The only way it’s going to be successful is if you’re rooting for the character and believe in their vulnerabilities.

Susman explained they always wanted Lightyear to be Pixar’s first action-adventure sci-fi movie and, for her, “An action-adventure sci-fi movie has stakes. “It did take a little bit of time to get everybody else on board, because Toy Story, it’s a beloved franchise.” Susman said some early questions were, “Why would you want to be doing something that’s so breakaway, that’s so different? Why don’t you want to be more connected in with Toy Story?’

Producer Galyn Susman ( Ratatouille, Toy Story 4) recalled that there was some early skepticism to making Lightyear so standalone from Toy Story and not simply doing a spinoff about the Buzz we already know. His favorite movie was not from 1995, his favorite movie was from 1984 or 1985… was something Andy saw on VHS a lot, that’s the way I looked at it.” Said Maclane, “It says he got the toy in 1995 but it was from his favorite movie.

Concept art of the 'real' Buzz Lightyear by Dean Heezen for 'Lightyear' Interestingly, that opening text in Lightyear firmly sets the events of the original Toy Story in the year it opened, 1995, for the first time, though Maclane told Fandom that Andy’s favorite movie actually opened a decade earlier – even if the Buzz toy he wanted was new. Discussing the genesis of the film, Lightyear director Angus MacLane ( BURN-E, Toy Story of Terror!) explained he, like so many other kids and so many future filmmakers was forever changed by his first exposure to the original Star Wars (which you may be aware led to quite a few toy sales), and as he thought about Andy’s love of Buzz Lightyear as a toy, he pondered, “What was the movie that Buzz was from? And why couldn’t we just make that movie?” Simply put, Lightyear is “The movie that Andy saw that changed his life.

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