Actress Patricia Heaton slammed Disney/Pixar for replacing Tim Allen with Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the new film “Lightyear,” and asked why they would “completely castrate this iconic, beloved character.”
The 64-year-old TV actress took to Twitter Tuesday after she said she caught a glimpse of the trailer of the new animated film based on the iconic spaceman made popular by Allen in the “Toy Story” franchise, who she said “owns” the role.
“Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal [Tim Allen],” the star of “The Middle” tweeted to her hundreds of thousands of followers.
“Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns,” she added. “Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?”
Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal @ofctimallen Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns. Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) June 14, 2022
“Ok, so the current Buzz Lightyear movie is an origin story – but the reason the character became so beloved is because of what [Tim Allen] created,” Heaton continued in a second tweet. “Why remove the one element that makes us want to see it? [stupidHollywooddecisions].”
Ok so the current Buzz Lightyear movie is an origin story – but the reason the character became so beloved is because of what @ofctimallen created. Why remove the one element that makes us want to see it?#stupidHollywooddecisions https://t.co/bRn1lZgkac
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) June 14, 2022
The animated children’s Disney/Pixar movie has reportedly been banned in several Middle-Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for its same-sex kiss, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
The children’s movie was banned by the UAE Media Regulatory Office “due to its violation of the country’s media content standards,” according to a tweet from media outlet UAE Forsan. The piece noted that the post didn’t specify exactly which standard had been violated, but industry insiders speculate it’s because of the kiss between two female characters.
The scene was reportedly initially cut from the movie, but was reinstated after the Disney controversy over Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, which some critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Variety reported at the time.
Variety further notes that one of the characters is reportedly a significant female role by the name of Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba). The romantic relationship between the two female animated characters was never hidden, but a kiss between them had reportedly been cut from the movie.
However, none of the sources Variety spoke to about the alleged cutting of these kinds of scenes in Pixar films could provide “first-hand knowledge of Disney executives directly” eliminating the LGBTQ scenes. The outlet noted that it was more an example of self-censorship by Pixar.
“Lightyear” hits theaters June 17.
(Disclosure: The Daily Wire has announced plans for kids’ entertainment content.)