Buzz Lightyear, the movie character, has the same penchant for being stubborn and following his own path that his toy did.

By that rationale, the makers of “Lightyear” can sue the makers of “Toy Story” for stealing it.īut I digress. Before each adventure, the duo touch fingers and yell “To infinity and beyond!” which I assume would have been the tagline for this film when Andy saw it. Hawthorne is a Black woman, something you don’t often see in space movies despite all that work they did for NASA in “Hidden Figures.” She constantly mocks Buzz’s penchant for “monologuing,” that is, recording the Shatner-like captain’s log into that device on his arm. They share in-jokes and memories of missions past. Buzz is partnered with Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba), his best friend.

“Lightyear” begins with a special mission for space rangers. After seeing “Lightyear,” I was full of even more questions, such as, “Would Andy’s Mom have allowed a toy version of Buzz’s partner in her house?” And, “Come on, Andy! Why didn’t you ask your Mom for a toy version of Buzz’s cat?!” At least this time, the toy came from a contemporary reference for the kid. Which begged the question as to why the Hell a millennial like Andy would want him. If you recall, “Toy Story 2” revealed that the Woody toy was originally a tie-in to a television show from the 1950s. I won’t fault suspicious viewers who think this sounds like a bunch of cash-grabbing malarkey, but I should point out that this retrofitting is not without Pixar precedent. Along the way, we’ll meet the Evil Emperor Zurg and learn where all those catchphrases folks have been saying for the past 27 years originated.

“This is that film,” a title card tells us before plunging us into an animated space opera starring Chris Evans as Buzz. You see, Andy’s Mom bought a Buzz Lightyear toy back in 1995 because he was the main character in Andy’s favorite film. It’s the origin story of the reason the Buzz Lightyear toy wound up in Andy’s bedroom. “Lightyear” is not the origin story of the Buzz Lightyear toy from Pixar’s “Toy Story” series.

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