Tom Hanks Comments on Disney and Pixar's 'Lightyear'

Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear was recently released into theaters, but the movie has left some people confused.

We get it — a film called “Lightyear” immediately makes you think of Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story movies, but Tim Allen is not voicing the iconic character. That’s because Lightyear is about the character the toy was based on, not the actual toy. And now, Tom Hanks has shared some of his thoughts about the film.

Tom Hanks has voiced the character Woody opposite Buzz Lightyear in Pixar’s 4 Toy Story movies, and was doing press for his film Elvis when he was asked an interesting question about the Pixar film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In an interview with CinemaBlend, Hanks was asked if it would feel strange for his current movie to compete in theaters against a Buzz Lightyear film, and this is what the actor had to say: “How about that? … Actually, I wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen, and then they didn’t let Tim Allen do it. I don’t understand that.”

Hanks then went on to say “But here’s the thing: Just as long as people come back to the motion picture theater. I want to go back into the theater with a bunch of strangers and leave with something in common. That’s what I want to do.”

Tim Allen also spoke about the matter in an interview with Extra, saying that the creative people involved with Lightyear had not worked on the Toy Story films, going on to say “There’s really no Toy Story’s Buzz without Woody.” Allen also added that he would have liked Lightyear to have a stronger link to the toy version of Buzz.

Pixar’s Lightyear is not about the toy version of Buzz, but rather is showing the movie the toy was based on in the Toy Story universe. Lightyear is the movie Andy would have seen as a kid that would have created his interest in getting a Buzz Lightyear toy — it’s why Buzz Lightyear toys were so popular in the Toy Story movies.

In the movie, Chris Evans voiced the astronaut who is the inspiration for the toy. Lightyear is in theaters right now, but has been struggling a bit at the box office. It’s the first animated film Pixar have released in theaters since the global pandemic began in 2020.