鈥淚n 1995, Andy got a toy from his favourite movie. This is that movie.鈥�
So begins a new Pixar release that takes a meta approach to the animation studio鈥檚 flagship franchise. It isn鈥檛 a prequel to 鈥淭oy Story,鈥� exactly, but instead presents the movie that inspired Buzz Lightyear toys in the first place. It鈥檚 a potentially clever bit of reverse engineering by the Walt Disney Co., which, after decades of growing merchandizing out of its films, has reversed course. We aren鈥檛 exactly through the looking glass, but we may be through the Happy Meal.
It鈥檚 honestly a gambit 鈥� taking a fictional movie-within-a-movie and making it real 鈥� that I鈥檝e wanted to see attempted before. Who hasn鈥檛 watched 鈥淪einfeld鈥� and been curious to actually see Or like 鈥淢er-man鈥� in Judd Apatow鈥檚 鈥淔unny People鈥�? I鈥檝e seen the 鈥淗ome Alone鈥� movies enough to almost convince myself that is a real gangster flick.
But the truth is, the appeal of all these faux-film cameos 鈥� like those that adorn Quentin Tarantino鈥檚 鈥淥nce Upon a Time in Hollywood鈥� 鈥� is predicated on their brevity. So should 鈥淟ightyear鈥� have been a feature film or a Pixar short? The answer, I think, is very much the latter.
The 鈥淭oy Story鈥� films, once an almost perfect trilogy, a nine-years-later-sequel that was perhaps propelled less by a need for narrative closure than it was box-office imperatives. But at the same time, Forky. Forky made it forgivable.
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What鈥檚 compelling 鈥淟ightyear鈥� is harder to say, but there is a bland, vaguely 鈥淧lanes鈥� feeling here that smacks of a straight-to-video spinoff. Yet unlike that 鈥淐ars鈥� detour, 鈥淟ightyear鈥� bears the Pixar imprimatur. And, ironically, it鈥檚 the first Pixar film in more than two years to debut exclusively in theaters. During the pandemic, 鈥淟uca,鈥� 鈥淪oul鈥� and 鈥淭urning Red鈥� were all routed instead to Disney+, sometimes reportedly against the objections of Pixar鈥檚 own animators.
But 鈥淟颈驳丑迟测别补谤,鈥� helmed by 鈥淔inding Dory鈥� co-director Angus MacLane (who made some of the 鈥淭oy Story鈥� shorts and TV specials that have expanded the film series), arrives in theaters just as summer movies are reaching the stratosphere again. So it may be a bit of a buzzkill to call 鈥淟ightyear鈥� 鈥� the biggest kids movie to come along in a while 鈥� a failed mission.
It鈥檚 a surprisingly self-contained film 鈥� that opening title card is one of the only tethers to 鈥淭oy Story鈥� 鈥� in which the 鈥渞eal鈥� Buzz (drawn more human-like and voiced by Chris Evans, stepping in for Tim Allen), not the toy version, is marooned on a distant planet with fellow Space Ranger Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) and a spaceship full of people. Every time Buzz attempts to rocket into light speed to get help back on Earth, something goes wrong. Each trial takes a day but, back on the faraway planet, everyone else has lived through years. In a blip, Alisha (the first Black LGBTQ character in a major studio animated film) gets engaged, has a baby, sees her son graduate and grows old.
With its classic science-fiction framework, 鈥淟ightyear鈥� borrows from 鈥淭he Twilight Zone,鈥� 鈥淪tar Trek,鈥� Christopher Nolan鈥檚 鈥淚nterstellar鈥� and others. It鈥檚 a little like Pixar made a straightforward sci-fi movie 鈥� one with obvious affection for the genre but little of the big-hearted splendor of 鈥淲ALL-E.鈥� It could be said that unorthodox approach to 鈥淟ightyear鈥� allows Pixar to step outside the usual parameters of what the animation studio usually makes. 鈥淟ightyear鈥� isn鈥檛 ambitious or existential or likely to make you cry. It鈥檚 just a flavorless movie, not much different from others.
鈥淟ightyear鈥� picks up a little when Buzz unites with a ragtag crew including Alisha鈥檚 granddaughter Izzy (Keke Palmer), the accident-prone Mo Morrison (Taika Waititi, doing his best to add some comic life to the film) and Dale Soules鈥� aged criminal Darby Steel. Buzz鈥檚 most notable companion, though, is a highly intelligent robotic cat named Sox (voiced by 鈥淭he Good Dinosaur鈥� director Peter Sohn), an especially familiar kind of Disney sidekick surely designed to kickstart a new merchandizing opportunity.
That may be the only circle of life at work in 鈥淟颈驳丑迟测别补谤,鈥� a dead-end wrong turn in the usually boundless Pixar universe. Buzz, himself, is a bit of a bore, too. It鈥檚 a character that, since he isn鈥檛 the Buzz we know, must prove his mettle as a protagonist. But with little to distinguish him beyond a chin that makes Jay Leno鈥檚 look petite, it鈥檚 enough to make you wonder what Andy saw in him in the first place. Maybe someone should have shown him 鈥淩atatouille.鈥�
鈥淟颈驳丑迟测别补谤,鈥� a Walt Disney Co. release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for action/peril. Running time: 105 minutes. Two stars out of four.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
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