Lightyear Trailer Breakdown: Buzz Gets A Big Action Adventure Film From Pixar
"Toy Story" is the franchise that started it all for Pixar, and they're continuing that beloved series of films this year — albeit in an indirect way. The Disney animation studio is set to bring us "Lightyear," which is being officially billed as the "definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear — the hero who inspired the toy." So this isn't the Tim Allen-voiced toy. Rather, we have Chris Evans playing the real Buzz who went on to inspire the toy that we saw in the movies. And today brings us a brand new trailer showcasing what that looks like. For those that want to take a closer look at everything going on here (and there is a lot), we're here to break it down, bit by bit. Let's dive in.
Suit Up
We kick off with a sequence of Mr. Lightyear getting suited up and ready for action. We even get to see his dog tags, which is a nice touch.
We also get this kind of neat shot with Buzz looking at his reflection in his helmet.
Emerging for Action
Here, we see Buzz heading out into the landscape of this unknown planet that is not Earth, as is made clear by the dialogue.
Buzz has a Star Command companion in tow as they are gearing up for a mission that has been a year in the making. "All for a four-minute flight," as Buzz puts it.
Alien Lifeforms Bringing Trouble
Mere moments later, our hero is snatched by an underground tentacle monster that looks like it might be some living plant life native to this distant world. I thought this when the first trailer came out, but it looks not unlike the Drengir from the "Star Wars" universe from the recent "High Republic" publishing initiative. That is not altogether irrelevant given that Disney also happens to own "Star Wars." I'm not suggesting a crossover or anything, merely connecting some dots. Luckily, Buzz is saved by another ally and it's back to the mission at hand.
Big Mission, Big Base
We then get a few more glimpses at the elaborate base of operations that Star Command has set up. It includes some truly impressive infrastructure, such as the gigantic base in the above shot. We also see a big perimeter fence that is used to help keep out some of the local wildlife.
This poor alien bug never knew what was coming. Though, to be fair, it does look like the kind of bug that might complicate matters. Especially if there were swarms of them getting in the way of this seemingly important, semi-mysterious mission. It is also worth pointing out that Buzz explains it as being "marooned" here which indicates that he has some displeasure with the situation.
Crystallic Fusion
Here, we see Buzz handling a mysterious crystal that is going to be powering his ship for this upcoming test flight. This seemingly goes back to a reference from the original "Toy Story" which sees the toy version of Buzz asking if they still use fossil fuels on Earth or if they've discovered "crystallic fusion" yet. It appears this is "crystallic fusion" in action.
Get Everyone Home
We then get to the actual mission, with Buzz getting in his ship gearing up for takeoff. Unfortunately, his pal is taken away by one of the same tentacle monsters that got our hero earlier, though this one is played up a bit more for comedy's sake. It seems that, if this mission is successful, everyone at this base will be allowed to go "home" — presumably meaning Earth. That raises some questions as the crux of the story hasn't been shared in either this trailer or the previous teaser.
Blast Off
Now we get to the meat and potatoes of it all, with Buzz blasting off into space on an unknown mission for humanity. This sequence looks downright stunning, with some "2001" effects going on here as he traverses space. Also of note; his ship in "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" was dubbed Star Cruiser 42. Whether or not it will bear the same title in the movie remains to be seen. But based on the concerned look on his face, the mission seems to veer off course. Good for the audience, bad for our hero.
Strange New Worlds
The implication seems to be that Buzz ends up off course somehow during this experimental flight and he ends up somewhere he's not supposed to be. We see him heading out to this overlook to get a lay of the land. But then we get a shot of this ominous-looking ship.
Death From Above
Speaking of that ominous ship, this thing looks truly imposing. The implication is that this is harboring the movie's villains, who seem to be the underlings of the evil Emperor Zurg, Buzz's arch-nemesis as depicted in "Toy Story 2" as well as "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command."
Z.A.P.
Here, we also get a look at the robot underlings seemingly serving at Zurg's side. There is, as you may notice, the acronym Z.A.P on their shoulders. Not for nothing but the design of these robots is pretty cool and takes some of the toy-esque elements of what we know adapting them for the real-world take on the material.
Sox the Cat
Perhaps the most important moment of all comes now as we meet Sox, Buzz's new robot cat companion. We see and hear quite a bit from him in this new trailer and one can already imagine him stealing the show. Disney is going to have a field day with merchandise based on Sox and I will be the first one in line to buy my very own Sox robot as soon as I can.
A Massive Robot
Now we seem to be getting to the central conflict with the above massive robot terrorizing Buzz and his crew. This death machine very much looks like it was cut from the same cloth as Zurg. Is this our new Zurg?
Has he been reimagined as a giant death robot? Or is this merely a creation of Zurg who is being set up for a big reveal once viewers are actually in the theater? Time will tell but it appears this robot will keep our hero's hands full.
Sox and Buzz
Here we get a glimpse of Buzz once again doing spaceman things, this time with his new pal Sox in toe. We also get a bit of the cat's showstopping dialogue as he relays to Buzz that the flight was terrifying and that he regrets having joined him. The deadpan robot dialogue coming out of a very cute cat works like gangbusters.
Robot Tackle
Here, we see Buzz getting tackled by a robot that looks not unlike the evil ones we see at other points in the trailer. It is worth noting that we seemingly got a good look at this very same robot in the original teaser trailer on the planet that can only be described as Dagobah-like. Yes, it does seem there are some "Star Wars" influences here beyond the somewhat obscure.
To The Rescue
Here, Buzz is getting into some serious heroics, carrying one of his companions on his back to save them from ... well, it's tough to say what. This sequence is pretty chaotic and he is trying to slide under what looks to be a ship falling to the ground. It's clear that director Angus MacLane won't be skimping on the action with this one.
Big Robot Danger
Next, we get a really cool shot of the previously mentioned giant Zurg robot once again chasing Buzz. Unfortunately, our hero comes up against a dead-end and is facing down the barrel of this robot's wrath. The silhouette on the wall is a nice shot in my humble opinion. It is also worth pointing out that those yellow machines look a little bit like the Power Loader from "Aliens" which is kinda neat.
Action!
As we near the end of the trailer there is a nice, quick-cut action montage that sees an awful lot happening in a short window. That includes the above shot of the giant death robot smashing its computer console.
We also get these shots, which include a terrifying alien beast attempting to carry away one of Buzz's Star Command pals, as well as some neat trips through space portals, and Buzz using his wrist laser.
Sox Does Sleep Sounds
Last, but certainly not least, the trailer finishes itself off with another fun gag involving Sox. Buzz has clearly had a long day in space and is trying to turn in for the night. Sox, startlingly hanging out on the bedside table, offers to make some soothing sleep sounds for his human companion and ultimately goes with white noise. Again, this little dude is going to steal the show and we need to be ready for that. And that's about it! What is perhaps most interesting is that Disney and Pixar still appear to be keeping a lot of this under wraps, playing it mysterious and aloof. I for one like that strategy as these trailers have been quite good. We can only hope the movie lives up to it.
"Lightyear" is set to hit theaters on June 17, 2022.