Lightyear (film)
Lightyear is a 2022 American animated science-fiction action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film is a spin-off of the Toy Story film series, but does not take place in the same fictional universe as they do; rather, it is presented as a film that characters in the main Toy Story films have seen. Lightyear centers on the character Buzz Lightyear, who in this film is human and not a toy. The film was directed by Angus MacLane and produced by Galyn Susman, from a screenplay and story written by MacLane and Jason Headley, both of whom co-wrote the latter with Matthew Aldrich; Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton serve as executive producers. It stars Chris Evans as the voice of the title character, with Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, James Brolin, and Uzo Aduba in supporting roles. The film follows Buzz Lightyear (Evans) operating as a space ranger who, after being marooned on the hostile planet T'Kani Prime with his commander and crew, tries to find a way back home while encountering a threat to the universe's safety.
Lightyear
- Jason Headley
- Angus MacLane
- Angus MacLane
- Matthew Aldrich
- Jason Headley
Galyn Susman
- Jeremy Lasky (camera)
- Ian Megibben (lighting)
Anthony J. Greenberg
- June 8, 2022 (El Capitan Theatre)
- June 17, 2022 (United States)
105 minutes
United States
English
$200 million
The concept of a human Buzz Lightyear, who exists in a fictional universe within a fictional universe, was first introduced in the 2000 direct-to-video film Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, which was then used as the pilot to the TV series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2000–2001). MacLane, an avid science-fiction fan, pitched the idea of a film featuring Buzz Lightyear at Pixar, after finishing work on Finding Dory (2016). The project was officially announced in an investor meeting held by Disney in December 2020. The animators gave the film a "cinematic" and "chunky" look, evoking the science-fiction films MacLane grew up watching. To design the vehicles of the film, MacLane used Lego pieces to build various ships and pitch them to the designers and artists. For its IMAX scenes, the team used two virtual cameras, a regular camera with a 35mm equivalent sensor, and a larger sensor equivalent to 65 millimeters, a procedure earlier initiated by Pixar in WALL-E (2008). Development on Lightyear lasted for five and a half years, on an approximate $200 million budget. Michael Giacchino composed the film's score, while Ren Klyce served as its sound designer.
Lightyear premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 8, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 17, in RealD 3D, 4DX, Dolby Cinema and IMAX formats. It became the first Pixar film to be released in theaters worldwide since Onward in March 2020, and the first to include scenes specifically formatted for IMAX theaters. The film underperformed at the box-office, grossing $226.4 million worldwide against the approximate $200 million production budget, and losing the studio an estimated $106 million.
Additionally, Tim Peake appears in an uncredited cameo as a worker at the mission control center.[7]
Marketing[edit]
Following the announcement of the film, a first look was shown at the Disney Investor Day on December 10, 2020.[36][37] The marketing campaign for Lightyear began on October 27, 2021, with the release of a teaser trailer, set to David Bowie's "Starman", that received 83 million views in its first 24 hours.[38] Compared to other Pixar films, the teaser's viewership ranks second behind a teaser for Incredibles 2 (114 million).[39][40] It was positively reviewed by commentators, with CNN-based editor Leah Asmelash writing, "the trailer filled many millennials with sentimentality".[41] The first trailer was released online on February 8, 2022,[42][43] and was then aired at Super Bowl LVI on February 13, 2022.[44][45] ComicBook.com's Aaron Perine opined that "the animated movie will be as comedic as expected of these family movies" and further stated "Chris Evans' version of the Space Ranger takes shape as he gets used to some alien surroundings. Also of note would be Lightyear's new companion, a robot cat that will also end up being comedic relief played by Peter Sohn."[42] Aaron Couch of The Hollywood Reporter had stated "The Lightyear trailer reveals that Buzz is sent on a rescue flight after he and a group of people are stranded on a planet. After a year of hard work, they've managed to send Buzz off world for help."[46]
On April 27, 2022, the first 30 minutes of the film was premiered at CinemaCon along with the second trailer,[47][48] which released online six days earlier.[49][50] It was positively received by critics, who referred to the film as "Pixar's Star Wars" and a "beautifully animated, fun, and emotional journey", and appreciated the cinematic qualities, including animation and visuals.[48][51] Critics further went on to praise the robotic cat Sox (voiced by Peter Sohn), and called it "the standout performer."[52] CNBC's Sarah Whitten compared Sox, with K-2SO of Rogue One and Baymax from Big Hero 6, attributing the character with a "dry sense of humor and blunt vocal delivery and also an innocence and caring nature".[52] On May 5, 2022, a poster, stills from the film, and a "special look" trailer was released online.[53][54]
Fandango Media's managing editor Erik Davis, and John Rocha, film critic for Outlaw Nation, predicted a demand for Sox toys, even before the film's release.[52] Mattel, which had the master toy license for Toy Story franchise, had announced a new Lightyear toy line consisting of action figures, playsets and vehicles.[55][56] After Sox's character in the film received praise from insiders, Mattel created "an animatronic interactive version" which costs $80, apart from the plush and action figures. Mattel's executive lead, PJ Lewis had said "We knew he was much more than a sidekick and offered multiple ways to drive product innovation for the 'Lightyear' line. Plus, we have a few cat people on the team who were smitten."[52]
Lego released three sets based on scenes from the film, which were released on April 24, 2022.[57] On May 29, 2022, Ferrari announced that Lightyear would be a sponsor on their cars starting at the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix. In addition, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. would also be cast for roles in the film, respectively voicing for the Italian and Spanish versions.[58] American food manufacturing company Lightlife, collaborated with Disney and Pixar for launching several food packages inspired from the film. It also planned for a sweepstake promotion, which enable customers to win several prizes, including private film screening and Disney merchandises.[59][60] Singapore-based WE Cinemas announced the debut of "Lightyear Premium Pack" with refreshments marketed with stills and images from the film.[61] A half-hour-long documentary featurette entitled Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear was released on the Disney+ streaming service on June 10 in anticipation of the film's release, chronicling the conception and production of Lightyear.[62]
Release[edit]
Theatrical[edit]
Lightyear premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 8, 2022,[63] and was theatrically released in the United States on June 17, 2022,[64][65] by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in RealD 3D, 4DX, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX formats.[66][64] It is Pixar's first film since Onward (2020) to receive a theatrical release after Soul (2020), Luca (2021) and Turning Red (2022) were assigned direct-to-streaming releases on Disney+ in response to the closure of cinemas due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[67][68] Lightyear also became Pixar's first film to have virtual IMAX cameras in its progress.[69]
Reception[edit]
Streaming viewership[edit]
According to Whip Media, Lightyear was the 2nd most watched movie in the United States across all platforms, during the weekend of August 5, 2022, to August 7, 2022.[95] According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, Lightyear was the 10th most watched program across all platforms, during the week of August 12, 2022.[96] According to Nielsen Holdings, Lightyear was the 9th most streamed movie across all platforms, during the week of August 29, 2022, to September 4, 2022.[97]
Lightyear was the most watched movie worldwide on Disney+ in August 2022.[98] It was on the number one spot on the platform for 35 days consecutively.[99]
Box office[edit]
Lightyear grossed $118.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $108.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $226.4 million.[1][2] It was the fourth highest-grossing animated film of 2022 in the U.S. and the fifth worldwide.[100] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film lost the studio $106 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.[101]
In the United States and Canada, Lightyear was projected to gross $70–85 million from 4,255 theaters in its opening weekend, with some estimates reaching as high as $105 million.[19][102][103] However, after making just $20.7 million on its first day (including $5.2 million from Thursday night previews), estimates were lowered to $51–55 million. It went on to debut to $50.6 million, finishing second behind holdover Jurassic World Dominion.[104] Additionally, the film earned $34.6 million from 43 international markets, bringing its worldwide three-day debut to $85.2 million.[105] In its second weekend, Lightyear declined 64.1% to $18.2 million,[106] the second-lowest sophomore drop for a Pixar film after Onward (73%), which opened at the onset of the pandemic.[107]
Both Deadline Hollywood and Variety attributed the performance to competition from Jurassic World Dominion and Top Gun: Maverick, though ultimately noted it as a disappointment given the brand strength of both Pixar and the Toy Story franchise.[102][108] Los Angeles Times writer Ryan Faughnder believed that the film was at a disadvantage, since, as a spin-off film, it did not have well-known Toy Story characters such as Woody. He also noted that spin-offs tend to not gross as much as the main franchise installments, and compared the film to the spin-off films Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) and Hobbs & Shaw (2019).[109] Pamela McClintock of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that, in addition to competition from Jurassic World Dominion and Top Gun: Maverick, the lackluster opening was attributed to brand confusion in the film's marketing.[110] McClintock, Martha Ross of The Mercury News, and The Washington Post's Sonny Bunch also questioned if the response from people over the inclusion of a lesbian couple kissing and the decision not to cast Tim Allen in the role of Buzz Lightyear were the reasons for the film's underwhelming opening.[110][111][112] Other box office analysts believed family audiences might have not shown up to theaters after becoming accustomed to the availability of Pixar films at home after their three previous films, Soul (2020), Luca (2021), and Turning Red (2022), were released directly to Disney+ during the pandemic.[108][113] Some box office analysts theorized that family audiences were reluctant to attend theaters in general due to COVID-19 concerns, although this was disproven after Minions: The Rise of Gru opened to $107 million in the U.S. and Canada two weeks later.[114][115][116]
Critical response[edit]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 74% of 319 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Lightyear settles for being a rather conventional origin story instead of reaching for the stars, but this gorgeously animated adventure ably accomplishes its mission of straightforward fun."[117] It is the lowest rated film of the Toy Story franchise on Rotten Tomatoes.[102] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 57 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[118] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 85% (including an average 4 out of 5 stars), with 62% saying they would definitely recommend it.[102]
Peter Bradshaw's four-star review for The Guardian stated: "This cracking origin story for Toy Story's spaceman hero is fun and clever and reminds us why we loved Pixar in the first place."[119] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a funny spinoff with suspense and heart, a captivatingly spirited toon take on splashy live-action retro popcorn entertainment."[120] Emma Stefansky of Thrillist said: "There's plenty in Lightyear to enjoy, and it's one of Pixar's better efforts over the last 10 years, but it ultimately feels half-done. It feels like it ought to be the beginning of something, like its narrative is a prologue stretched into a feature awaiting the much more interesting second and third and fifth installments down the road."[121] RogerEbert.com-based critic Odie Henderson praised the score who called it as "one of Giacchino's best scores" and "a delectable spoof of bombastic space movie music that elevates every scene it plays under".[122] Valerie Complex of Deadline Hollywood stated: "Lightyear does not rely too much on Toy Story lore to build its world, but it would have benefited from showing some connection to that part of the franchise instead of using title cards." She further praised the technical aspects, and wrote: "The animation is gorgeous and hyper-realistic. The art department put their all into designing this universe and its characters and robotic villains," but criticized the screenplay saying "sometimes the story becomes convoluted and drags on, almost like there was a need to pad the runtime, causing Lightyear to get into even more trouble and creating a never-ending slew of trampling obstacles."[123]
Variety's Owen Gleiberman wrote: "Lightyear in its eminently conventional and likable way, is a far less audacious movie than that. For what is surely not the first time, Buzz's I-can-do-anything myopic bravado has failed [...] part of that may be that in the Toy Story films, he is a toy — that's part of the joke, one that Buzz is never quite in on. He thinks he's a real Space Ranger! So when you actually turn Buzz Lightyear into a Space Ranger, you enlarge him and diminish him at the same time."[124] In contrast, BBC's Nicholas Barber wrote: "The story is thin, repetitive, and almost entirely dependent on the heroes being clumsy" and gave the film two stars.[125] David Ehrlich of IndieWire wrote: "Lightyear remains firmly stuck in the past even as it hurtles toward the future. And while screenwriters Jason Headley and Angus MacLane need that push-pull in order to tell a story about reconciling the lure of nostalgia with the potential for something new, it's hard for a movie to sell us on living in the moment when every scene feels like it's settling for less."[126] Kaleem Aftab of Time Out called the film "a franchise low, Pixar's meta Toy Story spin-off gets lost in space."[127] The film has received criticism from some conservatives, who have argued that the film's scene with a same-sex kiss is inappropriate for children, saying that Disney sexualizes them.[128]
When asked about Lightyear during a 2023 interview, Pixar's chief creative officer Pete Docter stated: "we asked too much of the audience. When they hear Buzz, they're like, great, where's Mr. Potato Head and Woody and Rex? And then we drop them into this science fiction film that they're like, What? [...] so I think there was a disconnect between what people wanted/expected and what we were giving to them."[129]
