Lightyear, and its connection to the world of Toy Story, sparked confusion the moment it was announced. Is it a spin-off, completely separate from the franchise that began in 1995? Is it based on a real-life astronaut in the Toy Story universe, meaning Andy, Woody and the like live in a time where we’ve achieved intergalactic space travel? Thankfully, the film clears all of this up with an introductory title card, explaining that in 1995, a boy called Andy got a toy which was inspired by a movie. Lightyear is that movie.
Its relation to Toy Story aside, Lightyear is a fun, frenetic experience. It wastes no time plunging you into the mayhem of alien fights, space-ship flights and robot cat delights, and barely lets up for a second. Whilst this gives it propulsion, a moment or two to breathe wouldn’t go amiss — and providing more context as to the world Buzz and his crew come from, and the one they’re trying to get back to, would give the emotional beats (and Buzz’s determination) much more impact. The animation is beautiful; landscapes are regularly doused in gorgeous golden sunsets, the pitch-black backdrop of deep space feels like it would swallow you whole, and the moment Buzz achieves hyper speed is brilliantly climactic.
Sox is an adorable, quick-witted genius, and Sohn’s deadpan delivery is excellent.
Unsurprisingly, Chris Evans voices a hero just as well as he depicts one in live action, and his new crew Izzy, Mo and Darby are brought to life with vigour, humour and humanity by Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi and Dale Soules respectively. The star of the show, though, is Peter Sohn’s Sox, Buzz’s ‘Personal Companion Robot’, assigned to him by Alisha (Uzo Aduba) after his efforts to get the crew home lead to some unexpected timey-wimey effects. Sox is an adorable, quick-witted genius, and Sohn’s deadpan delivery is excellent. Plus, he spins his head round and says “meow meow meow” a lot.
If Sox is Buzz’s C-3PO, Emperor Zurg (James Brolin) is his Darth Vader. His presence is heard and felt before he’s seen, but the use of him as a villain doesn’t fully land. The script works hard to give Zurg an identity that feels like a cohesive part of the story, as well as making him a fearsome antagonist, but his motivations never seem aligned to his actions, and he’s the film’s most forgettable element.
Whilst that title card provides somewhat of an answer as to how Lightyear fits in with Pixar’s pioneering original animation, it doesn’t necessarily justify its existence. There’s certainly some enjoyment to be had here, but the film is weighed down by genericness and loyalty to the existing IP, coming up short against fully original, specific-yet-universal Pixar output like Turning Red, Coco or Inside Out. Though the underlying themes of teamwork, family and leadership are nicely played, they’re also fairly surface-level — never quite reaching the heights of infinity, nor beyond.
