Toy Story 5 Almost Gave Jessie A Much Different Emotional Tie Back To Toy Story 2

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Hold on there, partner! This article contains major spoilers for "Toy Story 5."

"Toy Story," the load-bearing pillar of Pixar Animation Studios, is back for its fifth feature film (read my review of "Toy Story 5" here). After a seven-year interlude following the "didn't need this but happy to have it" supposed franchise-capper of "Toy Story 4," everyone's favorite anthropomorphic playthings are back with a story centered on Jessie the Cowgirl (Joan Cusack) that harkens back to her introduction in "Toy Story 2." With Woody out and about rescuing lost toys, Jessie has taken on the mantle as the new Sheriff of Bonnie's toys, but realizes quickly that she is in desperate need of a friend to play with — specifically, a human friend.

Through a series of toy-related hijinks, Jessie ends up in the possession of a young girl named Blaze, who happens to live in the same house where Jessie's original owner, Emily, once lived. Being back in Emily's home stirs up a lot of difficult memories for Jessie, who experienced her kid growing up and no longer havin a use for her before being donated. Jessie has spent decades believing Emily stopped loving her and abandoned her, and she's spent three movies working through that trauma.

In "Toy Story 5," Jessie learns the truth of her impact on Emily's life, including the fact that Emily named her first-born daughter "Jessie," a way to honor her very first best friend. It's a beautiful, heart-wrenching moment that had plenty of grown adults in my theater wiping tears from their eyes, but according to the book "The Art of Toy Story 5," this full-circle moment almost looked very different. As many fans theorized before the film's release, an early draft depicted Jessie reconnecting with Emily as an older woman.

According to co-writer/director Kenna Harris, "Toy Story 5" originally had Jessie crossing paths with Emily by chance. "Emily was now a grandmother and introduced her beloved childhood doll to her grandbaby in a touching climactic sequence," they said. "I drew this [see above image] in exploration of that special, nostalgia-filled moment." Seeing Jessie reunite with Emily would have certainly been beautiful, but ultimately, the "Toy Story 5" creative team took a much better and less predictable approach to completing Jessie's healing journey. "Though the film ultimately went in a different direction, we always knew that Jessie's special connection to Emily would be key to 'Toy Story 5,'" said Harris.

Narrative changes happen all the time throughout production, like how Bullseye was originally supposed to have an origin story as well. The decision to show Jessie learning how much she meant to Emily by finding a lunchbox buried under the tire swing as a Jessie-centric time capsule was the right call. "We knew from the beginning that this scene was integral to Jessie's arc, and therefore would be one of the most difficult to execute," said Tessa Abrams, story artist. "So I felt incredibly grateful that our directors entrusted me with the scene." 

Like many in the newer class of Pixar artists, Abrams grew up watching the "Toy Story" films, so working on this scene was a deeply emotional experience for them as well. "[Jessie] defined her time with Emily by how it ended — being forgotten and thrown away, but here, she finally understands that it was worth much more than that."

"Toy Story 5" is currently playing in theaters everywhere, and you might want to bring a box of tissues.