There's more to Toy Story than meets the eye. Way more.

Toy Story fans, has your mind recuperated after the earth-shattering revelation that Andy’s mum is [possibly] Jessie’s owner, Emily?

Because it’s been, oh, a whole week since the lid was blown off that one, we decided it was high time more Toy Story theories were brought to light. What – you thought you could simply enjoy the trilogy without searching for deeper meanings in every single tip of Woody’s hat? Please. There’s no fun in that.

A quick Google search reveals an abundance of fan philosophies and conspiracy theories about Woody, Buzz and co, ranging from familial issues to political agendas. Who says this was a kids’ movie? Here are three of them:

1. Wait, Andy’s dad is dead?

Putting aside the astonishing identity of Andy’s mum for a moment, the conspicuous non-existence of Andy’s father has sparked much discussion among fans. Dad’s never mentioned, he’s missing from all the family photos and isn’t present for any of Andy’s milestone moments, like his birthday party and his departure for college – moments no dad would want to miss. In the first movie, Andy’s mother’s left hand is shown – and there’s no ring in sight.

There are two schools of thought on this topic: those who believe the parents are divorced (and bitterly divorced at that), and those who believe Andy’s father is dead.

Those in the second camp suggest Woody is the last thing Andy’s dad gave his son before his death, explaining Andy’s fondness for the toy – and the immense sadness on his face when he gives Woody to Bonnie in the third movie.  Are you crying yet?

2. Toy Story is a metaphor for Andy's mother re-marrying

Reddit user EatBooks suggests Woody's relationship with Buzz Lightyear reflects Andy's father coming to terms with his former wife's new partner, and that this dynamic is played out across all three movies:

Woody represents his biological father, someone sturdy but visualized as a roaming cowboy. Buzz represents Andy's stepfather, a shiny, cool, new dad, one that makes Woody seem dangerously out of date. The movie is about his jealously and the way he feels his is son is stolen from him.

The second and third movies then deal with Andy's dad toying with the idea of removing himself from Andy's life and being convinced to stay; and finally Andy's parents learning to let their son go. Seems entirely plausible, no?

3. Toy Story mirrors the Disney/Pixar relationship

Although computer-animated movies are incredibly popular now (hello, Frozen), there was once a time when Disney wasn't quite so keen on embracing the new technology.

Another Redditor, baltimorgan, theorises that Toy Story was inspired by the experiences of director John Lasseter, who was fired from Disney when he began working on a short film with computer graphics rather than the hand-drawn animation favoured by Disney at the time. He went on to work with Pixar, which produced Toy Story.

Baltimorgan writes:

Toy Story is essentially the story about Woody, a traditional western kid's toy, who is threatened by Buzz Lightyear, a new, more popular futuristic kids toy, but in the end, they are united by their love of making Andy happy; much like Disney and Pixar were united in, one could say, their love for entertaining children and storytelling.

What do you think - could these be plausible interpretations of Toy Story? Or should we all stop over-analysing? (Pffft, as if!)

Can't get enough of reading too much into Disney movies? CLICK THROUGH this gallery of characters that have made blink-and-miss-it cameos in other Disney movies: