Photo: Cheatsheet
Actress Patricia Heaton is going to infinity and beyond to speak for fellow actor and friend Tim Allen.
Heaton, merely knowing that Allen will not be reprising his Toy Story role as Buzz Lightyear in the new film Lightyear, talked about the matter on social media.
“Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear, and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns,” she wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?”
Buzz Lightyear will be voiced by Chris Evans in Pixar’s follow-up of the iconic movie, which follows a more different character than the one Allen portrayed in the Toy Story films.
The Lightyear, played by Evans, is the interstellar action hero from whom Allen’s character – the toy version, is inspired.
“In the Toy Story universe, [Lightyear] would be like a movie that maybe Andy would have seen, that would have made him want a Buzz Lightyear figure,” said filmmaker Angus MacLane in a previous interview with EW.
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Regarding the differences between Evans’ and Allen’s roles, MacLane said in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, “Tim’s version of Buzz is a little goofier and is a little dumber, and so he is the comic relief. In this film, Buzz is the action hero. He’s serious and ambitious and funny, but not in a goofy way that would undercut the drama.
“Chris Evans has the gravitas and that movie-star quality that our character needed to separate him and the movie from Tim’s version of the toy in Toy Story,” he added.
Fans then laid out the distinction to Heaton on Twitter.
She replied, “Ok so the current Buzz Lightyear movie is an origin story – but the reason the character became so beloved is because of what Tim Allen created.”
“Why remove the one element that makes us want to see it,” she added, with the hashtag, “#stupidhollywooddecisions.” Lightyear also stars the voices of Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi, James Brolin, Peter Sohn, and Uzo Aduba. The film will premiere in theaters this Friday.
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Opinions expressed by Artist Weekly contributors are their own.
