MovieChat Forums > Toy Story 2 (1999) Discussion > So, Woody just didn't know who he was fo...

So, Woody just didn't know who he was for 50 years?


Yes, yes, reading into it here lol but he knew his life with Andy and Andy's mother said he was a "family heirloom" so he didn't remember his time with his previous owner? Andy's mother, I would think. Doesn't bother me, but someone pointed that out to me and it stuck with me!





"Have you seen or touched any monkey's?" Monty, Late Show with David Letterman

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This is just my theory, but maybe Woody's previous owner (Andy's mom or dad) wasn't a big fan of the "Woody's Round-Up" show. Maybe Woody was a Birthday or Christmas gift. Or if they were fans of the show, they never saw it with Woody by their side, so he was not familiar with the show.

Also remember that the "Woody's Round-Up" show probably aired some time in the late 1950's, so it is unlikely that Andy's parents were even born back then. So it's possible that they got Woody a long time after the show had been cancelled and they didn't know anything about it. For them maybe Woody was just a "cowboy toy", nothing more.

"If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving is not for you!"

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True. I am reading into a toy lol I guess when he was made, he didn't know who he was as well.




"Have you seen or touched any monkey's?" Monty, Late Show with David Letterman

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It just seems odd that Buzz comes out of the package already knowing his entire backstory and thinking he's the real Buzz. He doesn't need to see the TV show or read the box, he already knows about Star Command and Zurg. Yet Woody doesn't know about the Roundup Gang? I guess you could say he forgot but Jessie obviously hasn't forgotten the entire lifetime of her previous owner.

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^^THIS

"Have you seen or touched any monkey's?" Monty, Late Show with David Letterman

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@ Lunchbox, maybe the knowing who they are thing only applies to action figures and toys of big franchises like Barbies. Also it doesn't seem clear that Jessi did know about the show before getting found by Al. It also seems that some of the other toys don't seem like they ever went through the "I'm the real whatever!" Phase Buzz did.
"1-800 Spank me? I know that number." Scott Calvin, The Santa Clause.

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Woody has a mechanical acoustic voice box activated by a pull string. Buzz has battery powered electronics circuits that were programmed with his toy's background information.

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The theory around our house is that Woody was Andy's dad's toy. He gave Woody to Andy when he was little and then he died somehow. It's not that he forgot about the previous owner, it's that Dad gave him the job to take care of Andy so he does it full on. That's why Andy is so attached to him to the point of taking him to college with him.

Maybe he's just so old he forgot he was a TV show. Not like he had other Roundup toys around to remind him.

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I like that theory!

"Have you seen or touched any monkey's?" Monty, Late Show with David Letterman

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that is an oddity. woody acts like andy is the only person he has ever belonged to, there seems to be no memory of any previous owners. yet he must have had at least one if he was made in the 50s. if the mother was the original owner, you would think he would remember that.

Another oddity is the Woody tv show being cancelled when spacemen became popular. The fact is that western shows continued to be hugely popular throughout the 60s, so there is really no reason why the show need have been cancelled. puppets continued to be popular in the 60s too - in fact the Andersons did a western puppet show - Four feather falls - before they did Stingray, Supercar, Thunderbirds etc.

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Expy of Howdy Doody.
The original ran till 1960. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howdy_Doody

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The show getting cancelled because of Space Toys is a nod to Woody being replaced by Buzz in the first movie. It also is to highlight Stinky Pete's being jealous of other toys getting owners and not him.

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In the director's cut, Woody was stored in the basement of a mom and pop type toy store where he remained with other unsold toys until the whole collection was dumped on eBay. Andy's father bought Woody because he had one when he was a kid and gave it to Andy before he dumped Andy's mom and ran off with his secretary who looked just like Barbie..

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Woody's adopted lol

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