Pixar fans are eagerly awaiting the next big movie release.  This? Is a little sneak peek into the Lightyear characters …..who they are, and why they are important to the cast and creators of the film, and yes……I've got the tea on some PRETTY important scenes!

Get ready Pixar movie fans…….Lightyear is coming soon, and from what I've seen? It's going to be as epic as the Toy Story movies themselves.  I had the opportunity to learn more about the Buzz Lightyear movie recently directly from cast and creators AND to see the first 20 minutes of the upcoming film and what I saw? Made me feel even more excited about this nostalgic release than I already was!  If you love the Toy Story universe, then this incredible backstory will be right up your alley!

So what is this upcoming feature about?

This is Buzz Lightyear's origin story.  In the Toy Story films, the Buzz is a Buzz Lightyear action figure who was created as a part of the fandom of a movie franchise.  We never hear a ton about the movie, or a ton about Buzz as a character beyond the toy in the movies.  But this? THIS IS IT.  It's the actual sci-fi action-adventure movie that the Buzz toy was based on.  It follows the intergalactic adventure of…..Buzz Lightyear, an intergalatic space ranger.  Lightyear is created by director Angus MacLane (the co-director from Finding Dory) and produced by Galyn Susman (“Toy Story That Time Forgot”).

From the 20 minutes of footage I saw, Lightyear is an engaging story with a beautiful cast of characters that remind us how important life and love are.  This definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear is sure to be an instant classic.

See the latest official trailer for this animated feature here:

Lightyear Characters

The Lightyear characters are voiced by……an amazing group of actors and brought to life by the talented animation team at Pixar Studios.  You can expect to see:

Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Chris Evans): This? Is the real person Buzz Lightyear.  Not the Buzz Lightyear toy from the Toy Story films, but the character that he was based on.  This movie shows us so much about WHO Buzz is, and why kids like Andy love him so much.  Note: in the Toy Story franchise , Buzz is voiced by Tim Allen….but the Lightyear team talked quite a bit about the importance of having a new voice since this Buzz is a human, not the toy based on him.

Alicia Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba ): Buzz's best friend and the commander of the mission (fair warning, she will probably be your favorite character….she certainly is mine).  Yes, Alicia is taking a major step forward for Pixar films.  No spoilers but……I promise you'll cheer, smile, and maybe cry when you hear about her love story during the film and you'll be applauding Alicia's becoming a part of the pixar family.  Thank you Pixar.  We've been waiting for this one.

Izzy Hawthorne (voiced by Keke Palmer): Alicia's granddaughter.  She also becomes a space ranger, and is an integral part of Buzz's story (along with Mo and Darby voiced by Taika Waititi and Dale Soules).

Commander Burnside (voiced by Isiah Whitlock Jr.) : When Alicia is unable to continue commanding Buzz's missions, Commander Burnside steps in.  And he certainly has a different approach.

Sox (voiced by Peter Sohn): Yes, Buzz has a robotic cat.  Think Siri….but a cat.  With more personality.  I'm calling it now….we need Sox merch.  BADLY.

You'll also see Efren Ramirez as Diaz, James Brolin as evil Emperor Zurg, Anthony Armanino as Special Agent Chuck Bailey IV, and Mary McDonald-Lewis as the voice of the spaceship's onboard computer, IVAN, meaning internal voice activated navigator. 

So are you ready to go to Infinity and Beyond? You can join your favorite legendary space ranger, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command in theaters on June 17th.