Lightyear will take the audience back to the universe of Toy Story to tell the story of the man who inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy, but even though the movie is linked to Toy Story, it looks nothing like those movies. Pixar continues to be a powerhouse in the world of animation and keeps bringing at least one movie every year, and 2022 will see two movies from the studio: Turning Red, to be released in March on Disney+, and Lightyear, releasing in June and getting a proper theatrical release.
Directed by Angus MacLane (co-director of Finding Dory), Lightyear won’t tell the backstory of Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear but will instead focus on the story of the man who inspired the famous toy. Lightyear will follow young test pilot Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Chris Evans) and his journey to become the Space Ranger everyone now knows so well, leading to so much success and popularity that a toy was made after him. Lightyear will see the title character coming across some interesting creatures in space and meeting villainous Emperor Zurg. The marketing campaign for Lightyear began in October 2021, and while there have only been one teaser and a proper trailer so far, that has been enough for viewers to notice it’s nothing like the Toy Story movies.
Since Lightyear was announced back in 2020 at a Disney Investor Day meeting, there has been a lot of confusion over how it connects to Toy Story. Lightyear is marketed as a spinoff of the Toy Story movie series, and while many people initially believed it would tell the story of a real-life person who inspired the creation of Buzz Lightyear, it’s actually an in-universe origin story. The Buzz Lightyear toy that became Woody’s best friend in Toy Story was made as a result of the unbelievable missions and work of an astronaut who came across the real Zurg on another planet, and while both movies are set in the same universe, Lightyear looks nothing like Toy Story in terms of tone, story, and the animation itself.
The latest trailer for Lightyear gives viewers a clearer idea of what to expect from the movie, which obviously has some comedic tones (it’s a Pixar movie, after all), but it still feels very different from a Toy Story movie – because it has to be. Although it’s also a family movie, Lightyear feels like a more mature story than those of the Toy Story series, with many pointing out that it doesn’t really feel like a kids’ movie, which makes it more exciting. Lightyear also seems to have a more serious and at times darker tone than the Toy Story movies, this mostly seen in the redesigned Emperor Zurg, who looks a lot more menacing than the toy everyone knows. Toy Story, as the title says, it’s all about toys, friendship, and growing up, while Lightyear is a look at the “real” world in the Toy Story universe, hence why it had to have a different tone.
Viewers have also pointed out the differences in animation style as well, with Lightyear looking more realistic and stylized, which fits with the more mature (but still family-friendly) tone of the movie. Lightyear looks like an excellent complement to the Toy Story movie series, adding a touch of realism without fully losing the fantasy that has made this universe so popular and loved by generations of viewers.