Right up front, this movie states that the action figure of Buzz Lightyear, owned by Andy in the Toy Story movies, was inspired by this adventure. Chris Evans voices the Space Ranger as he ventures on an intergalactic mission that leaves him and his crew stranded on a strange planet. The story follows relatively typical space challenges, so it’s up to the writing and characters to set it apart. The writing is seldom clever or original and the characters are scrappy but not really funny (with the exception of the robot cat Sox voiced by Peter Sohn). The outer space animation and sci-fi visuals are grand and attractive. Those expecting to see the original franchise echoed in this origin story will not find the stylized style or rollicking humor of those classics. It’s an acceptable adventure for kids that lacks much of the charm of its predecessors. NOTE: There’s been some uproar over the depiction of a lesbian couple, but I applaud Pixar for taking the stand for normality. 
(3 / 5)
