Tim Allen is finally talking about PIXAR’s latest film, Lightyear, sharing in an interview that he wished the new film had a better connection to the Buzz Lightyear toy from Toy Story.
In the newest installment from the Toy Story film franchise, which PIXAR hails as the “definitive origin story” of the space ranger, Buzz Lightyear, fans are introduced to the man who inspired an entire line of action figures–the real Buzz Lightyear.
From the time voice casting was made public, fans were confused about PIXAR’s decision to cast Captain America’s Chris Evans as the voice of the space ranger from Star Command, instead of the original voice of the Buzz Lightyear toy, veteran actor Tim Allen.
But it makes sense; Lightyear is the story of the man behind the action figure, and Toy Story features the action figure version of Buzz Lightyear. So having a different voice for each helps to differentiate between the two.
And while some fans and fellow celebrities who didn’t know this voiced their frustration with PIXAR for not casting Tim Allen as the voice of the space ranger, Allen has stayed completely quiet on the subject, until now.
In a recent interview with Extra, Tim Allen shared some of his thoughts about the new film. He also shared the reasoning behind his staying quiet about the voice casting so far, despite others’ complaints about PIXAR’s decision.
“The short answer is I’ve stayed out of this ’cause it has nothing to do [with my character],” Allen said. “This is a whole new team that really had nothing to do with the first movies.”
Allen continued by saying that originally, he thought Lightyear was going to be a live-action film with “real humans.”
He says he thinks there’s a wonderful story in the new Lightyear film, but there are a couple of issues he pointed out.
“There’s really no Toy Story Buzz without Woody,” Allen said. “[Lightyear] just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy. I wish there was a better connection.”
During a behind-the-scenes look at PIXAR’s Lightyear shared by PEOPLE Magazine shortly before the film debuted at the box office, Chris Evans said he felt like a “kid in a candy store” as he worked on the film. He also shared some really positive points about Toy Story.
“The movie Toy Story was such an impactful film,” Evans said. “It’s so iconic, and the characters had such variety. They just offer something that’s so relatable.
When he was asked about the new Lightyear film, Evans explained the premise and said it’s very different from other PIXAR projects so far.
“[Lightyear] is the origin story of Buzz Lightyear,” he said. “I’m a massive PIXAR fan; [the new film] is unlike any PIXAR movie to date.”