MANILA, Philippines — In Pixar’s latest big-screen offering Lightyear, Chris Evans takes over the voice of iconic space ranger Buzz Lightyear originated by Tim Allen in the animated franchise Toy Story.
If you’ve already seen the film or read the reviews, Buzz has a scene-stealing robot sidekick and therapy cat called Sox. And it appeared that this was something Evans could relate to, as the Hollywood star revealed having his own emotional support companion or Sox in real life.
The film tells the origin story of Buzz Lightyear as a “real and human” character, a hero, and not the space ranger toy of the same name in Toy Story movies. As the producers put it, this is the favorite movie of Andy, the boy from Toy Story, that made him want to own a Buzz Lightyear toy.
In Lightyear, Buzz causes his team to be stranded on a hostile planet during a space exploration. He tries to rectify his mistake by voluntarily testing different hyper-speed fuel formulations in hopes of finding the one that can bring them back to Earth.
However, each test flight causes time dilation. What is supposed to be a four-minute test turns out to be four years long for his crew mates, including his closest colleague Commander Alisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) on the alien planet.
Enter Sox (Peter Sohn), a gift to help Buzz acclimatize after every failed flight. (Sohn, an animator-director at Disney-Pixar, as well as voice talent in films like Ratatouille and Monsters University, described Sox as a cat who is “so loyal like a dog.”) Later on, the robot cat assumes a bigger role next to Buzz on his heroic missions, including defeating the villain Zurg (James Brolin).
“I love the dynamic. I really do. I mean, Peter did amazing work. But I like the idea of someone like Buzz who’s this very autonomous, austere kind of guy, but he’s given an emotional support cat to acclimate — not just from coming back after four years, but just to address problems that he may otherwise overlook,” said 41-year-old actor during the global presscon.
“I think that’s a nice metaphor for whether it’s therapy or just the fact that we all need those emotional support moments, we all need to talk about our problems and vent to something, some way. And I just like that relationship, that kind of juxtaposition of someone like Buzz who’s so independent but needing someone like Sox the same way we all do.”
As mentioned, Evans already has a Sox in his life and the name is Dodger. Fans would know as the actor’s pet dog is a regular fixture on his Instagram, maybe even having more photos than the fur parent.
Evans quipped, “I have a real-life Sox the cat robot, his name’s Dodger. And he is sick of hearing my problems, I can assure you that.”
Meanwhile, Evans was “really the choice” to voice Buzz, Lightyear director-writer Angus MacLane said in a separate roundtable interview. They were looking for someone well-rounded, capable of drama and comedy, funny but not goofy, and he fit the bill.
“It was like an ‘80s action movie — like who would be starring in it that has the kind of gravitas to be a serious action hero, but also have action-comedy chops to it? That really felt like something Chris had done before, but could provide something that was reminiscent of (Toy Story’s Buzz) but not a duplicate. We’re not looking for a repeat event,” said MacLane.
Producer Galyn Susman also said, “You need somebody who can express pathos and have genuine concern for their own safety and experiencing conflict and guilt. And you make this huge laundry list, and they’re like, well, Chris, do we have anybody else we could ask? No, Chris. Let’s ask Chris.”
As for Evans, what excited him about lending his voice to Buzz was “getting to explore a character that we all know so well in a slightly more nuanced interpretation, you know what I mean?”
He continued, “The Buzz that we all know is obviously a toy and as a toy, there are certain ways that they can move through the world without the weight that we may carry. A toy knows its purpose, a toy doesn’t have to worry about disease or, you know… impacts of the choices that we make as people are a little bit more consequential and it’s fun to put Buzz against that backdrop.”
Having now portrayed two characters — Captain America and Buzz Lightyear — known for such iconic catchphrases as “Avengers assemble” and “To infinity and beyond,” Evans was asked which of the two was now his favorite line to say.
“Oh, man. That’s impossible ‘cause obviously ‘To infinity and beyond’ is something I knew well before ‘Avengers assemble.’ It was dear to me in much earlier chapters of my life,” he said.
“But as proud as I am to play this role and as honored as I am to be a part of this universe now, that line belongs to someone else. It almost kinda felt like I was wearing someone else’s clothes or something, you know? So you do your best to honor it and put your own spin on it. But let’s be honest, that’s Tim Allen’s line. So personally, at least ‘Avengers assemble,’ I was the first one in the pool for that one.”
As a huge Disney fan, Evans confirmed that there’s another character he wants to portray if given the opportunity.
“I don’t think I could pull it off, but I was always a really big fan of Robin Hood, the old animated Disney movie Robin Hood,” Evans said.
“And I just thought Robin Hood was so cool, you know? I think of all the animated characters in the Disney library, Robin Hood stands alone. I think he’s just smooth and charming and capable. I don’t have that cool British accent, but I’d love to give it a crack.”