"Lightyear" has been stirring up discussion ever since the new Disney-Pixar film, which explores the (fictional) hero who inspired the beloved toy Buzz Lightyear from the "Toy Story" films, premiered in June.
But there's one person with a big connection to Buzz who hasn't weighed in ... until now. Tim Allen, 69, who returns to the small screen with former "Home Improvement" co-star Richard Karn with History Channel's "More Power," was the original voice of Buzz in those "Toy Story" films. (For "Lightyear," Chris Evans voices the part.) And Allen seems confused about why "Lightyear" turned out the way it did.
"This is a whole new team that really had nothing to do with the first movies," he told "Extra" in a new interview. "I thought it was a live-action (movie at first)."
Nope, just like "Toy Story," "Lightyear" is a computer-animated film. It tells the tale of the "real" Buzz Lightyear, a space ranger joined in his adventures by new recruits and a robot companion called Sox. They fight the evil Zurg and his robot army as they try to go "to infinity and beyond."
But Allen doesn't get it. "I'm a plot guy. If this was done in 1997, it would seem to be a big adventure story, and as I see it's not a big adventure story," he said. "It's a wonderful story; it just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy."
Nor is there a connection to Buzz's future "Toy Story" pals, he notes. "There’s really no 'Toy Story,' Buzz without Woody," he said, later adding, "It has no relationship to Buzz. It's just no connection. I wish there was a better connection to" the original Buzz.
Patricia Heaton went viral by weighing in on Twitter back in mid-June, writing, “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?”
In a separate tweet, she added, “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?” Heaton included the hashtag #stupidHollywooddecisions.
"Lightyear" earned $51 million during its opening weekend a few weeks ago, below expectations, according to Variety.