Lightyear Delivers a Fun and Fascinating Sci-Fi Adventure

Lightyear is perhaps one of the oddest spinoffs in recent memory. It’s not just whipping up ingredients from Toy Story into a different film genre but a movie that exists inside the Toy Story universe. This is noted in the textual prologue, which assures the audience this is the movie Andy saw before he got the Buzz Lightyear toy. What does this have to do with the movie itself? Absolutely nothing, and that’s part of its brilliance.

Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) stars in this Toy Story origin story. © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

After getting some basic nostalgic references in the dialogue out of the way, the film takes off to feel more like a sci-fi adventure. Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) is the brash space ranger who prefers to work alone, and this ego-centric approach to leadership ultimately leads to him marooning his entire ship on an alien planet. If he hopes to get his Star Command crew home, he’ll have to learn to work with others.

Of course, it’ll take more than firepower and teamwork to save the day. Buzz’s journey becomes one of introspection and questioning just what it means to live. This is best showcased in his interactions with his best friend, Alisha (Uzo Aduba). She’s sympathetic and patient enough to know that Buzz can do well if he embraces help. But it’s up to Buzz to realize that his unwillingness to change or even live for the moment could do more harm than good.

Buzz with Izzy Hawthorne (Keke Palmer) and robot cat Sox (Peter Sohn). © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Pretty soon, he has no choice but to work with rookies. When Star Command’s makeshift colony on the alien planet comes under attack by Emperor Zurg (James Brolin), only a small group of inexperienced space rangers can help him. The ensemble includes the eager yet fearful Izzy (Keke Palmer), the cowardly Mo (Taika Waititi), and the rebellious grandma Darby (Dale Soules). The most accomplished member of the ensemble is Sox (Peter Sohn), but as he’s a talking cat robot, his skills are limited.

The space-adventure aspect of Lightyear is surprisingly engaging and faithful to the genre’s strengths for ideas about humanity. Without revealing the bigger twists behind the narrative, the story involves the use of time, interstellar travel, security, and what it truly means to have lived your best life. The plot that is sure to garner some nitpicky comments from the sci-fi enthusiasts who love to focus more on the math and physics behind space and time. But those willing to suspend a bit of disbelief, as usually asked of an audience in science fiction, will better be able to enjoy the meaningful reflection on legacy than the mechanics of starships that don’t exist.

© 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

The animation design feels pretty standard for Pixar, but the staging remains a highlight. For the many IMAX sequences, there’s a lot of fun in the fast-paced action setpieces. There are some daring moments involving nearly floating off into space and making a last-minute escape from an exploding starship, which are just plain cool and made all the more engaging by a solid script of introspection and heroism behind these moments of intensity.

Chris Evans comes into his own with the role after the first few scenes that seem to be an obligatory reference bonanza. After some time, it feels less like he’s playing Toy Story dress-up and more like a unique character all his own. He’s certainly distinct from Tim Allen’s interpretation, which relied more on absurdity for its fish-out-of-water angle. Buzz is still out of his element here, but in a way where it seems his heart and honor are more in line despite the lacking areas of trust.

To infinity and beyond. © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

There’s also some clever casting of actors that fit the part. The ultimate comic relief of the picture is Sox, and he’s voiced by a regular Pixar animator who occasionally provides some supporting voices. Here he takes a larger role and becomes a real charmer on the same level as Baymax from Big Hero 6. This role could have gone to any big-name comedic actor, yet Peter Sohn sells it so well. I also found it rather unexpected that the film would cast Bill Hader for just a small part in one scene. And let’s not forget a brilliant bit of appropriate casting with real-life astronaut Tim Peake voicing Tim of Mission Control.

So how does Lightyear stack up against other Pixar films? In terms of the thematic aspects it touches upon, there’s nothing all that much beyond what the animation studio usually explores. There’s far more present in this adventure than you’d get out of most other animation studios, but Pixar isn’t just any other animation studio. Still, despite not carrying as many trailblazing messages as Pixar’s superior recent film Turning Red, Lightyear still gets the job done as a space adventure that feels more like a pleasing summer flick than the obligatory marketing vehicle it was most likely sold as.