It’s been three years and two days since Lightyear was released in cinemas – and you’d be forgiven for forgetting it ever existed. Pixar’s strange, ill-conceived Toy Story offshoot – focusing on a human version of Tim Allen’s plastic toy astronaut – was an unprecedented flop for the famed animation studio. The previous two Toy Story films made more than $1bn apiece; Lightyear made just $226m, failing to turn a profit. Critics mustered a collective shrug. But while no one could reasonably argue that Lightyear made an impact artistically, it has, in an odd and symbolic way, endured – drifting around the orbit of our culture like a derelict satellite. Just ask Snoop Dogg.
During an appearance on the It’s Giving podcast last week, the 53-year-old rapper and food delivery app jingle-maker claimed that Lightyear had left him “scared to go to the movies” with his grandchildren, thanks to a scene that depicts two female characters in a same-sex relationship. Back when Lightyear was first released, the scene in question drew a kneejerk backlash from the political right, and caused Lightyear to be banned in countries such as Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Snoop Dogg claimed that the film had caused his grandchild to ask questions about the queer characters on screen, and their ability to have a child together – questions he suggests he was unwilling or unable to answer. “It f***ed me up,” he said. “These are kids. We have to show that at this age?”
