Buzz Lightyear

Buzz Lightyear (created May 26, 1995) is a fictional character that first appeared in the full-length CGI animated film Toy Story, and its sequel Toy Story 2. He has also appeared in the movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins and the television series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. His often repeated catchphrase is "To Infinity... and Beyond". While Tim Allen voiced the character in the Toy Story films and the TV movie, Patrick Warburton provided his voice for the TV series, and Pat Fraley voiced Buzz Lightyear for the Toy Story video games.

In the theatrical films, the featured Buzz is a toy — a spaceman action figure — whereas the television properties follow the adventures of the fictional space ranger on whom the toy is modelled. He was inspired by astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

History

We first see Buzz Lightyear as a birthday gift for Andy. At this time, Buzz Lightyear does not realize that he is a toy, believing himself to be the real Buzz Lightyear. He also thinks that all of his equipment is fully functional, not realizing that his communicator is a sticker, his laser is a LED, etc. This belief causes friction between Buzz Lightyear and Woody, Andy's previous favorite toy. The other toys in Andy's room are attracted by Buzz's doo-dads and gung-ho attitude, but Woody becomes increasingly jealous and contrives to cause Buzz Lightyear to fall behind Andy's desk. Instead, Buzz Lightyear falls out of the window and is thought to be lost. During this period, Buzz manages to survive and save Woody numerous times due to the fact that he still believes that he is a space ranger. Using both stealth and agility, he manages to get through all challenges with Woody until he learns the truth. Eventually Buzz Lightyear and Woody meet up and through a series of incidents, Buzz comes first to realize that he is, in fact, a toy and then to accept the situation. He teams up with Woody to defeat the toy-destroying child Sid Phillips and together they are able to re-unite with Andy and the other toys.

In Toy Story 2, Buzz leads Slinky Dog, Mr. Potato Head, Rex the dinosaur, and Hamm the piggy bank on the mission to find and rescue Woody after he's stolen by the owner of Al's Toy Barn for his collection. Having regained his confidence, Buzz manages to track down Woody's trail and find the culprit. They eventually succeed by navigating traffic, elevators, cars, airports, and airplanes. At one point in the movie, while investigating Al's Toy Barn itself, Buzz is captured by a newer Buzz Lightyear action figure and is replaced for a time, showing that the entire toy line apparently holds the same ignorance of their existence as toys as Buzz once had (a discarded script for Toy Story 3 had Buzz and his toy line recalled back to Taiwan due to a defect, which could have explained why he and the rest of the line's figures believed themselves to be their characters). At the end of the movie, Buzz and Jessie enter a relationship together (the same way as Woody and Bo). The last shot shows Woody, Buzz, and their respective girlfriends watching Wheezy sing "You've Got A Friend In Me". In the Super Bowl on February 3, 2008 during the 3rd quarter, Buzz and Woody are watching the Super Bowl and then watch a promo for Wall-E, who is playing with a vacuum.

Buzz as a character

Buzz is a space ranger from the Intergalactic Alliance and is stationed in the Gamma Quadrant. He is the captain of the Alliance's Team Lightyear and is known for his bravery and courage. Buzz believes that following rules are the way people should live their life. Though a great leader, at times he can be rather unemotional, one of his biggest character flaws. Buzz is said to be Emperor Zurg's son (a la Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back) as mentioned in Toy Story 2 but in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, this is revealed to be a taunt intended to catch Buzz off guard. Either way, this shows that Buzz does not know his father. Buzz is trained in several forms of martial arts and is a highly skilled warrior in hand to hand combat. Being in peak physical condition, Buzz makes a perfect space ranger and is an example to many.

In the movie Toy Story after Buzz Lightyear realizes that he's a toy, he throws a toy tea party. In denial, he pretends to be "Ms. Nesbitt". Eventually, he decides to help Woody escape.

In October 2007 readers of Empire voted him #1 of the Top 20 Greatest Pixar Characters, [1]

Buzz's suit

Buzz wears a rather high-tech space suit, similar to that of astronauts, though more streamlined. The suit's chest features a control panel. On the right hand side of the suit, a rather large red button with a label saying "Lightyear" activates the suit's flight system. When activated, the wings on the suit's backpack will unfold, and the boosters at the bottom of the pack will ignite, allowing the wearer to fly. The sides of the wings carry lights that blink in order to prevent any in-air collisions.

The buttons on the left of the suit have numerous functions. Though it is unknown which button does what, when pressed the wearer will be able to contact Star Command, the headquarters of Buzz Lightyear and his allies. The suit also has a liquid adamantium-nitrogen layer which allows Buzz to withstand virtually any physical attack and, in special circumstances, can be used to repel telepaths.

Buzz's suit also protects against the vacuum and cold of space. A retractable helmet, when activated, covers Buzz's head and allows him to breathe in space or on planets lacking a sufficient supply of oxygen. The helmet is activated by pressing the purple button on the side of the chest armour. When pressed once, the helmet automatically swings up and seals; when pressed again the helmet flips back down. To protect against the heat of re-entry, the suit contains a shield generator.

The left arm of the suit contains a mission log in the wrist area to record history and provide records. Also located in this area are oxygen gauges, a fuel gauge for the jet pack, and a speaker. The right arm contains the weapon system which projects a powerful laser out of the small cannon on the back of the wrist. It is unknown how long the laser's battery life lasts, but it is known that it requires a recharge after some time.

The suit's backpack, containing folded wings and boosters, allows Buzz to fly through space. It runs on rechargeable fuel cells. Depending on the situation, a different backpack can be attached to the suit. The wings, when enabled, are lined with strobe lights.

Utility belt

As seen in Toy Story 2, Buzz has a utility belt as an upgrade to his already powerful suit. The buckle of the belt activates the anti-gravity servos stored around the belt. When pressed, a blue beam shoots out before completely covering the wearer in a bubble which allows them to, as the name suggests, defy gravity and fly without the aid of the jetpack. On the sides of the belt, two suction cups are stored for climbing reasons. The suction cups are shown to be able to support up to three pounds (1.3 kg) before slipping, making them rather strong for toy suction cups. At the back the belt a compartment contains a grappling hook which can easily fold up. It is unknown if the hook is hand thrown or spring propelled. The string of the grappling hook is estimated to be about 12 inches (30 cm) long and strong, being able to hold four toys without fraying or snapping.

Variant space suits

Though how many different space suits Buzz has is unknown, it is known that there are two different series of suits. The first series consists of modified version of his original suit, but with different weapons. The other series are for different rescue missions. There are three different types of rescue suits that have been shown so far: Delta, Alpha and Gamma. Delta consists of the basic suit, and a bigger jet pack and a grappling hook. The others have been shown to have a similar look but with different weapons.

Action figure

Toy figure, Buzz Lightyear, with packaging, licensed from the film Toy Story, plastic / cardboard, made for Thinkway Toys in China, 1995-1999. The Buzz Lightyear is made of plastic and is dressed in grey, green and blue with touches of red and black. The figure is sealed in a cardboard and plastic blister pack with colour illustration of the characters Woody and Buzz from the film 'Toy Story'. The text 'Disney's Toy Story' Collectible Figure' is printed on the front of the packaging. Additional colour illustrations and character histories are printed on the reverse side of the pack. The toy sells for $19.95 at Disney's stores currently.

The Buzz Lightyear figure was manufactured by Thinkway Toys, New York between 1995-1999.

The Toy Story Action Figure, Buzz Lightyear was subject to mass sales in the Christmas after the film's release, mainly in the United States and United Kingdom. Additional parts could be purchased, e.g. wings etc... It was the number 1 toy sold in the UK and has remained a sought-after collectible since. In 1995, Thinkaway didn't think that Toy Story would be that popular hence didn't make enough dolls to meet demand, as referenced in Toy Story 2.

Huggies mascot

Buzz Lightyear appeared on Huggies Pull-Ups diapers. The diapers, marketed as training pants for children undergoing potty training featured pictures of Woody and Buzz, as well as images which would fade when the product was soiled. He has since been replaced with characters from Cars.

See also

• Buzz Lightyear (attractions)

External links

• Buzz Lightyear at Don Markstein's Toonopedia