I have got to tell you; I wasn’t sure how I felt about a Buzz Lightyear origin story. But! I am also willing to try anything once, and I’m pleased to report that I was pleasantly surprised! One with upgraded animation, one with new directors, writers and producers, and one without Tim Allen as the voice of Buzz. Let’s unpack.
Billed as Buzz Lightyears Origin Story, Lightyear follows Buzz on an adventure through space and time. While spending years attempting to return home after a mission fails repeatedly, our marooned hero finds himself at the mercy of an army of robots commanded by the evil villain Zurg.
Pixar has come a long way since it blasted onto the film scene in 1995 with the groundbreaking computer-animated film Toy Story. Lightyear is the studio’s 26th fully animated feature, and it delivers on all the things we know and love about Pixar, such as the stories, the characters, the humour and, of course, the tears.
“To Infinity and Beyond” is exactly what this film delivers. Lightyear is a joyful space romp with laugh-out-loud moments and various nods to the Space Ranger we know and love. And when I say space, there’s plenty of it! Then there’s the animation. A small part of me wants to play Lightyear and the original Toy Story on a TV side by side to demonstrate how far Pixar’s skill and technology have come. I’d like to watch again to keep a closer eye out for Pixar/Disney Easter Eggs, as I felt these were a little lacking unless you count the outstanding voice performance from Taika Waititi. The writing was strong.
Overall, I’ll admit, Pixar films tend to bring me to tears (Up, anyone?), and while Lightyear had some tender moments, it didn’t slug me right in the feels in the same way. All things considered, this was a fun movie with plenty of action with great momentum. Suitable for Toy Story Fans and lovers of Action and Adventure. P.S. You are going to love Sox the Cat. Promise.
7.5/10
14th June 2022
Written by Amanda Rosazza
WALKDEN ENTERTAINMENT
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