“To infinity and beyond!”
This phrase became popular when Toy Story was released by Pixar in 1995. The character of Buzz Lightyear first uttered these words that created cinematic history. 27 years later, Pixar released its movie, Lightyear, to tell who exactly is Buzz Lightyear. This computer-animated science fiction movie shares so much more about Buzz than we know.
Until the release of Lightyear, we only knew about Buzz Lightyear, the toy, that Andy held so dearly in his hands. Andy is the kid in the Toy Story franchise whose toys come to life when there are no humans around. This action figure was from Andy’s favorite film. Lightyear is that film.
Chris Evans (who also plays Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) lends his voice to Buzz. The movie begins with the space rangers trying to complete a mission to explore life on T’Kani Prime. After discovering hostile beings, they try to leave the planet but their vessel crashes. Buzz blames himself. The crew decides to stay on the planet and build a colony for themselves while continuing their research on how to return to Earth. They have to test the hyperspace fuel crystal. Buzz steps up to undo the mistake he did. He completes a 4-minute test but faces the effects of time dilation. Upon his return, he finds out that four years have passed. He continues to go on these flights but fails. Each four-minute test run costs him four years on his colony. After sixty-six years, Buzz eventually succeeds in his mission. However, upon returning to T’kani Prime he learns about the Zurg beings that are robots trying to invade the planet. During these years Buzz witnesses his commanding officer and best friend, Alisha Hawthrone (Uzo Adubo) get married, have kids, grow old, and pass away. Buzz befriends Izzy Hawthrone, Alisha’s granddaughter. She is accompanied by Mo Morrison, a recruit, and Darby Steel, an elderly convict. Buzz is also accompanied by Sox, a robotic cat that helps him and the team along the way. Buzz is also captured by Zurg, the commander of the invading army. He happens to be an older version of Buzz from an alternate timeline who wants to return to the past, leaving everyone on T’Kani Prime behind.
Lightyear becomes a feel-good movie with a lot of laughs. Pixar has upheld its tradition of creating stories that help the character evolve. Buzz tries to be there for the team instead of trying to be a hero. Izzy also learns the importance of accepting challenges and learning from mistakes.
Scifiers explores science fiction narratives that enliven our imagination and compel us to think about the “what-ifs” of creative world-building. It is on a mission to discuss ideas about sci-fi in its various forms that keep the genre in a state of continuous expansion.
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Image Source: The Wrap