Disney Pixar released the trailer for their new film Lightyear on Oct. 27, set to hit theatres on June 17, 2022.
The film is the latest in the Toy Story franchise and fans are guessing it will be the backstory to the beloved character Buzz Lightyear.
The short trailer left fans with lots of questions.
Fredericton local Jack Marsh describes himself as “a huge fan of animation as a whole.” He said he finds the animation of Disney films distinct but comforting.
Marsh said his earliest memory of Toy Story was when he was about three or four years old and he went to go see it at the local drive-in.
“I was told by my mom that I was very, very obsessed with Buzz Lightyear as a kid. I had a comforter set and everything,” said Marsh. “I remember my mom telling me stories about how I had this Buzz Lightyear doll and I would not let it go. The only way that they could clean it was they had to take it from me in my sleep and immediately put it back.”
Marsh said he re-watched all the Toy Story films recently and Buzz Lightyear stood out to him.
He said that while he appreciated the other characters, Buzz Lightyear would always be his favourite for sentimental value and nostalgia.
Marsh said he was surprised when he heard about the release of Lightyear.
“It’s honestly one of the last things I expected,” said Marsh. “They decided to go this different route, completely different from the original Toy Story movies, making it more like a Marvel action movie”
Despite his initial surprised reaction, he said he is excited to see the film in theatres when it is released.
“I’m ecstatic,” he said. “I feel like a child again and my spark just reignited because of this new Buzz Lightyear movie. I want to know so much about him. I want to know what the route [Disney] is going with him.”
Justin Connors is the music director of the Fredericton radio station Joy 96.5. He formerly co-hosted a podcast called the Great Big Beautiful Podcast. The podcast’s website says the show “used Disney as an entry point to discuss more general geekiness from our position as Disney fans, geeks and dads.”
Connors said that his mom was a big Disney fan and passed on her passion to him.
“I think I was six the first time I went down to Walt Disney World. Since then, I’ve probably been 18 or 19 times in my life. We’re big Disney fanatics,” he said.
Connors said there is a lot of nostalgia for him to be able to share this new film with his kids who also love Disney and Toy Story.
“Seeing the new Buzz Lightyear movie, I think what I love about it is not only is it for me, but I can share this with my kids,” said Connors. “My kids are now 11 and 14. I can take them to this and they’ve grown up with Toy Story too. We can all share it together.”
Connors said while some are worried that this film will somehow try and change the character they love, he is not worried. He explained that he is able to separate the character of Buzz Lightyear from Lightyear and the character of Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story.
“I can see people wanting to know more about who is this toy? Why is he here? Why is he a toy? Because he’s not rooted in our universe. We don’t have a history of Buzz Lightyear being somebody,” he said.
