Only a few months have passed since the —almost— always infallible Pixar made many of us fall in love with his wonderful coming of age ‘Red’ and, now, the prestigious animation studio returns to the fray with ‘Lightyear’; an animated spin-off of the ‘Toy Story’ saga focused on the Space Ranger that will hit our movie theaters next June 17.
On the occasion of its imminent premiere, in Espinof we have been able to participate in the online presentation wheel of the filmin which its director Angus MacLane, its composer Michael Giacchino, its producer Galyn Susman and several members of its cast, led by Chris Evans, have given some clues about this sci-fi show with vintage flavor.
The birth of the project
As it could not be otherwise, one of the issues discussed during the event was the birth of the project, conceived as the movie that Andy, the “child” of Rex, Woody and company in the Toy Story saga, saw before buying his Buzz toy. This is how MacLane explained it.
“I always wanted to tell the story of the Space Rangers and Buzz Lightyear, and I also wanted to create something fun to do after ‘Finding Dory,’ which yes, it was fun, but a big challenge because its main character constantly forgets what he wants. So I thought, ‘Why don’t we make a cool science fiction movie?’ all those geeky, nerdy sci-fi elements.
With this concept so clear, it was inevitable that the film would have references to some timeless classics of the genre. But, according to Galyn Susman, It wasn’t specific titles that inspired the projectbut the sensations of the sci fi eighties.
“It was not a specific intellectual property [lo que nos inspiró], but 80s sci-fi in general, which we grew up with and love. Those movies have an immersive, tangible, interesting feel, from ‘Star Wars,’ obviously, to ‘Aliens’… Those are the movies that we watched dozens and dozens of times, that told us something. You can’t help but make references when you’ve seen them so many times.”
MacLane He developed what was stated by his producer in this way:
“At first we looked at thrillers, what makes them work. Science fiction, sometimes, is just the mayonnaise that is spread over the film. Just like Raiders of the Lost Ark was conceived as a set of setpieces, here we worked on setpieces that would be cool to see in the movie and, at the same time, on the emotional part of the movie that would make me care about Buzz. Those were the two things we started working on when making the movie.”
From Tim Allen to Chris Evans
Of course, one of the themes present in the presentation has been the change of interpreter who lends his voice to the star of the show. On this occasion, Chris Evans has been in charge of getting in front of the microphone to breathe life into Buzz Lightyear, but the reason why Tim Allen has not returned has all the logic in the world. Susman has reasoned as follows.
“Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear the toy, he is the personification of Buzz Lightyear the toy. We’re not doing a ‘Toy Story’ movie, we’re doing the ‘Lightyear’ movie, so first of all, we needed to have a different person playing this Lightyear than the toy. Next, we were looking to turn a supporting character into the lead in his own movie, so we needed someone who could do drama and comedy in a way that didn’t affect the character.”
MacLane underlined Galyn’s words.
“Obviously the character is different, and when you see the movie it makes sense. The tone of this movie is different from the character in ‘Toy Story,’ technically he’s smarter, because he’s not comic relief, he has to be funny but not too goofy, and that’s Chris.”
For his part, his own Chris Evans has opened up about what drew him to the roleand it is, precisely, the opportunity to give a twist to a well-known character.
“Exploring a character we all know so well from a new perspective. The Buzz we all know is a toy, and as such he has a place in the world, a toy is a toy, he doesn’t have to worry about having a disease or… Now he has to adapt to the decisions that people make and their impact. It’s fun to put Buzz in that context. I love ‘Toy Story’ and Buzz Lightyear, but if I had to play another Disney animated character, although I don’t think I could, I would want it to be Robin Hood. I don’t have that cool British accent.”
Pixar and the cinematic experience
The prestige of the Pixar studio has also come to the fore during the talk with the team and the cast of ‘Lightyear’. Taika Waititi has not hesitated to praise the study and to label him as a role model.
“Especially with Pixar, there is the relentless pursuit of the perfect story. You can see it over and over again in his movies. I always go back to watch them, not just for the entertainment or the thrill, but to study how they structure feature films, their narrative economy, the way they write scripts… They always get it right in an irritating way. I’m not afraid to steal the techniques they use, because as a filmmaker, it’s inspiring to see these people consistently make perfect movies.”
Fortunately, after the disappointment of not having been able to enjoy his latest works on the big screen, ‘Lightyear’ will return Pixar to theaters it should never have left, and it will do it in style in IMAX. How did you come to the decision to bet on this great format?
“I knew this movie needed to be a cinematic experience. IMAX is a format that celebrates this experience, and by making the film in this way you imply that it is something big. By conceiving it from the ground up in IMAX you’re saying, ‘This is something we believe in.’ Once I had the idea, I pitched it to the president of Pixar and he totally understood the value of investing in it.”