She speaks her mind! Patricia Heaton didn’t hold back when it came to the decision to make LightyearWithout Tim Allen.
“Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal @ofctimallen,” Heaton, 64, wrote via Twitter on Tuesday, June 14. “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?”
Allen, 69 years old, played the role of Buzz Lightyear throughout all four films Toy StoryThe premiere of the first film was in November 1995. Chris EvansIn this film, the brave space ranger plays Lightyear, the iconic character’s origin story.
“Ok so the current Buzz Lightyear movie is an origin story,” the Everybody Loves RaymondThe actress continued. “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?#stupidHollywooddecisions.”
LightyearProducer Galyn SusmanIn an interview, he defended the casting decision. The Hollywood ReporterThis was earlier in the month. “Tim really is the embodiment of the toy Buzz, and this isn’t the toy world, so it really doesn’t make sense,” Susman explained. “There’s not really a role. It would just cause more confusion for audiences instead of helping them understand the movie we’re trying to tell.”
The film’s director, Angus MacLane, added, “Buzz was a side character in Toy StoryIt was a little bit more funny and a little more comedic. Buzz had to have more gravitas, vulnerability, and humor in order to be a main role. But he also had to be funny without being too silly. Chris embodied all of those things.”
Evans, 41, said USA Today that he would’ve been foolish not to use Allen’s Buzz Lightyear as inspiration. “The reason we’re doing this movie is because Tim Allen made such an iconic impact,” he told the outlet. “Not only would you be a fool to not take his interpretation because it worked so well, but the truth is this character is in fact the human version of that toy, so there does need to be overlap in terms of their cadence and nature.”
The Captain AmericaActor also acknowledged that it was difficult at first to find the right balance between paying respect to the actor and paying homage to him. Home ImprovementAlum and finding his voice.
“The first time you have to do an iconic line, ‘to infinity and beyond,’ you kind of just do a shameless Tim Allen impression,” Evans told Variety. The Massachusetts native said that he eventually discovered his own interpretation of the beloved character “while still using Tim Allen as the blueprint.”
LightyearFriday, June 17th: In theaters
