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In Toy Story 2, Woody is convinced to go to the Japanese toy museum, as he's worried about what will happen when Andy grows up.

However, from the same movie, two pieces of key timeline are established: we know that he is merchandise from a TV show that was cancelled in 1957 (from the Prospector), and that the movie is taking place after 1995 (from Tour Guide Barbie).

If Woody is a 40 year old toy, then you would expect that he would have belonged to someone before, and have already experienced being handed down. (Andy's mum does say he's "an old family toy", but she may just be saying that to get rid of Al) However he mentions none of this when Jessie and the Prospector tell their stories about what happened to them.

Is it ever established where Woody has been in the intervening time?

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According to John Lasseter, Woody belonged to Andy's father.

Per wikipedia;

When introducing the 2009 set of Toy Story collectibles, John Lasseter said "We always imagined he was a hand-me-down to Andy from his father."

Assuming Andy's dad was ten when he got Woody, this would also explain why Woody is clueless about the "roundup gang". He wasn't purchased until a decade after the show had been cancelled, presumably as a generic 'cowboy toy'

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  • As well as coming from the director/creator, I like this because it goes some way towards my real question: if Andy's dad walked out, which is a common assumption, then that could be what Woody is really afraid of, more so than just him growing up.
    – Ben Murphy
    Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 14:10
  • @BenMurphy - the question of where Andy's father is has been comprehensively explored. The short answer is that he wasn't integral to the plot in the first movie (and hence didn't get included). He's not dead or divorced, he's just...'not there'
    – user7812
    Commented Dec 6, 2015 at 14:35

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