You guys are forgetting that it didnt have to be a childhood toy for Andy’s Dad. Mr. Davis could have been a collector of some sort, or maybe even an original fan of the show. I’ve always thought that he found Woody in an antique store and remembered him from the classic Woody’s Roundup, and bought him as a collectable. Some antique stores have items of great value but just don’t know it. He could of then looked it up and found that this Woody doll was extremely expensive. So Mr. Davis then kept it mint in the box and therefore not “alive” (like Buzz came) and put him in storage. But when Andy was approaching Kindergarten and Andy’s dad was going to be soon out of the picture (either from death or divorce) he felt he should give his prize posession to little Andy to show he still loves him. Woody was then opened, brought to life and introduced to the world and his owner Andy.
So that my take on it. May not make so much sense so the short version is:
Andys dad was an original fan of the show. He found Woody at a antique store for a good price. He then realised the worth of the doll and kept it in storage mint in box. When he was on his death bed or leaving for some other reason he gave young Andy the Woody. Woody was then opened and introduced to the world.
This would explain the time difference, why he wasnt aware of Woody’s Roundup etc. And as for Stinky Pete? I concur with who ever said he might of been put on display and opened (bringing him too life) then put back in his box when the space toys came.
I like it, except Woody mentions to haven’t seen a record player in ages. Still, as for Stinky Pete’s backstory, I think that Buzz Lightyears are the only toys that are frozen in “hypersleep” before they’re opened.
He could be exaggerating. Ages could mean a few years. Who knows he could of saw one on TV and is trying to make himself sound experienced!
And as for the Buzz thing, that could be just how Buzz toy’s describe it. I don’t think toys are really alive until they are out of the packaging completely. Thats why in Al’s Toy Barn only the opened toys are alive (display Buzz, Barbies).
Maybe woody was made a few years after the show went off so he was a late realease like maybe a 10 year anniversary realease so he wouldn’t know where he was from.
Woody as a doll was very much intended to be sold as a TV tie in toy- [spoil]hence the You’ve Got A Friend In Me advertisement - where the boy hugs the Woody marionette in TS2.[/spoil]
Still, I like the idea of Woody being in “hypersleep” as Buzz 2 puts it, until Andy opened him up. -Omar
I posted something in another thread, but when I came back the next day, the post was gone as if it’d never existed- in that case I forgot to put spoiler tags for something that happened in TS1, so the other day I got a little spoiler mad. Sorry -Omar
In Toy Story 2, Woody said “A record player! I haven’t seen one of these in ages!” This clearly implies that Woody is indeed far older than Andy. Record players were big in the 50s (which matches up with Woody’s Roundup timeline) and died out in the 60s due to the introduction of the eight track. Woody has to be hand-me-down but whether or not he was Mom or Dad’s might remain a mystery.
This is probably the biggest mystery out of any of the Pixar films. I know someone in his family had him originally because Andy’s mom implied to Al that it was an old family toy. My guess was probably his dad who never got a mention in any of the films. I could be wrong on that though but it’s just my theory.
Vinyl was still a popular format well into the 70s, though it’s been established that Woody is from the 50s. Again, I personally believe Woody used to belong to Andy’s father, but I’ve stated my reasons many times before. It’s not quite fact, since Pixar doesn’t like to touch upon the subject.
An article I saw only made me think more about Andy’s relationship with Woody: inkandpixelclub.com/2011/01/sayi … part-five/
He basically goes into great detail about… everything. It’s interesting to note that the connection is brought up between Woody as a father figure. It certainly makes sense, as a favorite toy is similar to a parent (in the eyes of a child). Assuming Andy’s father is deceased, that only makes Woody’s relationship with Andy even more special. Andy’s mom’s emotions and Woody’s were also similar; both had to eventually come to terms with the fact that they’d be seperated from Andy. Except the decision was made by both to give him room to let him grow up.
Again, I might be overthinking this, but the metaphor is still present. Even if the only reason Andy didn’t have a father was that Pixar didn’t want to animate another human.
Thanks for the link! I don’t think I’ve stopped by here since I wrote my big Toy Story 3 analysis and I don’t like to plug my own work too much, so it’s great to see that my article found its way to you guys regardless.
Like I said in the article, I don’t think Andy consciously thought of Woody as a father figure. Woody’s relationship to Andy is very paternal, but Andy treats him more like his best pal who is also a toy. Because Woody is never “alive” around Andy, his influence on Andy is limited to what Andy imagines and just being there for him. But whether intentionally or not, I do think Andy gave Woody not just the qualities he thought a good cowboy should have, but the qualities he thought a good man should have.
Glad to share, that’s probably the most in-depth write-up of the Toy Story series that I’ve seen.
Anyways, the friend relationship between Andy and Woody goes without saying; the opening explains it all. But only recently with Toy Story 3 is where Woody shows some of the qualities of a parent. I bring that up in this thread because had Andy lost his father, it would make Woody even more important to him. Of course, Andy doesn’t like Woody just because he’d belonged to his father (going by what Pixar said), since Buzz stole the show for a little while in the first Toy Story.
Hi everyone, this is my first post and this thread or a major part of it is the reason I looked at the site and signed up.
I’ve been a fan of the Toy Story movies since they first came out, but I had recently revisited them because I know have a 2 year old son and he loves them so much. The major plot hole in the story of Toy Story 2 and the trilogy as a whole is that Woody is from the 50s, how can Andy be his only owner? Jessie had gone through the whole process of her owner growing up, but why not Woody?
Reading through this thread there are some good theories as to why Woody would only recognise Andy as his only owner, even though his Mum had mentioned he was an old family toy and Woody was not aware of his “toyline”. I like the theory that toys don’t come “alive” until they are taken out of the packaging. You could even push this point with the Prospector as he is able to leave his box at will, giving off that he had already been removed from the packaging.
Then saying that Woody was in some way kept in the packaging by Andy’s father for some reason and for a very long time before giving the toy to him when he was in Kindergarten. That way Woody would only know Andy as his owner and have not gone through the child growing up before.
It is odd that a almost 50 year old cowboy doll was not taken out of his package, especially back then as I’m sure at the time beinga colector and keepingt hings in boxes was not really thought of back then, I could be wrong though. I do like one posters thought that it was the “space toys” which stopped the toy being given to the child in the 50s after purchase and replaced by some sort of spaceship. Leaving the cowboy doll in the back of a cupboard and forgotten about for a time until once again discovered.
These are good theories and thanks for writing them down as it does sort of fill a hole in as I said TS2 and the trilogy itself.
