‘Lightyear’ Is Worth Watching, If You Forget About ‘Toy Story’

Arts ‘Lightyear’ Is Worth Watching, If You Forget About ‘Toy Story’ Dani Di Placido Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I write about film, television, pop culture, and other fun stuff. New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Aug 25, 2022, 10:34am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Chris Evans voices Buzz Lightyear Disney Pixar’s Lightyear was viewed as a rare misfire from Pixar, drawing disappointing numbers at the box office, embroiled in a ridiculous controversy over a split-second of LGBT representation, and criticized for being disconnected from Toy Story . Lightyear , however, isn’t a bad movie – it’s Pixar’s version of a hard sci-fi film, a story about a hyper-determined, Tom Cruise-esque hero who learns a tough life lesson about failure and teamwork. It’s actually kind of refreshing to watch a kid’s action movie where the heroes make so many terrible mistakes, and face consequences for their actions.

But it has nothing to do with Buzz Lightyear, that’s for sure; the beginning of the film states that Lightyear is the film that Andy of Toy Story watched before becoming obsessed with the titular space ranger, but the film doesn’t resemble a colorful 90’s blockbuster, or even a space opera – it doesn’t match up with the version of Buzz we know at all, apart from the design of his suit. Buzz Lightyear of Toy Story was paying tribute to Star Wars , but Lightyear is telling a more grounded story, on a much smaller scale, of Buzz marooning his crew on a hostile planet, and making a repeated run through space to try and fix his mistake. Each time Buzz launches off, time accelerates for his crewmates, so as his failures accumulate, Buzz is forced to watch his crew age, and die.

Blinded by his mission, Buzz soon becomes his own worst enemy, literally and figuratively. MORE FOR YOU Which Vaccines Will Work When Entering The U. S.

From Europe? Best Undersea Photography: 20 Winners Of Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2021 Live Concert Tonight On CBS, Paramount+ Will Celebrate ‘Broadway’s Back’ Lightyear boasts a great concept, but it clearly has nothing to do with Buzz Lightyear and the Galactic Alliance. The movies are so utterly disconnected that it feels like the Toy Story connection might even have been tacked on to Lightyear , a forced attempt to resurrect a wildly popular franchise. Was this originally a standalone sci-fi story about a spaceman, reskinned to match Pixar’s biggest franchise? I’m not sure, but it certainly feels like it.

Throughout the film, Buzz recites a few of his iconic lines from Toy Story , uses his wings and jetpack, and even battles Emperor Zurg (sort of). But the connection exists solely on the surface, and feels extraordinarily cynical, even for Disney-branded nostalgia-bait. In the long run, I believe the Toy Story connection might have negatively influenced the film’s reception, as the audience’s expectations were not met.

After all, viewers already associate Pixar with original stories, and a tragedy about a spaceman who can’t allow himself to fail never needed to stand on the shoulders of Toy Story . Toy Story sequels might be popular and profitable, but in this case, it would have been better to let this story stand on its own. Follow me on Twitter .

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