Alright, Toy Story fans, so it turns out that Andy’s dad didn’t grow up poor and bullied, come into possession of the only Woody toy in existence, contract polio and secretly save Woody and a few other toys after the rest were burned, have a family, contract post-polio syndrome, tell Andy on his deathbed to retrieve Woody in the attic, and die suddenly before Andy could return with Woody in-hand. Or, that’s at least according to Andrew Stanton, credited writer on each Toy Story film in existence. On Saturday night, the Oscar nominee took to Twitter to debunk the insanely complicated and devastating origin story initially described by artist Mike Mozart, who claimed that Pixar writer Joe Ranft (who died in 2005) revealed the theory to him years ago, and YouTuber Jonathan Carlin. “Complete and utter fake news,†Stanton tweeted. “Everyone go back to your homes. Nothing to see here, folks. #Iwasthere.â€
Of course, for many, the story was just sad enough to believe — this is Pixar we’re talking about, after all — especially since there were a few details that appeared to add up. (Why did Al view Woody as so valuable in Toy Story 2?) Knowing the internet, the theory isn’t likely to die after a single rebuttal. Perhaps Joss Whedon should be the next one to clear things up.