Lightyear review: Enjoyably nostalgic flight from the past
Just when you thought Hollywood couldn’t find a new way to rehash old material, here comes a new category of film entirely. Lightyear is a spin-off of Toy Story, but one that imagines Buzz Lightyear as a real person. As the film explains in its opening moments, this is the movie that the toy was based on.
Chris Evans voices Buzz, a hyper-confident Space Ranger whose ship and vast crew are stranded on the planet T’Kani Prime. Millions of lightyears from home, Buzz takes the failure to escape personally and vows to find a way out by discovering the ability to fly at hyper-speed. However, each time he tries, what feels like minutes to him is years for his comrades. As time on the planet passes, the crew get on with their lives and colonise their new home. However, the arrival of new threat General Zurg (James Brolin) means he must abandon his quest and turn to a new group of younger wannabe recruits for backup.
The reasons for making the film may be cynical, but the storytelling certainly isn’t. Lightyear is about dealing with regret over the passage of time, and taking responsibility in a way that’s healthy in order to grow. Fitting that into a warm, funny, and exciting package is no mean feat, but there are several moments that create both belly laughs and a lump in the throat. Just as Buzz’s popularity inspired a rush of toy sales in 1995, it’s a fair bet his new sidekick, a robot cat named Sox (Peter Sohn), will be wanted by everyone who sees him. The character is symbolic of the movie itself – familiar, but done so well that we’re happy to be back here again. The rough recruits are also key to the film’s charm. Reminiscent of the Oozma Kappa fraternity in Monsters University, their pluckiness contributes to the film’s funniest moments.
The production faced two controversies before release but both have positive spins. The first is Evans taking over from the beloved Tim Allen. It’s initially difficult to hear another voice coming out of the famously square jaw, but the former Captain America knows how to make a relatable hero. The second is the inclusion of an LGBTQ+ character in his superior, Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba). A same sex kiss in the story reportedly prompted a ban in the UAE. This overthe-top reaction to such an innocent moment in the film is precisely why the moment is needed.
On the downside, like every Pixar movie the weight of history can be a setback. Lightyear doesn’t have as moving a message as Up or Inside Out; nor is it as good a sci-fi adventure as Wall-E.
Then again, few films from any studio live up to those standards, and taken on its own merits director Angus MacLane never lets the pace drop. On a scale of “Toy Story 3” to “Cars 2”, the film winds up in the middle of the pack: not a masterpiece, but good enough to demand more and the kind of animated film most studios would give their front teeth to produce.
It’s easy to forget that Lightyear is not designed for those who grew up with Toy Story, but rather their children who aren’t as reliant on nostalgia. This is the light, breezy adventure that will have them leaping from their seat, no doubt absorbing the many tie-ins that come with it as the meta experience comes full circle.
Lightyear is in cinemas now