In our childhood, we often imagined our favorite toys had personalities of their own, casting them as the stars of our own stories. Then in 1995, Pixar released its first feature film, Toy Story, which brought our favorite toys to life like never before.
It's hard to believe that on Nov. 22 one of our favorite animated films is turning 20. With a screenplay by Joel Cohen, Pete Docter, John Lasseter, Joe Ranft, Alec Sokolow, Andrew Stanton and Joss Whedon, and directed by Lasseter, Toy Story follows the story about a lovable cowboy named Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) who is owned by a boy named Andy and is the leader of Andy's toys. Woody then feels replaced when Andy's parents buy him a Buzz Lightyear action figure (voiced by Tim Allen).
The film won an Academy Award and was nominated for three others, ranking number one in the theaters in its opening with a gross of $29,140,617. The film has a domestic lifetime gross of $191,796, 233.
Toy Story went on to have two sequels (how could you not cry during the third?), and Pixar has since released some of the best animated films, such as Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Up, and Inside Out—just to name a few.
Pixar is known for hiding some Easter eggs in its films, such as a hidden Knick Knack (one of Pixar's earliest productions) book when Woody holds a meeting for Andy's birthday, a Home Improvement tool box in Sid's room (a Tim Allen reference), a hidden Mickey on a watch on Andy's wall, and a Star Wars Episode IV reference to R2-D2's mission in speech by Buzz.
Besides the Easter eggs, Pixar films are also believed to have hidden meanings. Over the years, fans have come up with their own theories some of these messages. In honor of the 20th anniversary of Toy Story, here are the best Pixar fan theories.
Toy Story: The Identity Of Andy's Mom
The story of Jessie, the cowgirl counterpart to Woody, broke our hearts in Toy Story 2. We learn she, too, once was adored by her owner Emily, but was left behind as her best friend grew up. While Jessie joins the group of Andy's toys, fans theorize that her original owner is actually Andy's mother.
The main clue to this one is that Andy is seen wearing a cowboy hat that does not resemble Woody's. Wouldn't he want to dress like his favorite toy? Instead, the hat's design is closer to one that Jessie wears. Even more interesting, Jessie's flashback reveals her owner had her in the '50s and '60s, which would be when Andy's mom was a child. It's likely that Andy inherited the hat from her mother, especially since the very same hat is seen on Emily's bed, making Mrs. Davis the original owner of Jessie.
While this theory sounds believable, Pete Docter revealed Emily is not Andy's mom, saying the backstory is a bit different, while hinting that we might find out more in Toy Story 4.
Every Pixar Story Is Connected
Jon Negroni discussed the Andy's mom theory in his blog, but the writer actually takes fan theory to a whole 'nother level by connecting every single Pixar movie into one complete universe in his book titled The Pixar Theory.
The theory is that Merida from the animated film Brave discovers the magic of the Will 'O the Wisps that allows animals and objects to talk. This explains why animals behave like humans as seen in Ratatouille, Finding Nemo and A Bug's Life.
While the magic may have lead to the evolution of animals, it could also lead to advanced artificial intelligence. The magic escapes through a wooden door, and could be the reason behind the creation of superheroes as seen in The Incredibles. In The Incredibles, Zero Point Energy allows toys to come to life. Humans throw away objects in Toy Story, and pollute the waters in Finding Nemo, and eventually resentment grows. The postcard in Toy Story 3 from Carl and Ellie from Up could be a message warning Andy that his toys will no longer need him, as machines take over.
A war eventually breaks out between humans and machines as the Buy n Large corporation runs the world, and then only cars are left behind. Now Wall-E must fix the mess. A tree at the end of that film starts to grow, which can be interpreted as the tree in A Bug's Life, and animals later evolved into the creatures in Monsters, Inc. The doors in that film are used to time travel to gather energy from humans, and it all goes back to the Sulley wooden statue seen in Brave.
There are lots of little points in the theory that could make it plausible (you can read it in full here), but Docter once again debunked the theory, revealing that the creators make sure to develop distinct worlds for each film.
Finding Nemo: Nemo Is A Figment Of Marlin's Imagination
Finding Nemo is already a devastating film. While it starts off with little Nemo's mother and siblings being devoured by a barracuda, the little clown fish eventually gets lost in the big sea, with his father Marlin on a mission to safely bring him home.
One fan theory suggests that Nemo actually died in the barracuda attack. In fact, Marlin learns there were no survivors of the attack before spotting Nemo, suggesting that his son is actually a figment of his imagination, created as a way to cope with his grief. Instead, Marlin goes on a journey to overcome his pain, learning along the way he must let go, and what happened wasn't his fault.
While there are some holes in the theory, such as how the Nemo-specific scenes play a role, these can be attributed to being just Marlin's delusions.
OK, this might be a stretch, but to top it all off Nemo means "no one" in Latin. Pass the tissues, please!
Up: Carl Is Really Dead
For those who have seen the film, we already know how depressing Up is. And if you thought the Finding Nemo fan theory had you in tears, just wait until you hear this one.
It's very possible that Carl Fredricksen really died in his sleep in the beginning of the movie. The entire film can be interpreted as his journey through the afterlife. Russell can be seen as Carl's guardian angel who helps him cross over to the other side, as he tries to earn his merit badge, aka his angle wings. The fact that Russell is a boy could symbolize the couple's desire to have children.
Giving even more power to this theory, you can look at Carl's attachment to his house as his inability to let go of the physical world, and the Paradise Falls waterfall is Carl's idea of heaven.
Inside Out: Riley Does Not Identify As Male Or Female Yet
Inside Out was such a major box office hit, proving that Disney and Pixar still have the magic touch. But some fans theorized that the companies were subliminally touching on gender identification in this animated movie.
The fan theory picks up on the point that all the emotions Riley has are represented by both males and females, whereas her mother's emotions are all female, and her father's are all male. This has some believing that this means Riley has not yet identified her sexuality or her gender.
While this would bring deep meaning to the movie, unfortunately, Inside Out's director Pete Docter once again debunked this one in an interview with HitFix. "I would love to have some deep philosophical answer for you, but the answer is really comedy," he said.
Wall-E: Robots Are Cloning Humans
We like to believe humans are responsible for creating robots, but according to a Tumblr user's theory, it's actually the other way around in Wall-E. In the film, we see that on the spacecraft (built by the infamous BnL corporation) Axiom that everyone is morbidly obese. The spacecraft was designed to keep everyone well fed and entertained, with humans relying on robots for their every need.
Since the computer says the population is "unchanged," and all the babies shown appear to be parentless and the same age, this fan believes that it's robots who are cloning people to make sure they always have a purpose. Mind blown.
Toy Story: Steve Jobs Is Woody
Coming back full circle, there is a theory that Woody from Toy Story represents Steve Jobs. The theory was first started by a Reddit user who wondered if Mike and Sulley from Monsters, Inc. where actually representations of Mike Markkula and John Sculley, two former Apple employees. If you think about it, the theory does make sense if you put Jobs as Sulley's boss Mr. Waternoose, who just wants the company to succeed at all costs.
Then the entire theory gets flipped on its head, when the same Redditor reveals that Steve Jobs is actually Woody and John Sculley is Buzz. Woody is the sheriff to the toys, which can been seen as Jobs being the boss of Apple. Sculley previously worked at Pepsi, where he made a name for himself, and joins Apple. Buzz/Sculley replaces Woody/Jobs, but the latter then comes to save the day. While these events occurred after the release of Toy Story, we will forever imagine Jobs happily in Paradise Falls, surrounded by his favorite toys.
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