Product Description

Discover the story behind the ultimate space hero as he stars in his very own cartoon adventure! Woody made it big as the star of his very own TV show and you can bet Buzz Lightyear had an even bigger beginning! In an unforgettable action-packed saga, Buzz takes on the evil Emperor Zurg in intergalactic combat. Together with those hilarious Little Green Men and a whole new cast of exciting characters, Buzz Lightyear takes adventure and heroism to infinity and beyond!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6953 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2000-08-08
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 70 minutes

Amazon.com
This direct-to-video feature, which serves as a lead-in to the upcoming Disney animated TV series, continues the adventures of Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story films--and introduces the new supporting cast. Buzz battles the evil Emperor Zurg, who steals the "Unimind," a device that enables three-eyed aliens to function as a single intellect. The aliens, referred to as "LGMs" (little green men), form the support crew that keep Star Command running, but as individual thinkers, they're inept. During the course of this tongue-in-cheek adventure, Buzz acquires the sidekicks who form Team Lightyear: Booster, an oversized, overeager alien; XR (short for "Experimental Ranger"), one of the aliens' less successful robot inventions; and the inevitable spunky girl, Princess Mira Nova of the planet Tangeah. The two-dimensional, hand-drawn figure of the three-dimensional, computer-generated Buzz recalls the animated versions of live performers who populated Saturday morning TV during the 1980s. This adventure is typical of current kidvid: it has more special effects and sight gags than the cartoons of 20 years ago did, but the violence-free battles feel very tame. Buzz Lightyear may engage kids who play with the toys, but it won't appeal to the adults who flocked to the brilliant Toy Story features. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

My two year old loves it
My two year old loves this video since it stars Buzz, his hero from the Toy Story movies. As other people have noted, this is not animated the same way as Toy Story 1 and 2; it is a straight-forward cartoon. That said, it is still a lot of fun. We've watched this together many times (many, many times...parents, you know what I mean) and I still haven't gotten tired of it. The script is funny and well written with lots of great one-liners, especially from Zurg. There are plenty of laser blasts and action, but it is pretty tame any my two year old didn't find any part of it scary. I wish they had done this in wide-screen, but that is a minor complaint (from me, not my son). I am looking forward to the next one.

NIce show, but a little much for younger toddlers
That said, this is something that is a great continuation from the Toy Story movies. It is a cartoon and not computer animation like the Toy Story movies, in case you're wondering. It's interesting - how they kill off Buzz's sidekick and gives him a new one. But it really is a bit much for the younger toddler set. I guess I wouldn't recommend this much before age 6. It really involves a plot that is quite long and gets a little boring. I'm not sure that I'd watch it again and my little guy actually wanted to watch something else. He LOVES Buzz but this movie just wasn't up to par. The story basically served as an introduction to a series, but still, it could have been better and more appealing to the younger crowd as well. Again, I wouldn't get this for a toddler. It's just a bit much and too boring for them.

An Interesting Film, with some Good Characters
Initially, I had pretty low expectations for this film and expected that it would be a quickly completed low-quality effort released only to maintain the Toy Story cash flow. How many ways can they make money from "To infinity and beyond"? However, since my household includes a three-year-old boy, any new Toy Story item is a mandatory purchase.

I am pleasantly surprised how good the film is and how entertaining. My son is watching it repeatedly, and I have watched it three times with him. While the Pixar animators admittedly owe a huge debt to "Star Wars" (as they made explicit in "Toy Story 2"), Buzz Lightyear's story has the making of an interesting series on its own terms. I am looking forward to the next installment.

Buzz Lightyear, of course, remains an admirable super-hero as he zealously pursues Evil Emperor Zurg. His inherent "squareness" and single-minded determination to follow the Space Ranger rules are character traits that make him interesting. What I like about the film is the way it shows how even a super-hero can use a little help sometimes. Buzz's partners are eccentric and a bit out of the Space Ranger mainstream; it is nice to see the filmmakers give a nod of approval to eccentricity.

The film works as pure entertainment for children, but it also contains good messages about the value of friends, about persevering in the face of obstacles, and about how good always wins in the end. There is nothing subtle about the story or its presentation, but that is part of its charm.

Although you will buy this film for your children, the whole family might enjoy watching it. Even so, I sort of dread the new action figures that we might have to buy soon.