The reception for Pixar’s Lightyear the movie is a bit of a mixed bag. According to Pixar’s chief creative officer, because the film raises a lot of questions from the audience.
Talked to TheWrapPete Docter – officiating Monsters, Inc., height, Inside outand loose for Pixar before becoming its CCO – talks about why he thinks Lightyear ended up being poorly received. The 2022 film is closely connected to the world of Toy Storybut tells the story of the actual Buzz Lightyear – a human space explorer, not the toy.
After the release of the film, fans did not flock to the theaters and the film was generally considered a box-office bomb. Docter said he believes the less-than-stellar response is due to the fact that the film’s concept is a bit grand.
“We’ve done a lot of soul-searching on that because we all love the movie,” Docter said. “We love the characters and the premise. I think maybe what we end up with in terms of what’s wrong is we’re asking too much of the audience. When they heard Buzz, they were like, well, where is Mr. Potato Head and Woody and Rex? And then we throw them into this science fiction film and they’re like, ‘What?’ ”
Docter went on to say that even though the fans know the whole idea behind the film, there are still many things that they expect from the film.
“Even if they’ve read the press material, it’s a little too far, conceptually, and I think in the way the characters are drawn, that they’re portrayed,” Docter said. “It was more than a science fiction. And angus [MacLane, director], to its credit, took it seriously and honestly and wanted to represent those characters as real characters. But the characters of Toy Story wider, and so I think there’s a disconnect between what people want/expect and what we’re giving them. “
Next up for Pixar is the romantic fantasy film Elementalwhich is scheduled to release on June 16, 2023. For those looking to watch Lightyearthe movie is now available to stream on Disney+ and is available in stores and digital marketplaces everywhere.