For more than one generation Toy Story holds a special place in the collective heart. The Pixar movie about the quest of two ‘rival’ toys – astronaut Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) and Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) (and their friends) to escape larger-than-life perils in suburbia was a massive, milestone success story which produced several sequels, billions in merchandise and was a major step forward in computer-animated movies.
Now, we’re getting a prequel – sort of. Lightyear tells the story of the original astronaut that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy. As the in-story technology seen in the film is clearly beyond the era of the original film, it’s confused a few people, though the premise seems to be that this is the in-universe fictional ‘story’ that produced the original merchandise seen in the Toy Story film. Clear? The film’s screenwriter, Pete Docter (Wall-E, UP, Inside Out) explained it a little better at the Disney Investor Day, noting “Back when we created the first Toy Story, we designed Buzz Lightyear with the idea that he was a toy based on some really cool character from an epic blockbuster film. Well, all these years later, we decided to make that film.”
The trailer, with David Bowie’s Starman as the obvious soundtrack, is released by Pixar this week – and we guarantee you’ll be watching many times over, just try otherwise – seems to have captured the imagination of adults and kids alike, blending that sense of nostalgia with a modern twist. Chris Evans voices the character this time (there’s something fitting that the toy would have a prominent voice but not the voice of the ‘original’ film star)
Pixar’s Lightyear is directed by Angus MacLane ( responsible for 2004’s The Incredibles, 2013’s Toy Story of Terror and 2016’s Finding Dory and is set to hit cinemas on 17th June 2022…
