Although there has been plenty of debate surrounding the voice casting of Buzz Lightyear in Disney/Pixar's Lightyear, Tim Allen has largely stayed out of it. But with the animated adventure now out in theaters, the original Buzz Lightyear voice actor has finally commented on the Toy Story spinoff and not being asked to return as the iconic space ranger.
“The short answer is I’ve stayed out of this because it has nothing to do [with my character],” Allen told “Extra” when asked about the spinoff. “This is a whole new team that really had nothing to do with the first movies.”
Many have been left a little confused by the premise of Lightyear, which serves as an origin story for Buzz Lightyear - not the character we all grew up watching Allen voice in the Toy Story franchise, but rather the hero who inspired the toy. So it makes sense that Pixar would cast a different voice actor for the part.
Allen didn't necessarily seem to have a problem with Chris Evans voicing Buzz in the Lightyear movie, but admitted that without Woody, there's "no Toy Story Buzz." So in a sense, it's almost like he agrees with the casting direction.
Allen continued: "Really, [Woody voice Tom] Hanks and I, well, there's really no Toy Story Buzz without Woody .... I'm a plot guy. This was done in 1997, it seemed to be a big adventure story and, as I see, it's not a big adventure story. It's a wonderful story, it just doesn't seem to have any connection to the toy."
"It has no relationship to Buzz," he added. "It's just no connection, I wish there was a better connection to it."
Like others, Allen appears to be a bit confused by the overall premise of the movie, because it does have a connection to Buzz — maybe just not the one he originally envisioned. It seems, however, that he's not the only one who didn't quite "get it.". Lightyear has only managed to muster $152 million worldwide — far below typical Disney expectations for a Pixar movie. Whether that's due to the confusing premise, Allen not being in the movie, people getting accustomed to Pixar movies going straight to Disney+, or something else entirely, is all up for debate when trying to pinpoint exactly what went wrong with the film.
What did you think of Chris Evans' portrayal of the iconic space ranger in Lightyear?