Lightyear International Trailer: Buzz Is Lost In Space

Pixar is back — back on the big screen, that is. It's been over two years since the studio's last theater-exclusive movie, "Onward," in March 2020. Pixar has since released three original films ("Soul," "Luca," and "Turning Red") directly to Disney+ in the U.S., which has been great for those of us who've spent most of the pandemic staying home, but understandably frustrating for Pixar artists who feel their work is being under-valued by Disney.

That changes with "Lightyear," a movie about (say it with me) Buzz Lightyear, "the hero who inspired the toy" owned by Andy in the "Toy Story" films. If you're still confused, the idea is Buzz in "Lightyear" is a fictional character (one voiced by Chris Evans) from a hit sci-fi movie likely released in the 1970s or '80s in the "Toy Story" universe. The film then gave rise to the Buzz action figure (voiced by Tim Allen) that Andy's mom bought for her son in the '90s. Honestly, I'm probably making this more confusing than it actually is by trying to explain it, so let's just drop it and move on to the trailer, shall we?

The international "Lightyear" trailer forgoes an in-depth look at the movie's plot in favor of playing up the action, jokes, and the antics of Buzz's robotic cat Sox (voiced by Peter Sohn, the longtime Pixar artist who co-wrote and directed "The Good Dinosaur"). I personally think Sox is delightful and probably my favorite thing from the "Lightyear" footage released so far, but I'm also biased when it comes to orange cats, robotic or not.

For those who are still fuzzy on the story, here's the official synopsis for "Lightyear:"

"The definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy, 'Lightyear' follows the legendary Space Ranger after he's marooned on a hostile planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth alongside his commander and their crew. As Buzz tries to find a way back home through space and time, he's joined by a group of ambitious recruits and his charming robot companion cat, Sox. Complicating matters and threatening the mission is the arrival of Zurg, an imposing presence with an army of ruthless robots and a mysterious agenda."

Thankfully, "Lightyear" continues to look and sound more like Pixar's attempt to pay homage to various sci-fi classics from the 1970s and '80s (Buzz's space craft seems to have been modeled almost directly after the spaceship in "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial "), and less like a hollow, corporate-mandated extension of the "Toy Story" movies. Director Angus MacLane, making his solo feature film debut after co-helming "Finding Dory," has assured that's the case on multiple occasions, though we won't know for certain until the movie arrives. Still, here's hoping Pixar ends up going two-for-two in 2022, between "Lightyear" and the wonderful "Turning Red."

"Lightyear" opens in theaters on June 17, 2022.