Lightyear is the latest Disney and Pixar animated film that tells the story of Buzz Lightyear, an astronaut and space ranger who was known as a toy in the Toy Story films. The film will be released in theaters as well as IMAX on June 17, 2022.

Are you curious about this feature film about Buzz Lightyear? Let's look at 10 facts about Lightyear, a film about the origins of Buzz Lightyear the space ranger from Star Command. To infinity… and beyond!

1. Lightyear’s Film Director Wants To Make Sci-Fi Films Like The One From The Heyday Of Sci-Fi

"Is that amazing?" That's the question Lightyear film director Angus MacLane will ask himself and his crew when completing a departmental review of the film project. Angus wanted to make a sci-fi film reminiscent of the genre's heyday that was made in the 1970s to 1990s.

In his mind those decades produced some of the most awesome, fun, and iconic sci-fi films to date. Examples include Star Trek, Star Wars, Terminator, Predator films, to Starship Troopers.

2. Lightyear Tells the Human Version of Buzz Lightyear, Not the Toy Version

Lightyear is about Buzz Lightyear, but this is not the toy version of Buzz Lightyear that we know in the Toy Story films. Lightyear is actually a Buzz Lightyear-themed action film that Andy (from Toy Story) saw in theaters that inspired him to ask for a Buzz Lightyear action figure.

As we know, Buzz Lightyear is a space ranger who protects and explores the galaxy. However, on a journey to an uncharted planet, Buzz Lightyear and his crew are stranded on the planet, bringing us to the very center of the film's story. How did Buzz Lightyear get off the planet when his ship made an emergency landing? Buzz Lightyear must rebuild his ship and keep trying until he succeeds, fails, or adapts to the planet.

3. Showing the Time Dilation Phenomenon Like in Interstellar 

Time travel or time manipulation is a key element in any sci-fi genre film and Lightyear is no different. In Buzz Lightyear's quest to escape the planet he crashed into, he quickly learns upon his return that he has experienced time dilation, i.e. he has passed 4 years in the duration of a test flight that he only felt for 4 minutes in space.

As Buzz completes his test flight, he becomes uncomfortable with the constantly changing world around him and he just wants to keep up. Previously, many people would not have thought that Pixar would make a film that depicts the expansion of time in space as happened in the film Interstellar.

4. Pixar Actually Did Research With NASA For The Making Of This Film

In addition to exploring how time dilation works with NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, the Lightyear film crew from Pixar also visited the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, United States to learn as much as they could about the history and future of space travel.

They explore the construction of space suits, vehicles, airplanes, and jumps with both feet. They even shared lots of details about the buttons, knobs, dials, switches, and more to ensure that the Buzz ship's cockpit will look real and operate in a realistic way. NASA astronauts even brought one of the photos of Pixar's research trip to display on the International Space Station beyond Earth's atmosphere.

5. Lightyear XL-01 to XL-15 Ship Design Developed by the Director Through LEGO 

In addition to all the realistic reference material the Lightyear film team could gather, the film crew also wanted the starship in this story to have an imaginative element as well. An avid LEGO fan, Angus as the film's director sometimes brings models of the ships he builds to his team for inspiration.

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6. Buzz Costume Inspired by NASA's Space Suit

Fran Kalal (Tailor and Sim Supervisor) admits that one of the most interesting elements of Lightyear is the number of costumes they have to make for Buzz. Since Buzz is gone for four years on each of his flights, scientists on the planet can use that time to continue to innovate and develop his outfits.

Fran and the Pixar team used inspiration in the design, stitching, and construction of the actual NASA spacesuit through history to influence the film's design.

7. Zurg’s Design in Lightyear Looks Different From Toy Story Zurg

A lot of people are happy Zurg is back in this Lightyear movie. The Pixar team did a great job keeping details about the Zurg a secret. The Pixar crew knew they had to change Zurg's appearance to make him a real threat in the film. Zurg exudes power and presence and the mere sight of him lets his audience know that he is a terrible threat to Buzz and his friends.

The updated Zurg's design takes inspiration from Japanese anime as well as mechas, but Greg Peltz is quick to point out that even though he looks threatening, Zurg isn't a mindless robot. Zurg in this film is a complete villain character with intelligence.

Unlike in previous versions, in Lightyear, Zurg does not have the cloak that is his trademark. Galyn Susman (Producer) hinted that viewers might see Zurg in a zero-gravity fight scene.

The Pixar team brings Zurg to life with intense intensity, and there's no one better to match that intensity than actor James Brolin who will lend his voice to the character.

8. Features Famous Actors and Actresses

Lightyear is awaited by many people because it presents a line of famous actors and actresses as voice actors. For example, Chris Evans who plays Captain America Steve Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) will voice Buzz Lightyear, Uzo Aduba as Alisha Hawthorne (Buzz's best friend), Keke Palmer as Izzy Hawthorne, and Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Commander Burnside

The film also features well-known actors Taika Waititi as Mo Morrison, Dale Soules as Darby Steel, James Brolin as Zurg, Peter Sohn as SOX (Buzz's robotic cat companion), and Mary McDonald-Lewis as the voice of IVAN (Internal Voice Activated Navigator). The fact that is quite unique here is that Mary is also the voice of OnStar, a familiar voice in General Motors vehicles. So, he is suitable as a voice command in Buzz's ship.

9. Buzz has a Cat Robot Named SOX

Why does Buzz Lightyear have SOX, his personal companion robot, which is also in the form of a cat? As Buzz's time travels, Star Command realizes that he may need something or someone who doesn't age like the humans around him to talk to.

Lightyear director Angus also noted that he likes cats but also wants to introduce a cute sidekick protagonist. SOX not only acts as an adorable sidekick like R2D2, Baby Yoda, or Chewie but also constantly accompanies Buzz all the time.

SOX also comes with at least 17 features that make it tough even though it's very small and cute. Angus notes that Peter Sohn's voice is perfect for SOX because it can project intelligence but also has naive innocence as well. Peter Sohn's voice sounds familiar, that's because he has voiced several previous Pixar characters namely Emile in Ratatouille, Squishy in Monsters University, Transitron in Toy Story of TERROR! and several other characters.

10. Lightyear Will Be Pixar's First Film To Be Produced With Full IMAX 1.43:1 Aspect Ratio

What's really an interesting fact is that Pixar had dual channel when producing movies where they could view the image in a 1.43:1 ratio and then switch to the anamorphic widescreen format (2.39:1 ratio) to view the image in full narrower format.

Jeremy Lasky (Director of Photography) notes that they actually use different virtual lenses when staging films for each format. So, watching Lightyear movies in both formats will provide a slightly different viewing experience.

Well, that's the discussion of 10 facts about Buzz Lightyear's film, Lightyear, played by Chris Evans. Do you think there are more facts about Buzz Lightyear's film that have not been listed in this article? You can share them in the comment section.

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