Tim Allen on the ‘Lightyear’ Debate: “I Wish There Was a Better Connection” to ‘Toy Story’ Films
The actor, who voiced Buzz Lightyear in four features, says the new film has “a whole new team that really have nothing to do with the first movies.”
During a video interview with Extra, Allen explained that he has “stayed out of this” but went on to recall a years-ago conversation with Pixar creatives about potentially exploring Buzz’s origins. “As I’ve said a long time ago, we talked about this many years ago,” Allen said. “It came up in one of the sessions; I said what a fun movie that would be.”
Lightyear marks the first feature in the franchise that does not credit John Lasseter, the Pixar co-founder who directed the first two Toy Story films.
He did not return to the company after a sabbatical in 2017 amid allegations of sexual misconduct from co-workers.
“It’s just a whole new team that really have nothing to do with the first movies,” Allen continued, though he didn’t name anyone specifically.
He said he initially assumed that Lightyear would feature human actors rather than being an animation project and added, “There’s really no Toy Story’s Buzz without Woody.”
Calling himself “a plot guy,” the Home Improvement alum said he expected Lightyear to “be a big adventure story. As I see, it’s not a big adventure story. It’s a wonderful story. It just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy.”
Allen concluded, “It has no relationship to Buzz. It’s just no connection. I wish there was a better connection.”
The film bowed to an underwhelming $50.6 million, coming in at No. 2 behind holdover Jurassic World Dominion when it debuted.
“The movie didn’t hit the right buttons,” a rival film exec previously said about Lightyear’s disappointing opening.
Lightyear has been a source of controversy in recent weeks. Patricia Heaton decried the film prior to the June 17 release for not involving Allen.
The movie has also spurred headlines over reactions to a same-sex kiss.