Honest Movie Reviews: 'Lightyear' Proves Andy Had Bad Taste in Movies

In the latest edition of Honest Movie Reviews, we’re pulling together the funniest audience movie reviews on the internet. From funny to ironic, truthful to the downright silly, we’re diving into the deep, dark rabbit hole of online movie fandom. Today, we turn our attention to Lightyear.

There’s no doubt that the original Toy Story is one of the most beloved animated movies of all time. Not only did the film launch Pixar into the limelight, but it has also remained one of the most enduring franchises of all time. Asideside from perhaps Woody, the most iconic character to come from the Toy Story series of films would undoubtedly be Buzz Lightyear.

Disney, being the giant mega-corporation that they are, will do just about anything to exploit the golden goose that is Toy Story. So it only feels natural that a Buzz Lightyear spinoff would be inevitable. Enter, Lightyear (the movie). Directed by Angus MacLane, the film tells the story of young astronaut Buzz.

After being marooned on a hostile planet with his commander and crew, Buzz attempts to find a way back home while confronting his greatest enemy, Emperor Zurg. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s because Lightyear is the movie that Andy watched back in 1995. This movie, in turn, inspired the toy Buzz that we know from the Toy Story movies. This also explains why Chris Evans is voicing the titular role.

As the first theatrical Pixar release since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lightyear severely underperformed compared to box office predictions. At least by Pixar standards, the movie will most likely be seen as a commercial disappointment. There are a few theories about why this is, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Despite the fact that Lightyear garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, the users of the platform Letterboxd had something to say about this. Mostly, the audience reactions force us to ponder the question: did Andy have bad taste in movies?