Lightyear review: Toy Story spin-off is a witty and emotional sci-fi spectacle

It's out in cinemas this week.

By Ian Sandwell

13 Jun 2022

Given how big Toy Story is, it's perhaps a surprise that we've waited this long for a spin-off movie with Lightyear arriving in cinemas 27 years(!) after the first movie.

We've had other Toy Story movies and TV show spin-offs in that time, of course, but it always felt like a franchise ripe for big-screen spin-offs. Now that Pixar has got around to it, it's even more of a surprise that it's not really a spin-off in the traditional sense, because it's not about the Buzz we know.

In case the marketing hasn't made it clear, Lightyear is the movie that Andy would have seen that got him obsessed with Buzz Lightyear. It's a movie that would have been released in the world of Toy Story, but with no story connection to the events of the Toy Story series.

As a result, Lightyear can't help feeling like a cash grab rather than a necessary expansion of the franchise. If you can ignore that, however, the movie is also a visually spectacular sci-fi throwback, full of wit and emotion.

And, maybe, that's more than enough.

chris evans voices buzz lightyear, lightyear movie

Disney/Pixar

Lightyear claims to be the "definitive origin story" of Buzz Lightyear, but really it's only the origin of the hero who inspired the toy. You won't be learning anything about the history of Buzz before he met Woody and co, even if there are Toy Story nods to be found everywhere.

When an exploration of lifeforms on an uncharted planet goes very wrong, Buzz (Chris Evans) makes a critical error trying to escape the planet. Thanks to him, his entire crew is stranded 4.2 million light-years from Earth with their hyperspeed crystal destroyed.

Determined to fix his own mistake, Buzz volunteers to test out their attempts at creating a new crystal, leading to something he never saw coming. Thankfully, he finds a group of ambitious recruits to help him out in the new situation, which becomes complicated with the arrival of Zurg (James Brolin) and his army of robots.

Yep, Zurg is here, but like Buzz, he's not quite the Zurg you know from the Toy Story movies (even if he inspired the toy from Toy Story 2). There's a fun spin on a classic moment from that sequel, yet the presence of Zurg only adds to the feeling that Lightyear didn't really need to be a spin-off.

At its heart, the movie is a homage to classic sci-fi movies like Star Wars and would have worked just as well as an original story. You don't get any more emotional connection since this isn't our Buzz and the connections such as Zurg, while enjoyable for fans, just remind you that it's a cash-in.

Disney/Pixar

Even if you feel this way though, there's no sense here that Lightyear is a lazy attempt to capitalise on the brand name. It might only exist because Pixar want to continue the Toy Story franchise, but it delivers a big-screen spectacle that will rival any blockbuster this year.

There are times you'll forget you're watching an animation, given how realistic the landscapes are and how much detail has gone into the set design. Whatever your feelings on the fact that Lightyear is the first Pixar movie to get a cinema release instead of, say, Turning Red, it absolutely makes the most of its big-screen canvas.

Its story might be simple and familiar (in essence, a maverick learns to be a better person), but it's well told and leads to a poignant message that, like most recent Pixar movies, may be more keenly felt by adults than children. Children and adults alike though will fall in love with Buzz's adorable pet robot Sox (Peter Sohn), who gets the biggest laughs.

Stepping into Tim Allen's shoes, Chris Evans does a winning job of balancing the characteristics of the Buzz we know, while making the character his own. We know that, eventually, Buzz will learn the error of his ways and work together with his ragtag bunch of recruits, but Evans ensures the emotional beats feel authentic all the same.

keke palmer, chris evans voices buzz lightyear, lightyear movie

Disney/Pixar

You might also be pleased to know that Lightyear won't emotionally wreck you like Toy Story 3 did. We're not saying you won't cry, especially in a montage that evokes Up thanks to Michael Giacchino's beautiful score, yet the core message is one of hope and making the most of what you've got, rather than existential dread.

There's no avoiding the fact that Lightyear is a step down from Toy Story 3 and, for some, will feel as inconsequential as Toy Story 4. As a sci-fi spectacle though, it delivers all the laughs, emotion and awe you'd want from a summer blockbuster.

You might not be taken to infinity and beyond, but you will understand why Andy wanted that Buzz toy so much. (We'll take a Sox though, thanks.)

Lightyear is released in cinemas on June 17.