Fans of Tim Allen voicing the beloved Buzz Lightyear in the “Toy Story” franchise want to know why he wasn’t picked, instead of Chris Evans, to voice the space man in the character’s origin animated film titled “Lightyear.”
In 1995 Disney/Pixar picked the TV star and standup comedian to be the voice of a toy named Buzz Lightyear who finds himself in the adventure of a lifetime with toy cowboy Woody voiced by Tom Hanks. For those that might have missed it, the two find a friendship and bond as they work together to get back to their kid, a young child named Andy. The two would reprise the roles three more times, as recently as 2019, when a fourth film in the “Toy Story” franchise came out, “Toy Story 4.”
So, when Pixar announced in 2020 that an origin film would hit theaters, about the man behind the famed toy, it was naturally assumed by fans of the character that the “Last Man Standing” star, who has been openly right wing, would be the voice.
Later, Marvel star Chris Evans shared his reaction to being picked to voice Lightyear in the new animated Pixar film.
“I don’t even have the words.” the woke actor tweeted at the time. “And just to be clear, this isn’t Buzz Lightyear the toy. This is the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on.”
A description on IMDb about the children’s film reads, “While spending years attempting to return home, marooned Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear encounters an army of ruthless robots commanded by Zurg who are attempting to steal his fuel source.”
Given leaked tapes of executive producers at Disney about its “not-at-all-secret gay” agenda many have speculated that politics and wokeness was involved in Evans getting the role over Allen.
There has been no official comment from Disney about the change. However, the movie’s director and producer pushed back at criticism and have shared that they wanted an actor who had the “gravitas” to play a “serious” character for this spaceman journey in the animated film for children, Yahoo noted.
“People were having a hard enough time wrapping their heads around this,” producer Galyn Susman stated, according to the Wrap. “So really we needed the toy in the ‘Toy Story’’ universe to be its own thing. Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear the toy. Chris Evans is Buzz Lightyear, the superhero from that movie that inspired the toy.”
Susan added, “We weren’t making a ‘Toy Story’ movie. We’re making Buzz Lightyear’s movie.”
The animated film’s director Angus MacLane said, “Tim’s version of Buzz is a little goofier and is a little dumber, and so he is the comic relief,” Vanity Fair reported.
“In this film, Buzz is the action hero,” MacLane explained. “He’s serious and ambitious and funny, but not in a goofy way that would undercut the drama. Chris Evans has the gravitas and that movie-star quality that our character needed to separate him and the movie from Tim’s version of the toy in ‘Toy Story.”
“The tone is a lot different,” he added. “Tim is hilarious, but this character wouldn’t work as well with him doing the Space Ranger voice. It would not be as emotional. It just changes the tone of the movie. We were going for more of a classic sci-fi film.”
In 2021, when the teaser trailer came out, Maclane again tried to explain to fans why Allen wasn’t picked, though given the current confusion today, it was most likely too vague for fans of the character for the last 25 years.
“I assume that the toy [voiced by Tim Allen] is based on either the cartoon series that was made after the movie or a later movie,” the director shared at the time. “So the events that Buzz is talking about in Toy Story [Buzz’s ramblings about the edge of the galaxy, Emperor Zurg, Star Command, etc.] have not yet happened. So this would be the origin story of who we know Buzz Lightyear to be.”
In a recent interview, the “Captain America” star also responded to the comments on social media slamming him as Buzz and said that Allen’s Lightyear is “untouchable,” the New York Post noted.
“Look, Tim Allen is Buzz Lightyear,” Evans said. “What he did in those movies is so iconic and so loved, and I’d be a fool not to incorporate some of his choices into this role.”
“The character in this movie is the human version that the toy is based off of, so it makes sense to have a little bit of overlap, luckily for me,” he added. “What Tim Allen did was pretty untouchable.”
There’s also news that the children’s movie has a “same-sex” kiss between two animated female characters in it that has caused the film to be banned in 14 countries. Evans defended having the gay kiss included.
“The real truth is, those people are idiots,” Evans told Reuters. “There’s always going to be people who are afraid and unaware and trying to hold on to what was before. But those people die off like dinosaurs. I think the goal is to pay them no mind, march forward and embrace the growth that makes us human.”
While “The Santa Clause” star has yet to comment on not being in the film or the same-sex kiss, Allen did appear to take a swipe at Disney’s pro-LGBTQ+ agenda that got everyone’s attention recently and again raised speculation that it was the reason he wasn’t chosen.
“Took some kids to Disneyland and overheard a 13 year old boy wondering if he may be pansexual since he loves skillets,” Allen tweeted recently to his hundreds of thousands of followers.
Actress Patricia Heaton’s tweet went viral recently after she asked her fans why Disney would “castrate” the “iconic, beloved character” Allen made in the “Toy Story” franchise after seeing the trailer for the new film.
“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 in the role that he originated, the role that he owns,” the 64-year-old actress tweeted. “Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?”
The movie is also showing a lackluster performance at the box office following its release, as The Daily Wire previously reported. Disney/Pixar might have finally pushed their woke agenda too far for consumers who also would’ve loved to see Allen as the voice of Buzz.
(Disclosure: The Daily Wire has announced plans for kids’ entertainment content.)
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.