Lightyear (Franchise Deep Dive : Toy Story)

Retro Spectacles nears the finish line on the Toy Story franchise deep dive with the spin-off that broke Pixar’s streak. “Lightyear” (2022) opens with a title card: “This is the movie that Andy fell in love with in 1995.” Teddy and Mitcz reject that premise within minutes. What was pitched as “Andy’s Star Wars” landed as something far more somber and introspective than anyone expected from a Buzz Lightyear movie.

As a standalone sci-fi film, it’s genuinely good. As a Buzz Lightyear movie, it’s unrecognizable. Tim Allen publicly called it disconnected from the toy. The audience agreed. Lightyear broke Disney’s 30-year CinemaScore streak, returned only half its budget, and led to 75 layoffs at Pixar including director Angus MacLane.

Mitcz and Teddy dig into all of that along with the Tim Allen vs. Chris Evans casting, the manufactured culture war over a two-second kiss, and what this flop means for Toy Story 5. Plus, dual ratings for Lightyear depending on whether you judge it as a standalone film or a franchise entry.

Get your spectacles on and join us!