Disney has made big business mining content from content, with spinoffs and sequels and multiverses dancing through multiplexes and streaming apps. “Lightyear,” the latest Disney/Pixar animated film, has been extracted from the much-beloved “Toy Story” universe, but it’s a bit unique. It’s sort of a prequel, in that it’s intended to be Andy’s favorite movie, the one that spawned the Buzz Lightyear toy that took up residence in his room with Woody and the rest of his pals. So “Lightyear” is not about Buzz Lightyear, the toy, but about Buzz Lightyear, the character, and this satisfying animated sci-fi adventure is a good choice for Andy’s favorite flick.
Though Tim Allen originally voiced Buzz, Chris Evans has taken over vocal duties in “Lightyear,” and with Evans in the role, there’s more than a few times one will wish this was a live-action film. “Lightyear,” directed by Angus MacLane, and written by MacLane, Matthew Aldrich, and Jason Headley, does manage to strike an interesting tone between “adult drama” and “kiddie adventure,” with a serious sci-fi story that’s been dusted with some good humor and the therapy-approved life lessons we’ve come to expect from Disney movies.
We meet the intrepid Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear on a dangerous mission to a mystery planet with his best friend and fellow Ranger Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba). When Buzz crashes the ship during a harrowing escape and maroons the team, he feels the guilt that comes with failure, and feels responsible for returning the team back home. He’s dedicated to finishing the mission, but as time passes, life happens, even while marooned, but as Buzz stubbornly refuses to accept their new reality, life passes him by.
