The hook with Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ is summed up in the opening title card; “In 1995, a boy named Andy got a Buzz Lightyear toy for his birthday. It was from his favourite movie. This is that movie.”
So, in essence, ‘Lightyear’ is a prequel, right? Not really. The heart of the ‘Toy Story’ franchise was loyalty to the toys that helped shape our childhood. The Lightyear HERE isn’t a toy, it’s the dude on which the toy was based. Thus, this film…unofficially chapter five of the series….is more like a twist, a pretty wild concept as opposed to a storytelling extension.
And, in true Buzz form – that being, against all odds – it’s awfully good.
Now, that shouldn’t outright come off as a shocker because, hey, it IS Pixar, which means you’re getting quality, innovation, and more than a healthy dose of heart. Given the approach, I just wasn’t expecting such a huge dose of it, especially that last facet.
Shoot, even the voice behind the character is different. Chris Evans steps in to the role of Buzz, replacing Tim Allen (you heard right, Tim The Tool Man Taylor was benched for Captain America), as we catch up with the legendary Space Ranger exploring the cosmos and stumbling across a new planet. In a field trip to determine if the planet might be safe to colonize (it’s not), Buzz, along with his commander Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) encounter hostile lifeforms, resulting in a hasty retreat. Unfortunately, in attempting a daring escape move – again, true Buzz form – Lightyear severely damages the craft, stranding the entire crew. In order to return home to earth, Buzz puts it upon himself to restore the ship’s hyperdrive, a process that takes years.
A LOT of years..
See, every time the hyperdrive is attempted, the clock jumps forward four years. Although Buzz, being aboard the test vessel, doesn’t age, his leaps ahead in the future cause him to miss out on important life moments…in the span of what only feels like a few days for the Space Ranger, he misses his partner marrying, misses the birth of her child, and eventually isn’t there when she passes. It’s pretty heartbreaking stuff, especially considering the guilt our hero feels for the team being marooned in the first place. One final go-for-broke test has Buzz returning to the planet a whopping twenty-two years into the future only to find their turf overrun by vicious robots, seemingly led by a mysterious baddie named Zurg. What a pickle…and (stop me if you’ve heard this before) in true Buzz form, the perfect opportunity to save the day.
The animation and sound of ‘Lightyear’ is some of the best Pixar has offered, absolutely exceptional. And we even get cuddly, comic relief in the form of Sox the robot cat (Peter Sohn), initially gifted to Buzz as a therapy pet, who becomes his hilarious little sidekick. If there isn’t a Sox under the tree for a throng of little ones this coming Christmas, I’d be even more surprised than I was in how much I enjoyed this movie.
Just one tiny request though, Pixar? No Woody prequel. I don’t think it would carry the same jam.