MouseLuxo - The Movie That Created Toy Story

I saw the new Disney/Pixar movie Lightyear this afternoon and the theater was about half full. To be fair, it was 4pm on a beautiful day and the temperature had dropped to a tolerable 91 degrees outside.

A couple observations. First, I missed having the Pixar short before the movie. Second, I saw a trailer for the upcoming Strange World, a Don Hall animated feature for Thanksgiving 2022. I have to admit, this one got passed me. Announced in April 2020 (wonder what was going on then that I was so distracted!), this is an animated film about a family of explorers discovering a fantastical land. Will it follow in the recent success of Encanto and Moana? I can only hope.

In 1995, a boy named Andy received a toy for his birthday. This is the movie on which the toy was based.

That is the introduction and premise of the Disney/Pixar movie, Lightyear. It introduces you to character of Buzz Lightyear (played in the movie by Chris Evans). The movie was Andy’s favorite, which is why he received the Buzz Lightyear toy for his birthday. Like all Pixar movies, it works on multiple levels, but for Andy, it was a formative sci-fi adventure (think Star Wars for the rest of us who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s).

Indeed, there is a bit of a Star Wars undercurrent running throughout the movie, both in music and story. It is certainly plausible this movie was released in mid-90’s to capture the flavor and excitement of a Star Wars inspired generation of new parents eager to share their secret sci-fi passions with their offspring. I can see Andy’s mom and dad taking him to see the movie and how the embryos of creativity nurturing in his mind could be fertilized by Buzz’s adventure.

As the trailers imply, Buzz is a Space Ranger who prides himself on always getting the job done. There is no backstory to Buzz’s backstory, putting Space Rangers in context, or even providing a home planet for Buzz his fellow Space Rangers. There is a lot that you just take for granted because it’s not really important, like who put out the original distress call that put the story in motion. What is important is how you respond when things go wrong, and this is a life story from which any kid or adult can learn.

Full of action, adventure, humor and surprises, it is a story of a man who learns to grow up without aging. And a sidekick that makes cats almost likeable. :slight_smile:

Lightyear has a better audience reaction than its critical review, but the critical reviews are not bad. Pixar sets the bar high, and perhaps the most negative thing I’ve read is that the movie is comparable to Soul and Turning Red, released on Disney+. Personally, I think Soul deserved the big screen treatment. It was a wonderful, ethereal film with incredible music. Turning Red was also fun, but I wonder if it wasn’t painted too much as a “girl” movie instead of a movie about family expectations (not to mention hidden secrets).

BTW, the hidden family secrets theme has surface again for anyone who is watching the new Disney+ Marvel series, Ms. Marvel.

The good news is that the FDA has approved vaccinations for children 6mo to 5yrs old, and while that might not increase the turnout for Lightyear, I do hope that it provides some assurance for parents who might remain hesitant about vaccinating their 5-12 age children, who are in the prime Pixar demographic.

One last thought. Pixar movies tend to live on long past their theatrical distribution phase, so that’s something to consider when bemoaning box office expectations and reality. This could lead to a refresh of Buzz Lightyear toys, and hopefully the introduction of Izzy Hawthorne toys as well. And certainly, everyone should have a home companion like Sox, more compact and litter trained than Baymax.

But also, Lightyear will get many plays when it is introduced to Disney+ later this summer or early autumn. To me, movie theaters are pretty safe, especially if vaccinated. For many, however, they are just not yet there. Plus, though movie ticket prices have not gone up (I don’t think - I pay a monthly membership), inflationary pressures may lead parents to wait until the movie comes out on Disney+.

On this front, I think movie theaters do a disservice, making movies prohibitively expensive to many members of the general audience. Theaters have chosen to justify their high prices with improvements to the big screen experience, such as introducing Dolby Vision on top of stadium seating and mobile concession ordering (a convenience also necessitated by the pandemic). But what I really think would draw people back to the big screen is reasonable ticket and concession prices. It should not be part of the moviegoing experience to be ripped off, at least not the kind theaters want to be remembered by.

Back to Lightyear, our friends often see us better than we see ourselves, but sometimes it takes looking in a mirror before we can truly learn the lessons we need to learn. Does living life mean living a life of purpose or a life of meaning? Can you live a life of both? This is the fundamental question of Lightyear. And sometimes, you have to be marooned on a desolate planet with man-eating weeds and insectoids to find the answer.

The movie also puts into context many of the references Buzz makes in his early days as Andy’s toy when his life as a Space Ranger remained real. Undoubtedly, people will go back to the original Toy Story movie to compare the toy with the movie hero on which it was based. And a few will even be disappointed that the toy didn’t come with a hidden pen compartment, or that Toy Story Buzz never pressed the middle green button.

Ironically, the Toy Story character designers did such a great job at creating a believable Buzz Lightyear toy (so much so that creating an actual toy was made easier by the drawings and designs of the animators) that one of the biggest challenges was reverse engineering the movie character to be someone who looked like they were adapted into a toy. From Evans’ authoritative voice, later represented in toy form by Tim Allen, to the shape of Buzz’s head, to revealing of other physical features previously hidden inside the space ranger suit, to personality features hinted at but not explored in the toy Buzz, it is easy to see how Buzz Lightyear went from movie character to a toy character in a movie.

Fuskie
Who notes the movie had traditional bonus clips in the credits, but it was after the Luxo lamp shut off that the teaser for a sequel came along, though it’s not clear if that sequel was released in the late 90’s or not (though if the movie was successful enough for Andy to be so excited to receive his birthday present that he forgot his best bud Woody, you would have to assume the answer to both questions is yes)…


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Thanks for the report. Very insightful here (and that’s a good way of putting it, the movie that created TS).

First, just something out of the way…this right now is a bomb, there is no other way to put it. When you define perfection in art as Pixar has, well, you’ve got a tough standard to reach…that’s the curse of being really, really good. It’s unavoidable…as mentioned by Fuskie, this is going to happen sometimes. As Patrick stated, I have read professional reviews that seem to say the same thing - good, but not exemplary.

As Fuskie also mentioned and as Deadline stated as an aside, it is possible this improves in future weekends. However…the odds of that are not in our favor.

Here is a link to Deadline’s latest update (the Sunday AM section):

https://deadline.com/2022/06/lightyear-box-office-2-12350477…

A couple interesting notes: …

Deadline mentions that the social-media activation (if I am using that term correctly here, and I may not be) was not as energetic as some recent comparable pictures, and in terms of the “Toy Story” franchise itself. That does not bode well. There is a subtle implication that, hey, this brand is aging, and the odds of a spin-off not involving a bunch of anthropomorphic toys hanging out in a box may not necessarily reach the Tik Tok generation. Things, and IP, move on a bit, and while I am not saying the “Story” franchise is dead - I’ll get to that in a moment - I am merely saying that it becomes harder to connect with new generations as time goes on.

The competition right now - and I mean, literally right now - is just unusually fierce. “Jurassic W” was just stronger than expected this weekend. That made Buzz weaker than expected. Just what happened, is what it is. Here’s a very fascinating note from the article: “Top Gun” took in $44 million over the weekend, and apparently, for the fourth weekend out, that’s a hard number to reach. In fact, that fourth-weekend $44 million (assuming the estimate holds) is the third best, with only “American Sniper” (very oddly) and “Avatar” (not so odd) beating it. So, as another article mentioned, it so far is a better stat than “Wars” and Marvel features. Even if the estimate doesn’t hold, don’t miss the point - the competition is tough, other movies are performing, and I don’t think we can say “SARS virus” is the mitigating factor (not entirely, anyway).

I have to say, though, I read an article over at Slate (do not read this if you have not seen the film; if you have, it is interesting) -

https://slate.com/culture/2022/06/lightyear-movie-toy-story-…

— and the failure of “Lightyear” is pretty puzzling still. From what I have read here, this seems to be a complex, well-plotted science-fiction concept. Almost seems like a live-action adaptation could be made from it. I thought the twist element was neat, and would agree – as someone who has not seen the “Story” franchise, including “Light year”, save for the first one (and I was forced into that; while not a fan of all this Pixar stuff, I will say I can see the skill at hand) – that it represents a very fun plot hole for which an explanation could come later (I have my own thoughts on how that can be done).

I want to mention that I do not think Disney should abandon the “Story” series. In fact, if I was Chapek, know what I would do upon the weak showing of “L”? — I would immediately suggest to Pixar execs, hey, why not get the band back together and go for “Story 5”. I’d even consider a D+ “L” series (I’m not kidding). Disney is data-driven, of course, so probably won’t see much more of the “L” universe, and to be certain here, as Fuskie posted the epigram (again, if I am using this word correctly) to the film, this is a special-case scenario that takes a background element and expands it into a novelty picture that, in a very cool way, broadens the scope of the franchise. Again, though, the plot sounds really cool, and I think this was a very worthwhile experiment. As Fuskie states, this will indeed add value to D+.

I also have to mention I too was surprised by that teaser of “Strange World.” Firstly - you’ve got to love working in the word “Strange” to get the attention of the Upside-Down generation. And I have to say - really seems like another cool, sci-fi/fantasy adventure…more emphasis on fantasy than hard sci-fi, as “L” probably was a little closer to the latter. The teaser, with its newsreel-narrator, olden feel, and its 1950s “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers”-type trailer aesthetic, really worked for me and differentiated the property. I hope this one succeeds in the marketplace. But I wonder if it will be D±ed in the wake of “L” box-office returns…

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I disagree that Lightyear bombed. It was a solid movie facing high expectations as well as significant competition from Jurassic World and Top Gun Maverick. I’ll also note that the estimates only covered the three days from Friday to Sunday, and Monday is a national holiday, and in many states, a paid holiday. I’m going to wait to see whether Buzz has legs.

Fuskie
Who thinks the entertainment media is slow to consider and quick to judge…


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Fuskie,

… Monday is a national holiday, and in many states, a paid holiday.

I can’t speak about other states, but “Juneteenth” does not seem to be much of a holiday here in Massachusetts. Banks and non-essential federal offices are closed, but most businesses seem to be working their normal hours. I don’t know about state and local government offices.

Norm.

In Georgia, it was a state paid holiday. Unfortunately, in Iowa, it was not.

Fuskie
Who guesses it was actually fortunate since he gets paid for working the day but a long weekend would have been nice…


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Fuskie,

In Georgia, it was a state paid holiday. Unfortunately, in Iowa, it was not.

Who guesses it was actually fortunate since he gets paid for working the day but a long weekend would have been nice…

Does this mean that you were in Iowa on business?


I had an interesting conversation with a Teamster who retired last year. What came out in our conversation is that union members get paid days off only on the holidays specified in their union contracts, and that a new holiday like Juneteenth won’t get incorporated until the next round of negotiations when its addition will be a collective bargaining issue.

The other reality here is that the premise of making Juneteenth a national holiday – that it marks the end of slavery in the United States – is false. Historically, it’s the day when the slaves in Texas, who were the last slaves of the confederacy, were informed of the Emancipation Proclamation and set free. However, the Emancipation Proclamation applied only to the slaves of the confederacy and NOT to slaves in the slave states that did not secede from the union. The states of Maryland and Missouri subsequently abolished slavery on their own before the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States abolished it nationally, ending slavery in Delaware and Kentucky on 18 December of 1865. So, really, the national holiday commemorating the abolition of slavery should be on the 18th of December rather than the 19th of June – and Juneteenth should be a Texas state holiday rather than a national holiday.

Norm.

Norm.

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No. I work a remote contract to the State of Iowa but am based in Atlanta. I’ve never actually been to Iowa except through remote desktop.

Fuskie
Who has been working remote since before the pandemic made remoting cool…


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Being of an even older generation, young in the 50’s and 60’s, the Disney movies that resonated were films like the Swiss Family Robinson, and Treasure Island. My friends and I would go out and build the Swiss Family tree house and “Arrgg” sometimes explore the neighborhood looking for buried treasure.

The Disney films have always meant adventure and imagination for children across the past 100 years.

Walt

It will be interesting to see what kind of “legs” this movie has, as school is finally out for the summer up here in NH. The school season was a little longer this year because of snow days and winter school closures. Hopefully this will free up families from having to stay home on a school night.

Walt

It will be interesting to see what kind of “legs” this movie has, as school is finally out for the summer up here in NH.

Meaningless anecdatum:

We took my nine-year-old son to see Lightyear this past weekend. He’s probably the heart of the younger demo for the movie - he’s seen all the Toy Story movies and enjoyed them.

He kind of liked the movie, but…well, he didn’t get it. He didn’t understand why the “Buzz” in the movie wasn’t the “Buzz” of the other movies. The ‘meta’ aspects of the framing device - that this is the movie that spawned the toy that was the character in Toy Story - just sailed clear past him. Even after it was explained to him, he still didn’t get it. And while he somewhat enjoyed the movie, we could tell he was frustrated both by the fact that it wasn’t the ‘real’ Buzz in the movie and that he didn’t understand why.

Albaby

And I remember the Davy Crockett coonskin caps. - Ned

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Meaningless anecdatum

I’m not sure where you live but here it was FATHERS’ Day AND Juneteenth Celebrations. Which meant that Sunday was cookouts and Monday was parades plus concerts. Oh, add sunny and in the 70’s all three days mean movie theaters, not so much.

Walt

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I’m not sure where you live but here it was FATHERS’ Day AND Juneteenth Celebrations. Which meant that Sunday was cookouts and Monday was parades plus concerts. Oh, add sunny and in the 70’s all three days mean movie theaters, not so much.

I’m in Miami - movie theaters are a respite from the heat, and the theater was pretty full.

My anecdatum wasn’t about the weekend audience - it was about whether the movie appealed to him, since he’s in one of the target demos. It didn’t. After most Disney/Pixar offerings, he’s excited and enthused about what he’s just seen, and wants to see it again. Encanto, he was asking to see it again on the way to the car leaving the theater. This one is the first I can remember (other than Soul) that he hasn’t asked once to see it again.

Albaby

According to the survey site Rotten Tomatoes the critics have given Jurassic Park Dominion a 30% rating and the audience gave it a 70%. While Lightyear garnered a 75% score with the critics and 85% rating with the audience.

Only time will tell.

Walt

I have not heard great things about Jurassic World Dominion, but I will point out that Disney has benefitted from it’s success as the dinosaurs were continue to be created by LucasFilm’s ILM™.

Fuskie
Who wonders if instead of a brief statement at the start of the movie (and if you were late to the movie, you might have missed it), that they had created a scene with Andy in a movie theater, watching the the movie and then the movie expands from the set screen to the theater’s screen…


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