After much anticipation from “Toy Story” fans, the movie “Lightyear” opens in theaters worldwide on June 16. The production presents the public with a story never seen before and arrives accompanied by iconic characters and a captivating, fun and action-packed plot.
Summarizing the film, Buzz Lightyear spends his life exploring space and in one of these missions he arrives on an unknown planet. Soon the patrolman and his crew mates discover the dangers of the place and try to escape, but it won’t be so easy. From then on, Buzz continues on his quest to find a way to return home, even if it costs him missing moments with those he loves and plunges into the danger of the unknown. And he will!
Watch the trailer:
The film’s proposal is to present the origin of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired Andy’s toy in “Toy Story”, working as a kind of live action of the space patrolman. Without many references to the famous animation franchise since 1995, one of the few links, besides the iconic character, is the message at the beginning of the film that warns that we are going to watch Andy’s favorite. And of course, the iconic phrase “To infinity and beyond” is in the film.
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“Lightyear” exceeds all expectations and manages to build a captivating and passionate narrative from beginning to end. In addition, it mixes different genres by bringing a science fiction filled with a lot of action, breathtaking moments and a lot of comedy. The feature has a more mature air, making room for more adult jokes and slightly denser messages, but it still brings a certain naivety and that “taste of being a child” that Disney animations manage to convey.
With a very beautiful look, the production is very funny and will make the audience laugh at different times, but will also move in some scenes. The script has no flaws and leads the story in a very pleasant way to watch, in addition to bringing the audience very well-crafted dialogues and explaining the events well.
The characters are incredibly well built, captivating, fun and everyone has the chance to shine on the scene, even if they have small stakes or don’t contribute much to the plot. Buzz is over the top, somewhat self-centered, quite determined, stubborn and yet very hearty. It seems redundant to say, but Lightyear is definitely the human version of the doll we already knew and at various times we were able to notice how the personalities are, in fact, very similar.
Another character that stands out and has everything to be one of the most beloved in this work is Sox, Buzz’s emotional support robot cat. The feline is an artificial intelligence and stars in some of the funniest moments in the feature, in addition to accompanying the owner throughout the film as a kind of mascot with a few tricks up his sleeve. As for the villain, Zurge, he owns the great plot twist of the production.
In addition to giving a narrative to a character we love, “Lightyear” is also filled with representation and allows us to see ourselves in it. The characters are diverse, they are young, they are old, of different ethnicities and sexual orientations. Alisha Hawthorne, for example, is a black, lesbian woman who has a family and a successful career in the film, in addition to being Buzz’s best friend. Her granddaughter, Izzy, is also black and follows her grandmother’s path by becoming a patrolman, in addition to having a great contribution to animation.
The voice acting is another excellent highlight. Much was said when Marcos Mion was chosen to voice the title character and he was presented to the public in the voice of the giant Guilherme Briggs in “Toy Story”, but the fact that they “changed” the dubbing makes total sense of the film. After all, we’re not talking about Andy’s Buzz, but real-life Buzz in that universe.
Marcos Mion is excellent in every way. At first, it still causes strangeness and the message “It’s Marcos Mion’s voice!” it echoes in the head, but that feeling soon passes and we are presented with an impeccable work, with perfect intonation and that gives all the feeling that is necessary to tell the story. It is important to remember that Mion, in addition to being an excellent television presenter, is also an actor and that weighs heavily at this moment. Completely dedicated to what he sets out to do, Mion is a real asset to this film. Including, the voice in the American version is Chris Evans, Captain America.
Directed by Angus MacLane (co-director of “Finding Dory”) and produced by Galyn Susman, “Lightyear” is a light animation, very well produced, with beautiful visuals and a captivating story full of charismatic characters that bring very own personalities, making unique within that universe. The production was also able to keep up with the times, considering that even though “Toy Story” is still a real success and conquers a children’s audience, the children of 1995 are already adults and love the franchise.
