I just got back from seeing Buzz Lightyear even though it has failed massively at the box office, because I am a grown man who has nothing better to do than watch children’s fil… because I heard about the supposed ‘woke’ controversy and thought it was worth analysing.
So yes, there was a lesbian couple in it. Which is being made political by those who say it is just normal and inclusive (but didn’t have the guts for such inclusivity 10 years ago and still don’t for China).
Honestly, the main issue to me is that LGBT representation will mean little to young children cause, they don’t have a sexual identity. Sexual development doesn’t start at birth, sorry guys. Children before puberty, especially before say 9, don’t really think about this stuff unless adults encourage them too.
But I was mainly surprised to discover this was the Buzz Lightyear film Andy saw in 1995. I didn’t know there were LGBT inclusive films then or even in the next 10-20 years after that. I mean Toy Story wasn’t inclusive, nor was the Lion King (does Scar count?) or Tarzan in 1999, or the Prince of Egypt. But apparently the Buzz Light Year film was very progressive.
(Spoiler alert) I also thought Zurk was indeed Buzz Lightyear’s father not Buzz from the future.
Honestly, we all know that Andy became a Buzz fan because of the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command cartoon series that aired on Disney Afternoon back in the day (I had nothing better to do then either).
Pretending this was the 1995 film is just pure nostalgia bate. They try to cash in on nostalgia for classical properties (which are less than 30 years old nowadays) without doing it justice and while anachronistically imposing 2022 sensibilities (for the non-Chinese viewers).
What’s next? A war movie, supposedly made in 1955 containing a cool, rogue action girl fighting alongside the man in WWII and swearing? Everything in black and white except for her purple hair? Why am I even thinking of that? And now you as well!
This is life now. I write movie reviews again but now as political articles for a (Socratic sense) philosophical site. Pixar movies are political now (and not in the clever The Incredibles way).
Oh, and the film was rather disappointing. The supporting characters were relatively one note, character arcs simplistic and the film’s message about accepting help from rookies was both stupid and undermined the rookie characters messing up more often than not.
Ramon Giralt