Buzz Lightyear returns to us in a very good intergalactic adventure – this time being dubbed in the original version by Chris Evans, and in the French version by Xavier Dolan.
The Buzz that we have known for 27 years is a toy, the Andy figurine, bought because the little boy loved the film in which the astronaut was the hero. And “Lightyear” is that movie. This explanation, which serves as an introduction to the feature film, immediately places the viewer in a kind of time capsule where the character of the figurine – his “To infinity and beyond!”, the assurance he constantly demonstrates – goes back to memory.
But here, Buzz is less “plastic”, less cartoonish, in a word, more human, even if he is a science fiction movie hero lost light years from Earth. Right from the start, in a subtle and fun way, enthusiasts notice subtle differences. He is serious, narrates what happens to him, a trait that Alisha (voiced by Uzo Aduba), his commander and best friend, laughs at.
The spaceship team finds itself trapped on an inhospitable planet due to mechanical problems. Buzz must therefore, in order to test the fuel necessary to take off again, carry out a series of test flights around the planet. But while those tests only last four minutes for him, they last years for the crew on the ground by virtue of a principle of physics that I cannot explain to you — yes, I always sucked at science.
Emotion seizes the “fans” in front of the passage of time, the aging of Buzz’s friends, the changes noted and the loss of bearings. Yes, Buzz becomes human. We see him doubting, realizing that he has no miracle solution, that he is fallible like all of us. The friendship that binds him to Alisha, then to her granddaughter, Izzy (voice of Keke Palmer) and unlikely mission mates, Darby Steel (voice of Dale Soules) and Mo Morrison (voice of Taika Waititi and Pierre-Yves Lord in French version), is explored in a touching way. And Sox, his robot cat, provides the needed humor when “Lightyear” gets dramatic.
There are also, in this very good animated film aimed at all generations of the family, references to science fiction classics such as “Star Wars”, “2001, A Space Odyssey”, “Star Trek”, “Wall-E”, “Armageddon”, etc. And we also salute the subplot of Alisha, who has a spouse with whom she starts a family, this fact being presented – and it was time – with a refreshing and long-awaited naturalness.
Perfectly balanced feature film – emotions, laughter, adventure, special effects and action -, “Lightyear” rides on the success of “Toy Stories” without managing, however, to stand out enough to generate the wonder felt in front of each feature film of the quadrilogy.
- Rating: 3.5 out of 5
- Lightyear movie banned in Emirates because of a kiss. Listen to the Stréliski-Cyr meeting at the microphone of Geneviève Pettersen on QUB radio: