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Pixar did Buzz Lightyear dirty in 4. It’s for this reason that I believe the world’s greatest and Woody’s all-around amazing friend deserves the spotlight in a .
Though your average will likely agree that 4 could’ve been far worse, many were disappointed to see how sidelined Buzz was. The film was Woody’s through and through.
So, I feel that a potential 5 should not feature Woody at all. It should be an unapologetic .
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Buzz in 4
4 already seemed kind of unnecessary after how perfectly 3 wrapped up. However, Pixar still delivered the of Woody reuniting with Bo Peep and leaving Bonnie pretty well.
What fans weren’t so keen on is how Buzz took a backseat to new characters voiced by celebrities like and Ducky and Bunny.
This goes double for the rest of the gang. It seemed that aside from Woody, veterans like Rex, , Ham and the rest of the gang who we first saw in in were all pretty absent. Yes, they were there. But Buzz and the gang certainly weren’t in focus like they were in Story 1 through 3.
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Ok, so why is Buzz so special?
Buzz Lightyear is essentially the second main . The secondary protagonist, and the number-two , if you will. You go back to the first and though Woody is clearly the protagonist, it’s almost as much Buzz’s as it is the classic ‘s.
The continued in the second entry in the and again, though Woody was clearly the focus, Buzz is still firmly in a central role. He leads and the rest of the toys in their mission to save Woody from Al’s Barn, and he eventually comes face-to-face with both a second Buzz and The .
In 3, Buzz and Woody once again share the spotlight. Spanish Buzz was absolutely the addition to the that we never knew we needed!
Each only cemented Buzz Lightyear as one of the most essential fan-favourite.
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What would a look like?
Firstly, let’s address the elephant in the room; there is already a ; an called Buzz Lightyear of : The Begins (which is still missing on Disney+, by the way).
But as much as I this and , this isn’t what we’re talking about. No, what I mean is a full 3-D animated, in theatres that focuses on and stars Buzz Lightyear. But not just Buzz. The Potato Heads, , and all the rest of Andy’s toys would be along for the ride here.
But no, Woody.
That’s right, crazy though it may seem, my idea for a Buzz completely omits the franchise’s mascot. Woody is one of the best Pixar characters ever created, and Tom Hanks absolutely nails it.
However, he’s had his time to shine, and 4 firmly closed the book on this . In light of this, Woody would either be completely absent or would only feature in a minor cameo.
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So what would this Buzz be about?
Buzz and co. are still Bonnie’s toys, so it’d have to be a that doesn’t simply retread the beats of 1-3.
I’d want to see a that takes a heck of a long time to come up with a compelling, fantastic premise. One that puts Tim Allen’s Buzz firmly at the centre. Maybe it could even tie into versions of the animated universe, and see Buzz try to convince “real-life” versions of XR, Booster, and Mira that they’re not really space rangers.
As we know from 1 and 2, toys of this range are convinced that they’re space-people destined to defeat Zurg. Also, seeing Booster interact with the similarly cowardly Rex would be too perfect. Featuring all of these sci-fi themed characters also opens the door to create a sweet parody.
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But what’s the actual plot of this Buzz ?
My suggestion is to mine from the well of in-production content that never made it. Namely, the infamous first draft of 3, which itself put Buzz front and centre.
In this , the store recalls Buzz and sends him back to a factory in Taiwan.
There you have one heck of a compelling premise. Buzz could meet and interact with all kinds of defunct or broken action figures, and Pixar could address the dark question of how and when a becomes so broken that they lose their sentience.
Of course, this also opens the door for a lot of comedic scenes as well as the dark stuff. You could have an Emperor Zurg that is defunct and mistakenly thinks he’s a instead. Zurg was always a highlight of 2 for me, and I’d to see Pixar lean into the parody even heavier by really taking the mick out of Darth Vader.
This premise also forces the gang to find a new leader without Buzz or Woody around. Who would that be? Why Jessie, of course! Making Jessie the co-lead is a natural fit and a nice extension of 4 where Woody gave her the sheriff badge, not to mention her own personal stake in finding Buzz.
Seeing Jessie and Bullseye lead Ham, Rex, , and all of the original gang plus a handful of favorites from Bonnie’s toys like Mr Pricklepants (AKA the best ever made) would be service to the extreme, but it also makes total sense.
I’m also picturing an Woody in the style of the ventriloquist doll that Pixar originally designed him as in a dream sequence, but I think I’m getting ahead of myself.
That’s just my idea. But the point stands; 5 should be well-and-truly a .
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What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.