Tim Allen Finally Shares His Thoughts on ‘Lightyear,’ ‘It Has No Relationship to Buzz’
Lightyear is the latest movie from Pixar. While reviews for the film are solid, many fans are confused by the movie’s premise as it is not the same character from Toy Story. Some audience members are upset that this version of Buzz Lightyear is voiced by Chris Evans and not Tim Allen, who voices the Toy Story Buzz. Allen finally addresses Lightyear and shares his thoughts on Pixar’s latest.
‘Lightyear’ features Chris Evans as the new voice of Buzz Lightyear
As the movie tells viewers, Lightyear is the movie that Andy from Toy Story watched that made him love the character of Buzz Lightyear. The film stars Chris Evans as Buzz, a space ranger who becomes stranded on a strange planet. He then goes on a dangerous mission with a small crew that includes characters voiced by Keke Palmer, Uzo Aduba, and Taika Waititi.
Lightyear is the first movie within the Toy Story universe where Tim Allen does not voice Buzz Lightyear. This is a different version of the character as this is a human while Allen’s version is a toy. Allen also did not voice the character for the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command cartoon that began in 2000. Still, this decision for Lightyear has created controversy as many wanted to hear Allen’s voice again.
Tim Allen finally speaks out on ‘Lightyear’
In an interview with Extra, Tim Allen revealed his thoughts on Lightyear. The Home Improvement actor said that there were talks to make a similar movie with him but nothing came of it. He then says that while he believes Lightyear is a good story, Buzz Lightyear does not feel the same without Woody (Tom Hanks).
“We talked about this many years ago…but the brass that did the first four movies is not this,” Allen said. “It’s a whole new team that really had nothing to do with the first movies. There’s really no Toy Story Buzz without Woody… I’m a plot guy. If it was done in 1997, it would seem to be a big adventure story, and as I see it, it’s not a big adventure story. It’s a wonderful story, it just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy. It has no relationship to Buzz…There’s just no connection. I wish there was a better connection.”
Allen doesn’t have an entirely negative take on Lightyear. However, he does feel that it’s harder to connect with this character when he doesn’t have the emotional bond he had with Woody.
The latest Pixar film has an underwhelming box office performance
While reviews for Lightyear have been good, word-of-mouth has not translated at the box office. So far, Lightyear has made $161 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. It’s not necessarily a flop, but it’s not delivering the returns that Disney or Pixar expected.
This could be for several reasons, including the controversy around not having Tim Allen back as Buzz Lightyear. There is also the idea that audiences have become conditioned to watching Pixar movies at home on Disney+, so many are just waiting for it to drop on the service.
Lightyear is now playing in theaters.
