Chris Evans, Buzz Lightyear’s human voice: ‘It’s a more mature movie’

Xavier Romualdo

Los Angeles (USA), June 16 (EFE). The most beloved characters in animated films usually become toys, but Chris Evans had the opposite. The actor gives voice to the legendary Buzz Lightyear in the Pixar movie that imagines the life of the astronaut who inspired the popular “Toy Story” doll.

The actor explained to Efe before the premiere, this Friday, of “Lightyear,” a new film from the studio responsible for films like “Cars,” “Luca,” and “The Incredibles.”

The idea for this movie arose when in 2016, while preparing “Toy Story 4,” Pixar employees began to question the origins of the games that revolutionized animated films over 25 years ago with the first installment of the franchise.

Most mysterious was Cowboy and Woody’s inseparable friend, Buzz Lightyear, a daring doll obsessed with space adventures and sci-fi who was inspired by a real astronaut about whom practically nothing is known.

Now, twenty-seven years after the character first appeared, viewers will learn about the original story of Lightyear, a trainee pilot who after facing his first mission has become the adored ‘Space Ranger’.

In his English version, Lightyear has the voice of Evans, the eternal body and face of Captain America after participating in dozens of Marvel movies.

“When Toy Story was released in 1995, I was in high school. It was a turning point for an animated movie, and it was the first time a movie like this had been made and it opened the door to a new way of making films,” the actor highlights.

Evans was 14 years old at the time, and like many, he has seen the stars of this movie endure over time as his original audience has grown.

“The beauty of this movie is that Pixar has created a more mature story for a more mature audience,” explains Evans, who turned 41 this week.

With “Lightyear,” Pixar took off on sci-fi with a story to suit all audiences, from children to “infinity and beyond,” says the protagonist.

Science fiction through a Pixar filter

Although everything seems normal at the beginning of the movie, it is soon discovered that the astronaut has inadvertently traveled into the future. His journey through space was supposed to take a few minutes, but Lightyear breaks the space-time barrier and reaches another planet several decades ago.

The film’s director, Angus MacLane, says he was inspired by science fiction films of the 70s and 80s to find the right tone for adventure.

“I felt tremendous pressure to make a thrilling and compelling film,” says the director. In “Toy Story” the character Lightyear was a companion comic, a parody of an astronaut, but I didn’t want the movie; it was just a parody.”

Thus, Evans himself admits that he had to forget all the “preconceptions” of the original character, which were stirred up by Tim Allen, to give life to the protagonist more serious, diligent, ready to solve moral problems.

“From the first moment I knew that Pixar’s intent was to make a movie that was not only fun for young people, but also for adults,” he insists.

Something the director emphasizes: “At Pixar we always make films for ourselves and the audience got the idea.” EFE

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