After many years of production, Pixar animators are excited to finally present Lightyear, premiering Jun. 17, 2022  Directed by Angus Maclane, this exciting yet comedic movie introduces the audience  to the man who inspired the creation of Buzz Lightyear, portrayed by Chris Evans, a key protagonist in the film series Toy Story. The viewer also meets Izzy Hawthorne (Keke Palmer), one of the space commanders and granddaughter of Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba), a celebrated space pioneer.  Other characters include Darby (Dale Soules), a skilled bomb maker, Sox (Peter Sohn), a robotic cat companion, and Mo Morrison (Tatika Waititi), a fellow explorer.  Together, the crew must embark on a dangerous quest to take down Emperor Zurg (James Brolin) and his evil alien fleet.  However, this is not the only challenge Lightyear is up against, as he must work with beginner cadets to complete his mission.  

            This movie is a treat especially for those who watched Buzz make his debut in the Toy Story movie series. 

  “Well, I love Toy Story, so I hope they don’t mess that up.  I also love Chris Evans, and I heard he’s playing the voice of Buzz, so I know it’s going to be good.  Plus, Disney has never messed up, so I have full confidence,” said freshman Alison Ramos.  

Evans is not only perfect for this film because of his huge reputation as an actor, but also because of his former role as Captain America in the Marvel Universe.  Captain America has many parallels to Buzz, who is also struggling to move forward in life, which is why the director felt like Evans was the appropriate choice for this movie.  

      In addition, judging by the trailers, Lightyear is sure to be equally promising, being drawn in a hyperrealistic art style that captures every detail like a live action movie.  In fact, the trailer highlights the animation by showing the smallest details like the sun glare against the ship windows or the fabric details on the costumes..

“Personally, I’m looking forward to the movie.  Based on the trailers, there are a few aspects of it such as the talking cat that feel unnecessary, but it’s interesting that Pixar is making another movie in the Toy Story franchise.  Considering that there are already four movies in the Toy Story series, I think it’s definitely better that they aren’t making the movie about the original toy characters, and are instead creating a spinoff.  The basic plot itself doesn’t seem the most innately interesting, however, the nostalgia factor makes this movie something I’m looking forward to seeing,” said freshman Chiara Amodeo.  

             However, the director himself says differently, during an interview with journalist Petrana Radulovic. 

 “Even though Pixar isn’t making adult animated movies, the studio has shown from time to time that making stories about adult characters dealing with adult problems can still be approachable to younger audiences,” said director Angus Maclane.

Regardless of who you’re going to be watching Lightyear with, it still seems like a fun, wild adventure.  

“I think it’s interesting, and it looks cool. I would watch it if I had nothing else to watch, and I was bored,”  said sophomore Fiona Lawrence.