Angus MacLane, the director of Pixar’s newest film, Lightyear, opened up about the challenges he and his team faced when telling the iconic Space Ranger’s story on the big screen.
In an interview with GameSpot, MacLane shared his thoughts on creating spinoff movies, stating that he wouldn’t recommend them to burgeoning directors. “It’s so, so hard,” MacLane said. “As a filmmaker you really have to think about what problems you want to solve. When we took on this project we ran into the problem of having to change a side character to a main character and that’s a really hard thing.” MacLane goes on to explain that he experienced similar challenges when working on Finding Dory, another Pixar film that shone the spotlight on a supporting character. “But because Buzz’s backstory was something I wanted to tell, and because I wanted to do a straightforward sci-fi action adventure, you know, like a nerd/geek film, that was the driver there. So that’s what kept it going, even when we still hadn’t figured it out. Because I knew what the movie would feel like when it was done.”
MacLane then revealed that fan expectations can sometimes prove to be the biggest hurdles, especially with the inevitable comparisons audiences will draw between Lightyear and its beloved Toy Story predecessors. “I think it’s funny to hear people ask things like ‘how is this compared to Toy Story?’ because when you see the movie, you realize it’s its own thing, and you really don’t think about that once you see the movie but until then, there’s so much [room for comparison.],” MacLane mused. “And I get that, really. I think it would be even harder if it were the Toy Story Buzz going off into this movie, you know? Then you’d be like ‘where’s Woody?!’ Because that’s what makes [Toy Story Buzz] work.”
MacLane concludes by admitting that he can see a different take on Lightyear that closer resembles the popular animated series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. Despite the shared protagonist, the director notes that the TV show format wouldn’t have worked for Buzz’s origin story. “For a feature, you’re living in the emotion of those characters,” MacLane said.
Serving as the source material for the popular astronaut action figure in the Toy Story films, Lightyear tells the story of Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans) as he desperately tries to find a way to return home after being marooned on a dangerous planet in a space expedition gone wrong. With the evil Emperor Zurg hot on his heels, Buzz faces his greatest challenge yet as he unites with a ragtag group of soldiers who are desperate to escape from an army of killer robots.
Lightyear is currently showing in theaters.
Source: GameSpot