‘Lightyear’: He’s not a toy, he’s a space ranger in film offering stunning animation and thoughtful messages

“Lightyear” tells the story of the space ranger (voice of Chris Evans) who would someday inspire an action figure, and his interstellar heroics with a robotic cat by his side. (Disney/Pixar)

What we need to keep in mind is that the Buzz Lightyear we’ve come to know and love in all the “Toy Story” movies isn’t the “real” Buzz; it’s an action figure toy based on a popular movie character. Thus, we can’t call “Lightyear” a prequel, as it’s more of a — well, the title card of the movie explains it:

“In 1995, a boy named Andy got a toy from his favorite movie. This is that movie.”