To infinity, and beyond!
That’s right. You know the phrase as well as nearly everyone else in the world. The legendary catchphrase of the man himself - Buzz Lightyear, from Toy Story. First introduced to us all the way back in 1995 with the first Pixar film ever, Buzz, voiced by veteran actor Tim Allen, has continued to soar his way into our hearts, with style, and has been a prominent figure of both mine and many other people’s childhoods.
As part of the 2022 movie releases, the latest Pixar movie, Lightyear, will tell the origin story of the man behind the famous toy, and today we’re going to take a look at Buzz’s best moments throughout the Toy Story series, giving the astronaut the time in the sun that he deserves.
When Buzz Showed Off To The Toys (Toy Story)
As soon as Buzz showed up in Andy’s room in Toy Story, there was tension between him and Woody (voiced by the wonderful Tom Hanks). When Buzz kept saying that he was real and could indeed fly and do all the things that he thinks he can do, he tries to show off by using the toys in Andy’s room, successfully showing that he can “fly.”
Woody, of course, is adamant that it’s not flying, but rather, “falling with style,” but Buzz is beside himself and saying that it was real flight. Seeing all of the toys amazed by his tricks is always a fun moment to remember.
Buzz’s Failed Flight (Toy Story)
There have been some dark moments in Pixar films, from that beginning sequence of Up, to some scenes in The Good Dinosaur, but it’s nothing new for this popular film company, as they’ve been putting in scenes like that since their first film, Toy Story. When Buzz is captured by Sid, the crazy neighbor kid, he sees a commercial that is promoting him - as a toy.
Not believing it, he tries to make himself fly by jumping off the stairs of Sid’s house, only for him to land pathetically on the ground, his arm breaking off, showing that he is indeed a toy, and putting him through an identity crisis. You’d never expect a dark moment like this from a kid’s movie but hey, this is Pixar, and they do that pretty regularly. It’s a great moment that really shows just how much that one scene affected him.
“Mrs. Nesbitt” (Toy Story)
“You see the hat?! I am Mrs. Nesbitt!”
While fueled by Buzz's identity crisis, this scene is just too damn funny not to include. Buzz is all dressed up in a tea party outfit with his arm missing from his body and waving it around like it’s not his literal appendage, all while saying that he is “Mrs. Nesbitt” will be one of the funniest Pixar moments ever and will always make me laugh. Tim Allen’s voice-acting is just top-tier. And the best part? It was all improvised.
When Buzz “Falls With Style” (Toy Story)
And this is what we call “learning to adapt.”
When Buzz and Woody need to try and somehow make their way onto the moving truck to be with Andy when he is leaving home, Buzz uses a rocket that was attached to him from Sid to launch him and Woody up into the sky so they can “fly” to the truck - or, as Buzz restates to Woody, they “fall with style.”
It’s a great scene that really rounds out his character arc through the movie. Buzz fully accepts that it doesn’t matter what he thought before - he’s who he is and he’s adapting to this newfound information about himself, and learning how to “fall with style” when it comes to anything the world throws at him. That’s when we truly start to get to know Buzz for who he is now.
That Opening Video Game Sequence (Toy Story 2)
As someone who has played video games pretty much her whole life, from horror games to action games, I partially blame this sequence for getting me into gaming because this is just so cool.
You don’t even realize at first that this is the beginning of Toy Story 2 because the video game world that Buzz is playing is so vivid and action packed, but then when it cuts out to him and Rex playing the game together on Andy’s TV, it makes it all the better.
Buzz Meets Buzz (Toy Story 2)
The toy store scene in Toy Story 2 was one of the funniest scenes, and the moment that Buzz meets another version of himself in the store - one that is just like how he was at the beginning of Toy Story - makes me laugh all the time. Our Buzz just looks so done with the other Buzz, but drags him along on the adventure anyway, leading them to some hilarious moments.
Buzz Vs. Zurg (Toy Story 2)
The moment we’ve been waiting for is here - Buzz vs. Zurg (Andrew Stanton), the evil emperor and Buzz’s nemesis. And, what better place to do it on than the top of an elevator in Toy Story 2.
It’s taken so seriously as Zurg fires his little ping pong balls at Buzz while he shoots his laser, all the way until that hilarious Star Wars reference when Buzz said Zurg “killed his father” and Zurg responds, “No, Buzz. I am your father,” and that “Noooooo,” it just kills me. I honestly can’t wait to see Zurg again in Lightyear.
Spanish Buzz (Toy Story 3)
Toy Story 3 came out more than a decade ago and I still have a vivid memory of my Puerto Rican dad laughing the hardest I had ever heard him laugh at a movie screen when Spanish Buzz appeared. Honestly, I can see why. Re-watching it years later, these scenes are just so funny because it’s so sudden.
He comes out of nowhere as the toys are trying to reset him and they hit the wrong button, and he’s like this for some time, having that suave demeanor that only Spanish Buzz seems to have. The actor who did the voice for him, Javier Fernandez-Peña, was just fantastic. I would watch a straight-up hour long version of just Buzz being Spanish.
Buzz And Jessie Hold Hands (Toy Story 3)
Buzz and Jessie (Joan Cusack) always sort of had this weird relationship from the end of Toy Story 2 (where he had that quite funny adult joke) to Toy Story 3, but at the very end, it seems that it was finally heading in the right direction. After surviving the trash incinerator accident (which straight-up traumatized me), they emerge from the wreckage holding hands.
But Buzz doesn’t let go, and neither does Jessie, and they both give each other this silly little small smile, and it’s just so dang cute. It was the beginning of a new relationship for them and I loved it so much, and even more now.
When Buzz Says Goodbye To Woody (Toy Story 4)
I’m not crying, you’re crying.
Toy Story 4, when it was originally announced, felt like a cash-grab, at least to me. But when I actually took the time to go see it in 2019, and reunited with the Toy Story cast, I found myself sobbing uncontrollably at the beautiful story that it told, and how Buzz and Woody, who started not only Toy Story together, but Pixar as a whole, said goodbye to each other.
Buzz wanted to remain with Bonnie and the other toys, while Woody wanted to stay with his rekindled love, Bo-Peep (Annie Potts) and be a free toy, so the two say goodbye, with Buzz this time saying “so long, partner,” instead of Woody, and God, I’m already crying again. It was the perfect way to end this franchise - as well as this partnership that we’ve all come to adore.
With Lightyear releasing in June 2022, all it does is make me want to re-watch all the Toy Story movies. If you’re like me and want to do the same, be sure to check them out on Disney+.
