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.

    Andy Golder
    by Andy Golder

    BuzzFeed Staff

    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.

    Pixar

    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.

    youtube.com
    youtube.com

    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.

    Pixar

    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.

    Pixar

    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.

    Pixar

    Andy Sr. was apparently very sickly as a child too, and overcame polio, AND he was bullied by none other than this guy:

    Pixar

    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.

    Pixar

    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.

    Pixar

    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.

    Pixar

    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.

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    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.

    Pixar

    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
    youtube.com

    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.

    andrew stanton @andrewstanton

    Complete and utter fake news. Everyone go back to your homes. Nothing to see here, folks. #Iwasthere https://t.co/06j37YKKt2

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