In an interview ahead of “Toy Story 5,” Tom Hanks was stunned to learn Sheriff Woody’s full name is Woody Pride and that Jessie the Cowgirl is Jessica Jane “Jessie” Pride—prompting a quick, comical concern about whether they’re related (or something more).
More than 30 years after the first “Toy Story” hit theaters, Tom Hanks is still getting caught up in the franchise’s smallest details.
Sitting down alongside Tim Allen for an interview with BBC Radio 1 ahead of the release of “Toy Story 5,” Hanks was told—apparently for the first time—that his character, Sheriff Woody, has a full name. Critic Ali Plumb explained that Woody’s surname is Pride.
“What did they find this out?” Hanks blurted. “I play the guy! I didn’t realize that he had a surname.”
Plumb didn’t stop there. He also pointed out that Jessie the Cowgirl—voiced by Joan Cusack—has a full name as well: Jessica Jane “Jessie” Pride.
“I think that means you’re siblings,” Plumb said.
Hanks was not having it. “Boy! No!” he replied. “Distant cousins, please!”
The interview makes room for the full moment, with Hanks’s reaction landing right on the edge of something he seemed worried about. He sounded genuinely unsettled by the idea that Woody and Jessie might not just share a link, but have a closer one.
In the same conversation, Tim Allen shared that he’d seemingly learned this information before—and that he already knew Woody and Jessie were somehow related. “There’s something in there. One of the guys on the internet gets these names,” Allen said. “I heard that same thing.”
Hanks’s insistence on “distant cousins” also fits the broader “Toy Story” romantic history fans already know: Jessie and Buzz have long been paired. while Woody’s heart has stayed with Bo Peep (Annie Potts). If Hanks’s reaction is any clue. the new movie may steer clear of pushing Woody and Jessie’s family tie into the kind of storyline that would raise his eyebrows.
“Toy Story 5” is set to open in theaters on June 19, with the film already tracking to start with at least $140 million at the domestic box office—suggesting the cowgirl’s larger role in a story about toys versus tech will draw a huge crowd this weekend.
Tom Hanks Toy Story 5 Tim Allen BBC Radio 1 Ali Plumb Woody Pride Jessie Pride Joan Cusack Woody Jessie Bo Peep Buzz