At the end of Toy Story 3, a young adult named Andy sits in the grass with a box of toys in his lap. He lifts them out one by one and tells a young girl why each of them mattered to him – what made them special, and why he held on to them for so long – before giving them away to her forever.
For anyone who saw the first film as a child, that moment cut straight through the years. It was the instant we realised we were still Andy – the young boy whose toys once came to life – and that growing up didn’t mean losing the child inside us. It meant learning how to let go without forgetting who we were.
Thirty years ago today, on November 22, 1995, Toy Story introduced the world to that boy. And for John Morris – who has voiced Andy since he was a child – the connection to him never really faded.
During our conversation, Morris lifts the Andy Funko Pop from his desk. “I was so excited when that happened,” he tells The National. After spending years playing a boy whose whole world was toys, this was the first time he’d had one of himself. “He’s holding Woody and Buzz, and he has the signature red hat. I love that.”
Morris was slightly older than Andy when he recorded the first film. Pixar’s directors guided him through who Andy was meant to be.
“They said he’s a good kid with a good heart,” he says. The details were easy to relate to. “He’s close with his family, especially his mum and his sibling, and he has a dog. I’ve always had dogs. There were certain things I related to and I could draw on.” His task was simple: think younger, stay present, and let that warmth come through. “I tried to bring that out in my voice, stepping into him."
Despite voicing one of the most recognisable characters of the past three decades, Morris grew up with a low profile.
"As a voice actor, you can kind of fly under the radar when you want to,” he says. The only time it came up was when someone picked up on his voice. “Usually someone would say, you sound familiar … and then it would spread.”
Most of the time, he was just a kid. “I was playing soccer and going to birthday parties,” he says. “I was proud of it, but I would usually wait for people to bring it up.”
But as the years passed, he thought he might never return. When Toy Story 3 was going into production, a full decade had passed since the second film. Morris was 25 years old and didn't expect to be called back to the role that had shaped his career.
Then director Lee Unkrich called – a call Morris missed and quickly returned, leaving Unkrich a message. “From my voice mail, he knew I could come back and voice Andy,” Morris says, laughing. “That was my audition, or reaudition.”
When he returned to the studio, Morris had to find Andy again – this time coming of age to a similar phase to life as Morris was in himself.
“OK, Andy’s a teenager. Andy’s 17. What has happened in between? Where is he now? And what does he sound like?” To prepare, he watched the earlier films “a few times, just to get really back in the world”.
By then, Morris had trained at UCLA. He was a more accomplished actor and, along with the help of the filmmakers, gave new layers to Andy that weren't there in the first film – and far more emotional heft.
“It really felt more like stepping into Andy’s shoes in a more significant way,” he says.
But he knew from the start nothing mattered more than Andy’s goodbye.
“We had two sessions for the final scene,” Morris says. “Lee said we’re going to take our time with this, because it’s really important.” To help him reach the emotion the moment needed, Unkrich gave him one direction: think of a time when you said goodbye to something or someone and knew you wouldn’t see them again.
“I did tap into personal experience,” Morris says. “I was teary when I was recording that. It was incredibly emotional and personal.”
Viewers felt it too. “I hear that from a lot of people – that it really touches them emotionally. They cry. It’s cathartic,” he says. “I felt it too.”
By the time Andy drove away to college, the story had shifted. It was now the story of the young girl he'd given his toys to in the grass. It was now time for a new generation.
“I know the focus now is sort of Bonnie, and Bonnie’s chapter, if you will,” Morris says. Andy’s role had reached its end – a clean, honest arc that mirrored what older audiences themselves were living.
What came next for Andy has never been confirmed, and Morris believes Pixar prefers it that way. “It seems like Pixar doesn’t answer all the questions because they want to leave things open-ended for fans and viewers,” he says.
The questions he gets now reflect that blank space. “People ask, what did Andy major in college? What did he do after college? Is he a dad?” Morris never pretends to know. “I usually turn it back to them – what does your imagination tell you?” he says. “There is a lot of interest there, and I personally have the same questions myself.”
He’s been following the early details of Toy Story 5, which will be released in 2026, and he likes the direction. “I think it’s really smart to look at toys versus tech,” he says. “Kids are playing in a different way than we did in the ’90s and the early 2000s.” The film is also expected to explore Jessie’s backstory. As for Andy, nothing has been announced. “Down the road, we’ll see what happens,” he says.
Thirty years on from the original film, Morris still sees Andy clearly. “Andy is such a creative individual with such a strong imagination,” he says. “I’m curious. I would be curious to see what that looks like in his adulthood.”
For Morris, the character grew with him. He didn’t just voice Andy – he returned to him at different points in his own life, discovering something new each time. And for the people who grew up watching him, Andy remains the same reflection he was in 1995: a reminder of the imagination we carried, and the moment we learnt to let go without losing it.
Andy was us. Thirty years later, he still is.
