To the joy of children and adults everywhere,DisneyandPixarannounced an animated solo adventurefor the ever-popular Buzz Lightyear.Lightyearwillstar Captain America himself, Chris Evans, as the voice of Buzz Lightyear and is described as a prequel to the firstToy Storybut an in-universe narrative. Remember how Buzz thought he was a real Space Ranger of Star Command who dutifully opposed Evil Emperor Zurg? InLightyearhe will be. Will this Buzz Lightyear character be different from the one we love from theToy StorySaga? Will it draw from any of the backstory given from the franchise? Or will it go its own direction and forge a new path to infinity and beyond?
TheToy Storyfranchise was an enormous success for Disney-Pixar. The Saga spanned four movies, launching with the first in 1995, a sequel in 1999, thethird eleven yearslater in 2010, with the final entry coming in another nine years after that one in 2019.Toy Storywas the first entirelycomputer animated feature filmand the very first film of the now behemoth Pixar Animation Studios. To date, the movies combined have earned $3 billion dollars and have won three Academy Awards, two Best Animated Features and one Original Song. Buzz Lightyear becamesuch a popular characterthat Disney launched an animated series calledBuzz Lightyear of Star Commandin 2000. The pilot movie starred Tim Allen as Buzz, and the series itself changed to the voice of Patrick Warburton for the remaining sixty-five episodes.
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Derivative or Referential?
IfLightyearis to follow theToy Storybackstory given for Buzz Lightyear, it wouldresemble aStar Warsparody.If it will include elements from the animated series, it will be a lot like theGreen Lantern.
The bulk of Buzz Lightyear’s history is told inToy StoryandToy Story 2. In the first, we learn that Evil Emperor Zurg is building a weapon thatcan annihilate a planet, and that Buzz Lightyear has the info for the weapon’s only weakness. Therefore, he is driven to return to space in the firstToy Storyand why he opposes Woody’s rationality. Thefate of the universerests on the success of his mission. This is an obvious reference toStar Wars: A New Hopewhere R2-D2 has the secret plans to the Death Star, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker and their friends must get the droid to the Rebel Alliance.
InToy Story2the Saga even goes so far as the surprise reveal of Emperor Zurg being Buzz Lightyear’s father. A second Buzz is awakened in Big Al’s Toy Barn who, like the previous Buzz, believes he is a Space Ranger. This in-universe Buzz is known as Utility Belt Buzz. While Buzz, Hamm, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, and Rex are trying to get up the elevatorshaft to rescue Woodyfrom Big Al’s apartment, Utility Belt Buzz battles Zurg in a manner like Darth Vader dueling Luke at the end ofEmpire Strikes Back. Much in the vein of Episode V, before Zurg falls to a supposed death, he reveals the secret parentage of Buzz Lightyear. At the end of the film, as therest of the toys celebrate, Utility Belt Buzz and Zurg play catch together with a sincere father son relationship.
TheBuzz Lightyear of StarCommandis reminiscent oftheGreen Lantern Corpsin that they are basically space cops protecting the galaxy from threats both foreign and domestic (intergalactically speaking). In the show, Buzz’s friend Booster Sinclair even resembles Kilowog from the Green Lantern Corps.
Lightyearcould take cues from 1983’sThe Right Stuffwhich follows the selection and training of NASA’s Mercury Seven, who were the first Americans to fly in space. There will likely be references toTop Gun, whereTom Cruise plays a maverick jet-fighter pilot, and toApollo 13, which also stars Tom Hanks, this time as the astronaut, and came out the same year asToy Story. Without moreinformation as to which other characterswill appear in the film, like Zurg, Mira Nova, or Booster Sinclair, it is hard to get a read on what direction the prequel will go.
All of these could be the source of the prequelLightyear, and if so, the movie should be another hit for Pixar. IfLightyearleans too heavy into parody or references, however, it might end up being aderivative and empty narrative. Up to now, Pixar has been hesitant toretread old ground, so if they decided now is the time to revive old material there is the promise that it will be up to par and satisfy fans. Pixar has earned that level of support from all its other wonderful and popular outings. TheToy Storyfranchise alone gives them credence to try new things without worry of backlash.
