8
Credit: Pixar Animation StudiosPixar Animation Studios’ latest endeavor, Lightyear, has already garnered its fair share of controversy — from Chris Evans’s “Photoshopped” promo photos at Disneyland Resort’s Disney California Adventure Park to the first animated same-sex kiss in Disney history, Lightyear is set to make waves.
Related: Former Captain America Weighs In on “Dark and Gritty” Reboot He’d Love
Evans is voicing the “real-life” version of Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear in the Lightyear spinoff, which is due to hit theaters on June 17, 2022.
The movie will follow the story of the “actual” — at least in the Toy Story universe (and maybe the Star Wars galaxy, for that matter) — astronaut who inspired Andy’s beloved space ranger in Toy Story (1995), Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Toy Story 4 (2019).
Related: Did You Notice the ‘Strange World’ Easter Egg in ‘Encanto’?
Now, the first critical reactions are rolling in and Lightyear has received a lower Rotten Tomatoes score than all four of the films in the Toy Story series — granted it is still rated 82% Fresh at the time of publication, which is incredible by most studios’ standards, but Pixar is used to near perfection.
Related: VIDEO: Woody From ‘Toy Story’ Loses His Eye During Parade
One article about the upcoming Pixar film noted:
The first two Toy Story films have perfect 100% scores on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning every single logged review for them was positive. Toy Story 3 sits at 98% on the site while Toy Story 4 has a 97% score.
Lightyear may not have a score as high as the other Toy Story movies, but it still carries on the tradition of acclaimed outings from Pixar. Cars 2, released more than a decade ago, is the only film in Pixar’s history to receive the negative “Rotten” designation on Rotten Tomatoes, scoring a meager 39%.
Related: Buzz Lightyear and Jessie Finally Get a Disney Park Makeover!
Lightyear has a 1 hour and 40 minute runtime.
More on Lightyear (2022)
Related: Pixar’s ‘Turning Red’ Added To Disney Attraction Despite Controversy
The official description of Angus MacLane’s upcoming space ranger movie reads:
From Disney and Pixar comes an animated sci-fi action-adventure — the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear (voice of Chris Evans), the hero who inspired the toy. “Lightyear” follows the legendary space ranger on an intergalactic adventure alongside ambitious recruits, Izzy, Mo and Darby, and his robot companion Sox. As this motley crew embark on their toughest mission yet, they must learn to work as a team to escape the evil Zurg and his dutiful robot army who are never far behind.
Are you excited to see Lightyear?