Have you ever thought about the parents in Toy Story? We see Andy’s mom (Ms. Davis is her name by the way.) Not a lot of attention is focused on her, but she represents the larger forces that shape a child’s world without being the center of it!
The mom is a symbol of change and disruption in the world of the toys. She moves toys around when she cleans the room, packs the boxes, throws things away and buys new toys. And makes Andy decide what to do with his toys as he goes off to college. She represents the uncontrollable force of change – or what can happen to you wherever and whoever you are.
Even though Andy’s mom is barely there, she still matters. She is very symbolic in that she creates the conditions for conflict, the inevitability of change and is the force that makes the toys (Woody, Buzz, Jessie and Bo-Peep) grow. So, while always present she is never the center of attention but ultimately shapes a lot of the story.
Andy’s mom represents the external forces that push the toy’s identity to evolve. When we think about identity and leadership, isn’t there often a tension between who we think we are and who we become? What are the forces of change that affect us? What can we do to grow with them or to change with them?
On a side note – we don’t know anything about Andy’s dad – it is assumed that his mom is a single mom raising her kids on her own – which is a whole different set of messages that should have us thinking about what that means in the course of the story!
