Joey Magidson
This weekend, Buzz Lightyear returned to the big screen with Pixar’s release of the pseudo origin story Lightyear. With the hook of the film being that this is the movie Andy from Toy Story watched to make him want Buzz in the first place, it feels like something slightly more than just a cash grab. Pixar arguably could have featured that in their marketing more so families knew what they were getting into (box office numbers have been soft for a Toy Story flick). However, plenty of folks have seen it and reviews have been strong, so for today’s Awards Radar Community Question, we want to know this…if you saw it, what did you think?
In my review of Lightyear (found here), I had this to say:
Buzz Lightyear is obviously not the only reason why the Toy Story franchise is so beloved, but he’s certainly a piece of the puzzle. So, making Lightyear, an origin story for the character (of sorts, as you’ll see), is a bit of a risky proposition. Then again, Disney and Pixar didn’t hesitate to make Toy Story 4 even though Toy Story 3 was literally the perfect ending for the franchise, so they don’t seem to be fazed by risk. Luckily, genre spirit and a creative hook help to make this movie something fairly unique. By embracing the science fiction aspect of it all, Pixar has a real epic adventure on their hands that truly does go to infinity…and beyond.
Lightyear surprises by being, largely, a hardcore sci-fi film. It’s family friendly, but has as much in common with Interstellar as a Toy Story outing. That may sound strange, but in practice, it works. Even if nothing here has the huge emotional quotient of the company’s best, it’s still creative, exciting, and lively, with more than enough heart to invest you in everyone along the way. Plus, there’s a spin on the Pixar pet here that will absolutely delight you, mark my words.
Now, it’s your turn. If you took in Lightyear this weekend, what were your thoughts? Where does it stack up among the Toy Story franchise? What about Pixar in general/ Wherever you want, we’re eager to find out, so chime in now!
What did you think of Lightyear? Let us know!
Pure wokeism.
You seem like a delight.
“Wokeism” is such a useful term because you can apply it however you like without any consistency or set definition.
Same-sex couple appears in smash hit Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness? Not woke. Same-sex couple appears in box office disappointment Lightyear? Pure wokeism.
Moonfall bombed because it went all woke by casting a black woman in a lead role, but The Batman made a lot of money because it also featured a black woman in a major role, but like, not in a “woke” way.
Bog standard lily-white Evangelical Christian soap opera Redeeming Love tanking at the box office while weird postmodern sci-fi comedy centering on an East Asian immigrant family is the biggest hit of A24’s existence? Um, ya see, that’s… uh… look over there! Drag queens are grooming children!
*runs away*