Lightyear

Grade: B

Lightyear begins with the title card: “In 1995, Andy got a toy from his favorite movie. This is that movie.” This lets us know that it is not a prequel or origin story, and it makes more sense why Tim Allen didn’t voice Buzz Lightyear. It was jarring at first to see that character (younger-looking, but still unmistakably Buzz) not have Allen’s voice, being in the suit and everything, but Chris Evans does a fine job with the rhythm and cadence, that it didn’t take me long to adjust. He frequently talks to himself into his wrist, William Shatner style, or as he calls it: “narrates” for no one. “Buzz Lightyear mission log, star date 3901: After a full year of being marooned…” “Who are you talking to?” “Uh, no one.” “You were narrating again.”

Lightyear and his crew crash their ship, marooning them on an unknown hostile planet for years, after he disregards the advice of his HAL-like autopilot navigator named I.V.A.N. He needs to find an energy source that will get them to achieve hyperspace and get them off the planet. He runs a series of test drives – solo, up in space – to see what will work, and discovers that for every minute he’s gone, a year or more goes by on the planet. This means that his team, including his best friend Alisha Hawthorne, grow older and live their lives while Buzz stays young and left behind, consumed by his mission, while life literally blows by him. He is up in the air so much that Hawthorne gets married and has a son, and then a granddaughter, and eventually the granddaughter is the same age as Buzz, and an aspiring Space Ranger as well.

Hawthorne’s spunky granddaughter Izzy is voiced by Keke Palmer, who just opened Nope this weekend, and steals that movie. Other familiar names include Taika Waititi (the writer/director/Hitler of Jojo Rabbit), Uzo Aduba (“Crazy Eyes” from Orange is the New Black), Bill Hader, and James Brolin. There are a fair amount of laughs to be had, many of which come from SOX, a robotic emotional support kitty gifted to Lightyear from Hawthorne. The planet they are on has vines that tend to grab onto people and pull them away. In a very funny recurring gag, this happens so often that characters become blase about it, and sever it with a light-saber-like sword, then everything’s all good. Remember the Simpsons Tomacco episode where the tractor kept falling on Homer? That’s what it reminded me of.

Viewers can easily sense the lessons and morals that will be ticked off the checklist by the end of the film. Buzz prefers to work alone and be completely in control, so we know he will inevitably learn about teamwork and how everybody can have something to contribute. When an unexpected character turns up in the final act, other meaningful messages come up that I was not predicting, but I found interesting and most welcome.

Lightyear is fun to look at. The cinematography, obviously, is dark with lots of dark blue. It made me think of the Buzz Lightyear ride at the Magic Kingdom, or Tomorrowland in general, and made me want to go right back. Lightyear goes to Disney+ (and beyond?) on August 3. Dim the lights and see it on the biggest screen you can.

Grade: B