Lightyear

***Lightyear*** is an upcoming American computer-animated science-fiction action film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. It is a spin-off of the *Toy Story* franchise, serving as an origin story for the fictional test pilot/astronaut who the Buzz Lightyear toy featured in the previous films was based on, presented as a film within a film the characters in *Toy Story* would watch.

It will be Pixar's 26th animated feature, and is scheduled to be theatrically released on June 17, 2022, in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema and IMAX formats.

## Synopsis

The definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy, Lightyear follows the legendary Space Ranger after he is marooned on a hostile planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth alongside his commander and their crew. As Buzz tries to find a way back home through space and time, he is joined by a group of ambitious recruits and his charming robot companion cat, Sox. Complicating matters and threatening the mission is the arrival of Zurg, an imposing presence with an army of ruthless robots and a mysterious agenda.

## Plot

The film opens with text revealing that in 1995, Andy Davis saw a movie about Buzz Lightyear and got the action figure after seeing it. This is that movie.

In the far future, a massive ship, dubbed the Turnip, carries a colony through hyperspace to an unknown destination. The ship makes a quick pitstop at a planet, named Tikana Prime, and Space Rangers Buzz Lightyear and Alisha Hawthorne traverse their newfound surroundings for any resources. Buzz is a dutiful ranger with a habit of doing things on his own and makes mission logs to help him focus. Alisha, his best friend, mocks him for this and has been with him since the early training days at the academy. She also brings along a recruit named Featheringhamsten, whom Buzz is indifferent to as he feels that he can do things without the aid of anyone.

Shortly after meeting the rookie, the trio are attacked by living vines and large flying insects and rush back to the Turnip. Buzz takes control of the ship and hastily tries to maneuver it off the planet, despite Featheringhamsten and Alisha trying to offer their help to him and the low altitude that the ship has. He just barely manages to fly the Turnip off the ground but it hits a cliff, causing them to lose air and crashing back down on the planet. With the last of their crytsalic fusion energy wasted, Buzz offers to have himself stripped of his rank, but Alisha perks him up and gives him a new mission to get them off the planet by using the planet's resources to make a new crystalic fuel source.

One year later, the colony has developed a civilization with vines and bugs only being a minor problem. A new fuel source is created and set to be tested by Buzz himself. Their plan is for Buzz to use the fuel to fly off the planet, make a swing around the closest sun and try to reach hyperspace before safely landing back on Tikana Prime. Buzz flies off to the sun and manages to loop around, but nearly damages the ship's engine, forcing him to eject the fuel and sling him back through the safety hoops. He successfully does so, but upon landing notices that Airman Diaz now has a beard, when he did not have one before. Diaz reveals that his trip, caused him to miss over four years on Tikana Prime.

Buzz is reunited with Alisha, who is now his superior and brings him up to date on how his trip is affected by time and ask that he abandon the mission. Buzz additionally learns that in the intervening years, Alisha met a scientist named Kiko and is now engaged to her while the colony has chosen to build living quarters. Buzz is given his and is additionally given a small robotic cat named Sox who was designed to be his close companion, while also displaying useful technological devices within him. Buzz has a nightmare about his crash and decides to give Sox a mission to find a suitable formula for a fuel source. He meets up with Alisha and manages to convince her to let him go again until they find the right fuel to get off the planet.

In the years that Buzz spends traveling into space and back, he witnesses Alisha's life flash before his eyes. Her pregnancy, her family life with Kiko, her son's graduation and marriage and her autumn years. Buzz eventually returns to find that Alisha had passed away, but left behind a message telling him to continue the fight while also revealing her granddaughter Izzy, who aspires to be a Space Ranger. Alisha's office is now occupied by Commander Burnside who informs Buzz that the mission to get off the planet has been cancelled and that they will make do by building a laser shield; shocking Buzz.

Buzz solemnly returns to his living quarters and learns that Sox managed to successfully find a suitable formula for the crystalic engine. However, soldiers, dubbed Zappers, arrive to decommission Sox and Buzz flees with him. Sox uses his ability to use a tranquilizer dart to get passed one Zapper, making Buzz realize that Sox was initially designed to keep him in line. Using the formula, they manage to create the perfect crystalic fusion, but the computer carrying the information gets destroyed and Buzz and Sox flee once again. They manage to get back onto a space ship and escape the Zappers with Buzz flying around the sun and successfully achieving hyperspace.

Buzz returns to the planet, but finds that things have become much more barren. He is rescued by a cadet from a robot who teleports itself and Buzz's ship away. The cadet reveals herself to be a grown up Izzy Hawthorne. Buzz has traveled over twenty-two years into the future. Izzy reveals that the robot came from a giant mother ship floating above the surface of the planet, dubbed the Zurg Ship, after the fact that the robots can only say "Zurg". She further reveals that the robots are surrounding the colony who have placed up their laser shield and are trapped. In order to defeat the robots, they need to blow up the ship, which they can now due to Buzz being a pilot.

Buzz, Sox and Izzy reach the fort where the latter introduces the rest of the team; Darby Steel, Mo Morrison and ERIC, a robot. With the plan set in motion, the group is suddenly attacked by a robot that blows up their ship and tries to carry Buzz away. At this point, it becomes apparent that each member is ill-equipped to handle any action or danger. Nevertheless, Buzz manages to disarm the robot and Mo, unintentionally puts it out of commission by tossing a harpoon at its head. Buzz learns that the group is actually Junior Patrol and are not even considered "Rookies". Mo came aboard thinking that he was attending a workout bootcamp and has always been a quitter, Darby is trying to shorten her sentence after having stolen a ship, while Izzy, who is well knowledged in her grandmother's life, lacks patience.

Without a ship, Buzz resolves to get a new one. ERIC informs them that they have an abandoned hangar nearby, but even have suffers from a major flaw as he is unable to provide a proper pathway to it on a map and becomes distracted with trying to correct himself. Despite Buzz's reluctance, the rest of the patrol insist on coming along with him as they too know the way. They arrive at the hangar where Buzz plans to part ways with the team; taking Sox with him. The interior of the hangar is littered with the eggs of the giant insects. Buzz finds his old uniform, but is followed by the Patrol after he accidentally took their keys to the truck. They end up alerting the insects and lock themselves in the changing rooms.

Buzz resolves to have the Patrol wear the other uniforms and use the stealth mode to get out while he and Sox leave via the space ship. The plan works, but Buzz forgets to tell them that stealth mode is limited energy and the whole group is forced to escape onto the space ship and fly out of the hangar. The avert the insects as well as another space ship that tries to shoot them down; during this time, it is revealed that Izzy suffers from astrophobia, the fear of space, which would technically ban her from being a ranger. Buzz and the crew manage to safely land the ship, but they blow out a fuel cell. Izzy directs the group to a nearby mining facility to get a spare part.

The group manage to find a space part in the a control deck, but Mo accidentally triggers an alarm causing red cones to come down and trap them. Working together, they manage to destroy the controls, just as the control deck breaks off and nearly falls into the mine. The group gathers together and eat sandwiches from a vending machine, that oddly enough have the bread inside and the meat outside. As Mo sulks over nearly costing them the mission, Buzz admits that when he first got to the academy, he was one of the worst rangers, but that Alisha saw something in him and pushed him until he became one of the best rangers in the squad. As the team head back to the ship, they are attacked by Zurg himself who is after Buzz and ignores the others. Zurg speaks to him telling him to come, but the team rescue Buzz and get back onto the ship and escape.

Zurg sends his minions after the team and they hastily fly away with Mo and Darcy using weapons to fend off the robots. As they attempt to fly, Izzy presumptuously releases the crystalic fusion and they lose it to one of the robots. As Buzz walks away defeated, Zurg appears again and captures him before disappearing; leaving the team in shock. Buzz is taken to the mother ship and confronts Zurg, but he stops him. Zurg is revealed to be a giant suit and within it an elderly Buzz who also kept his version of Sox who has slightly deteriorated. Old Buzz reveals that when he returned to Tikana Prime, Burnside immediately arrived to arrest him. He continued to travel into the future with Sox until he arrived at a point where the technology had advanced beyond anything he could imagine. Using it, he has been traveling back in time to prevent the crash that stranded them on the planet, but has nearly used up his crystalic fusion and has been hoping to use Buzz's.

Buzz is happy to learn that they can go back, but realizes that Alisha was always happy with her life and that it could potentially mean that Izzy and her friends cease to exist. He refuses, intending to simply get the colony off the planet, and Old Buzz reveals his true colors by capturing him. However, Old Sox uses a tranquilizer to knock him out and decides to help Buzz with getting off the ship and returning the crystalic fuel. Back on Tikana Prime, Izzy realizes that they can use the teleport discs from the robots and transports herself, Sox, Mo and Darby up to the mother ship. Izzy and Sox go looking for Buzz while Mo and Darby struggle to stop the incoming robot army.

Old Sox takes Buzz to the control room and sets a self-destruct timer for two minutes. However, Old Buzz returns as Zurg and destroys Old Sox; forcing Buzz to face him in combat. Izzy and Sox find Buzz, but the fastest way there is by jumping out the airlock towards the cockpit. Izzy finally conquers her fears and they jump out and reach the other side of the ship. Mo and Darcy unleash their trap on the robots just as Izzy and Sox enter and help Buzz take care of Zurg. They grab the crystalic fusion and teleport back to the main deck to escape, via the ship. The ship explodes, sending Buzz flying and uses the crystal to power his own ship and fly towards his friends.

Zurg is revealed to have survived and grabs the crystal; forcing Buzz to eject (getting his wings in the process) and blows up the crystal along with Zurg. He flies and rescues his friends by steering their ship towards the ground and manage to fall with style. Buzz admits that he blew up the crystal, but has accepted his life on Tikani Prime is his home. With the whole team safe, they are approached by the rescue team along with a very angry Burnside. Burnside reprimands Buzz for the years of going against protocol, only to congratulate him for saving the colony. Wanting to restart the Space Ranger program, he offers any member of the Zappers to be a part of his team, but Buzz has already decided on his own.

Adorned in brand new upgraded armor, Buzz and his team prepare for their next mission. Buzz and Izzy admire a statue of Alisha before continuing to their brand new ship. Buzz, Izzy, Mo, Darcy and Sox get set for a brand new adventure with their motto, "To Infinity and Beyond!"

In a mid-credits scene, Burnside is sitting in his office looking over papers when a giant insect is zapped by the laser forcefield, something that makes him very proud.

In a post-credits scene, ERIC finally maps out the perfect route to take to the hangar, only to realize that everyone has already left.

In a second post-credits scene, the Zurg armor floats through space after the explosion, and the eyes of the suit light up, indicating he survived.

## Cast

* Chris Evans as Buzz Lightyear
* James Brolin as Zurg
* Uzo Aduba as Alisha Hawthorne
* Keke Palmer as Izzy Hawthorne
	+ Keira Hairston as Young Izzy
* Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Commander Burnside
* Taika Waititi as Mo Morrison
* Dale Soules as Darby Steel
* Efren Ramirez as Airman Diaz
* Peter Sohn as Sox
* Mary McDonald-Lewis as I.V.A.N.
* Angus MacLane as E.R.I.C.
* Tim Peake as Mission Control
* Bill Hader as Featheringhamsten

### Casting

Chris Evans was announced to have been cast as the human Buzz Lightyear upon the project's announcement in December 2020. Evans was the first and only choice MacLane had for Buzz. He visited Pixar's offices one day and they pitched him the project during a visit. Evans accepted the offer immediately, given his love for animation. Taika Waititi was reported to have been cast in an undisclosed role in November 2021.

### Animation

The animators wanted the film to look "cinematic" and "chunky" in order to evoke the feeling of the sci-fi films MacLane grew up with. In order to achieve this, they asked a former Industrial Light & Magic employee to build a spaceship model for them, from which the animators drew inspiration; this technique was inspired by designers for early sci-fi films using models as inspiration for their sets and props.

## Trivia

* This will be the second *Toy Story* spin-off after *Buzz Lightyear of Star Command*.
* This will be the first Pixar film of the 2020s to be produced in a 2:39:1 aspect ratio, since *Soul*, unlike *Luca* and *Turning Red*, which were produced in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
* This is not a story about the *Toy Story* action figure or the cartoon *Buzz Lightyear of Star Command*, but the origin of the in-universe astronaut who inspired the cartoon and toys.
* This will be Pixar's first spin-off film.
* The second Pixar film to be released on June 17, after *Finding Dory*.
* This will be the second Disney animated spin-off to be produced in a 2:39:1 aspect ratio, after *Planes: Fire & Rescue*.
* Contrary to people's expectations, this is not the first time Buzz is played by an actor other than Tim Allen. The list includes:
	+ Pat Fraley (*Toy Story Treats*, video games, attractions)
	+ Patrick Warburton (*Buzz Lightyear of Star Command*)
	+ Javier Fernandez-Peña (Spanish mode in *Toy Story 3*)
	+ Mike MacRae (video games)
	+ Corey Burton (*Disney on Ice*)
		- When the movie was announced, many people were thrown into great confusion over it. This can be largely attributed to the human character and the toy sharing the same name, which led many people to believe the human Lightyear's voice actor, Chris Evans, would replace the toy Lightyear's voice actor, Tim Allen, to become the new voice of the character. Disney later clarified on Twitter that this was not the case, with Evans being the voice of the in-universe character that inspired the toy, and Allen being the voice of the toy.
* In the trailers, Buzz's ship is shown to be powered by a crystal. This is likely a homage to how in *Toy Story*, Buzz asks Woody if his people have yet to discover crystallic fusion.
* This will be the second Pixar movie to feature a Marvel Cinematic Universe actor after *Onward*.
* Tim Allen and Chris Evans both share the same birthday, but 28 years apart, with Tim being born in 1953, and Chris in 1981.

## References

1. ↑ Investor Day 2020
2. ↑ [1]