Lightyear

 

Image credit: Event Cinemas

“In 1995, Andy got a toy from his favourite movie… this is that movie.” This is the opening line to Pixar’s latest film, Lightyear, and sparked an interesting theological discussion between partner and I on the car ride home after seeing said film. So, Lightyear is animated in the style of Toy Story, in that the people in the former look like the real people in the latter. Partner’s question was; in this animated world, is Lightyear a live-action movie or an animated movie? And we actually had an interesting chat looking at both possible arguments. I can’t remember what we decided on, probably that that it was a non-animated movie. However if that’s the case, then young Andy was watching some seriously mature dramas for a boy young enough to be playing with dolls…

Lightyear tells the story of Space Ranger, Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) whose team gets marooned on an alien planet when they take a small detour during a mission. While trying to find a way back home, Buzz goes through numerous time jumps, with each failed attempt taking years away from his teams’ lives. Until one day, when he returns from another attempt, he discovers that his camp and his friends are gone, the planet taken over by an army of robots, and the grandchildren of his original team are the only ones left trying to survive. With the robots trying to steal his precious fuel supply, Buzz must set aside his past guilt and work as a team if there is any hope of returning to Star Command. 

Time travel, guilt complexes, trauma, are just some of the complex themes that get explored in Lightyear, and if this was young Andy’s favourite movie when he was, what, 10(?), then I have questions. Reminiscent of space-themed dramas such as The Martian, Lightyear is definitely a more mature, but nevertheless all-ages inclusive film in Pixar’s repertoire. The central themes of friendship and teamwork clashing with the mental evils of solitude and self-isolation take the front seat, forming a predictable story, but one that still piques emotional attachments and empathy towards the characters. 

I particularly enjoyed the limited colour palette, with dusk oranges, night purples, and rust reds making up the majority of the world, giving the film its space-drama vibe that I mentioned before. 

Image credit: Roger Ebert

There are some solid characters journeys, a healthy smattering of comedy amidst all the drama and mind-melting existential crises that are running rampant, and a ‘twist’ (which we did see coming) that no kid of 10 should have been able to wrap their brain around. Maybe Andy was a ridiculously smart kid…

Lightyear is a fun and visually impressive movie that doesn’t scale the heights of some of Pixar’s other films, but certainly holds something for the whole family. 

Director: Angus MacLane, 2022

Cast: Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Uzo Aduba, Darby Soules, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Bill Hader, & James Brolin