![]() Buzz’s inevitable confrontation with him is really a confrontation with his own shortcomings-a potentially fascinating turn cut short by Pixar’s refusal to let Buzz be anything short of heroic-and he’s only able to triumph by learning to embrace life with his newfound companions. We even see the final result of this obsession: the James Brolin voiced Zurg, shown here to be a direct result of Buzz’s dedication to finishing the mission. ![]() Even when his new commander informs him that the decision has been made to try and make the best out of life on the planet, to make the world they’re on home instead of trying to get back into space in search of a place many of those now living at the base would no longer recognize as home, Buzz is still unable to let go, going on the run from his commanding officers and leaping forward another twenty years or so in time. It’s a clever, poignant twist on the classic time travel trope: instead of an accident or experiment gone wrong, it’s Buzz’s own inability to let go, to keep trying to fix his mistake that leads to him drifting further and further ahead in time-and further and further away from his friends and colleagues. In contrast, Buzz’s apartment sits practically empty for years on end, with only his faithful companion Sox-a lovable robot cat that Disney will no doubt sell many, many, many plushies of-dutifully working on trying to find the formula for a stable fuel with which to power the ship. This is the heart of what drives Lightyear forward: each of his test flights essentially causes him to jump forward in time in roughly four-year increments bookmarked by glimpses into the life of his friend and commander Alisha in a series of snippets reminiscent of the beloved opening to Pixar’s Up : we fast forward through watching her find love, start a family, and build a life for herself-yes, this does include the LGBTQ+ kiss you’ve no doubt heard the controversy over, a controversy I refuse to devote any energy to beyond saying that it feels utterly damning on us as humans that merely acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ+ people is still a controversial topic in 2022. The defining trait of this version of Buzz-excellently played by Chris Evans-is a dedication to completing his mission after making a costly mistake that leaves him and his crew, one that flirts dangerously close with becoming obsession. Several early moments are repurposed from the original Toy Story, dialogue and all, but they’re the only real references to those movies and are key to establishing a sense of familiarity with older audience members before sending this new version of Buzz off on his own adventure and establishing him as a (relatively) new character. Thankfully, Lightyear never feels limited by previous Toy Story films, and actually comes across as a rather clever way of utilizing the existing framework to build a new story on. Lightyear is a film that comes with a lot on its shoulders: not only is it a new take on an iconic character from one of the most universally acclaimed IPs in film history, but it’s also likely the first major step in expanding the Toy Story universe for a brand new generation of fans, all without alienating an audience that has stuck with the films for almost twenty years. As someone who, as a kid in the 90s, also got a Buzz Lightyear toy from my favorite movie, needless to say my eyes lit up like fireworks at the mere announcement of Disney-Pixar’s latest film Lightyear, billed as the in-universe film from which the Buzz Lightyear toy line originated from. ![]() In 1995, so the story goes, a boy named Andy got a Buzz Lightyear toy for his birthday, the toy itself coming from his favorite movie.
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