trash to send to Andy Sr.
So Andy Sr. kept his Woody doll safe (along with Mr. Potato Head and Slinky) when all of his other toys were BURNED because he had polio.
That's sad enough for poor Andy Sr., but extra horrific because TOYS ARE SENTIENT IN THIS WORLD AND THEY WERE ALL BURNED ALIVE.
Andy Sr. grew up, got married, had a couple of kids, and then got post-polio syndrome and died about a year before the events of the first movie.
Just in case that wasn't enough for you: Andy's dad, lying on his deathbed, told Andy to get his box of toys from the attic but died before Andy came back downstairs.
BECAUSE THAT'S NOT DEVASTATING OR ANYTHING.
That explains why Woody, Slinky and Mr. Potato Head don't mention Andy's dad at all...they think that Andy is the same kid.
After all, they look damn near the same.
There are too many details to go into, so you can check out the video from SuperCarlinBrothers for a deeper dive.
View this video on YouTube
If you feel like crying, that is.
UPDATE
Well, thank goodness, Pixar's Andrew Stanton has refuted the story so it's definitely NOT Pixar canon. It still works as a fan theory, but we don't have to be super depressed now.
Complete and utter fake news. Everyone go back to your homes. Nothing to see here, folks. #Iwasthere https://t.co/06j37YKKt2