Tom Hanks Just Co-Signed This Very Popular ‘Toy Story’ Fan Theory

A very popular Toy Story fan theory just got the ultimate thumbs-up from IRL Woody himself, Tom Hanks.

No, no, the theory in question doesn’t have anything to do with these mind-blowing Disney/Pixar Easter eggs. It’s even better: Hanks is very into the idea of Andy’s mother being Jessie’s first owner.

Haven’t heard of that theory? Let’s backtrack: Three years ago, a theory popped up on the Internet that alleged the Jessie doll originally belonged to Andy’s mother. The hypothesis went viral after conspiracy maestro John Negroni co-signed it, and the evidence is pretty damn convincing. It points to a flashback from Toy Story 2 that shows Jessie’s owner, a young girl, playing with the doll. She and Jessie are wearing matching red cowboy hats with white lace, which doesn’t seem significant until you look closely at the cowboy hat Andy frequently wears when he plays with Woody: It looks nothing like Woody’s hat, but it bears a striking resemblance to Jessie’s (minus the lace). Is it possible that Andy’s mother is the little girl from that flashback, and she passed her red cowboy hat (sans lace, which she probably lost) to Andy?

Hanks thinks so. “Good idea…Sounds like a fantastic off-story, a little bit of fan knowledge to me,” Hanks told The Huffington Post. “And I’m sure the folks at Pixar have paid attention to it. I’m not saying such a flashback might happen in the fourth movie, but check it out.”

Of course, this contradicts what Toy Story writer Pete Docter told Entertainment Tonight in 2015. He straight-up debunked the idea of Andy’s mom being Jessie’s first owner.

“You know, John Lasseter was the director on [Toy Story 2], and we talked for hours about backstory—and we have our own kind of backstory that’s a little different than that,” he said.

Maybe these two will be more open to this theory now that it has the Tom Hanks seal of approval? We. Need. Answers.