Lightyear
While it’s unlikely to blow anyone away, Lightyear is a family-friendly space adventure that should keep younger viewers enthralled while also providing enough humour to keep the adults entertained.
Premise: In the far future, Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Chris Evans) is stranded on an alien world with his commander and their crew after a mission goes wrong. Desperate to find a way to get everyone home safely, Buzz must find a new fuel source for hyperspace travel, while also protecting everyone from Zurg and his army of robots.
Review:
Pixar is perhaps best known in recent years for its films that tackle complex emotional issues through metaphorical storylines (like Inside Out, Luca, or this year’s Turning Red) but Lightyear is trying to be something else entirely – it’s an old school, family-friendly sci-fi adventure that viewers of all ages can enjoy together. That’s not to say that it lacks any emotional depth (it is still a Pixar movie, after all), but this is a film where the subtext is definitely secondary to the derring-do adventure storyline.
When the film was first announced, I have to confess I had a mini existential crisis questioning how this film could possibly be the “true story of the origin of Buzz Lightyear”, given that Buzz was just a toy voiced by Tim Allen in the Toy Story films, not a real space adventurer. However, this is neatly explained in the opening of this movie, which confirms that Lightyear is (within the fictional universe of the Toy Story films) the movie that Andy saw in 1995 and which his “Buzz Lightyear” action figure came from. I don’t know why they couldn’t have just said that when they first announced the film!
“…full of excitement & action, alien worlds & spaceships, evil robots & brave heroes…”
Plotwise, Lightyear feels (for better and for worse) like an old-school adventure serial. On the plus side, it’s full of excitement and action, alien worlds and spaceships, evil robots and brave heroes, and it really channels the spirit of those classic sci-fi adventures. (In fact, it reminded me in places of the 1998 Lost in Space remake, which I, perhaps inexplicably, have a soft spot for). But on the other hand, with the exception of a couple of truly unexpected plot twists, the storyline does feel fairly conventional for the most part.
That said, it’s still a cut above what you might be expecting from a “kids’ movie”, both in terms of its sci-fi concepts and its emotional themes. Without straying into spoiler territory, certain parts of Lightyear almost feel like Interstellar-for-kids, and there can’t be that many animated children’s films that try to explain Einstein’s theory of general relativity to under-10s.
“…genuinely funny throughout, largely thanks to Sox…”
Meanwhile, the film does have more emotional depth, and tackles more psychological issues, than the premise might suggest. Buzz’s character flaws, including his issues with control, delegation, trust, guilt and responsibility, are all explored, and the final act deals with a particular moral dilemma better than some other “adult” sci-fi shows I could name. Admittedly, some of these issues are dealt with in fairly obvious ways, but it’s still nice to see that they are addressed in a way that is accessible to kids of all ages.
Alongside the adventure and the character moments, Lightyear is also genuinely funny throughout, largely thanks to Sox, Buzz’s robotic cat companion, who gets plenty of laugh-out-loud opportunities for verbal and physical comedy. Generally, the voice cast are all very good, especially Chris Evans as Buzz, and Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi and Uzo Aduba as his crewmates, even if they are, for the most part, playing fairly standard architypes.
“…a very enjoyable family-friendly adventure…”
I also wanted to take a moment to praise the animation style, which not only incorporates the stylised, chunky, sci-fi aesthetics from the original “Buzz Lightyear” toy range in Toy Story, but also combines this with some truly stunningly realised alien vistas and backdrops. And while I’m taking a moment to single aspects out for praise, it should also be noted that this is (I believe) Disney’s or Pixar’s first cinematic animated release to feature a prominent same-sex couple, and that important milestone in representation should not go unnoticed.
Overall, while Lightyear may not quite by a “top tier” Pixar movie, it’s still a very enjoyable family-friendly adventure. After all, as good as Pixar’s more “intellectual” films have been, it’s also nice to have a break from those with a Pixar film that’s more concerned with entertainment for entertainment’s sake, without a complex metaphorical subtext. And to be honest, the film is arguably worth seeing just for Sox alone!
Oh, and make sure you stay for the three mid-and-post credit scenes.
