The big screen is back: The resilience and challenges of movie theater owners, Look to India and Brazil for lemon/lime thirst quenchers this summer. "We were warned that this would be a likely outcome," US producer Galyn Susman told AFP. This only emphasizes how silly and head-spinning it is to retrofit the film as something Andy consumed. LGBT month in June was established in 2000 by former President Bill Clinton in recognition of the Stonewall riots and gay activism. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Tim Allen is almost 70 years-old, [so Disney] wanted to get someone who's a little bit more relevant to the culture right now, says Belloni. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. The same-sex kiss also resulted in a backlash in parts of the United States that included an Oklahoma theater threatening to fast-forward the scene. I have a lot of faith and I think storytelling and filmmaking not to say before its time, but it's on the brink of things like this. Who would have guessed that this Toy Story spinoff would be the years most confusing, convoluted, and nonsensical film? "These people don't care about . . Lightyear is just the latest controversy surrounding international censorship and takes place against a backdrop of complex geopolitics and questions around national values. This is also pretty muddled, from the catchphrases to the gadgetry of the toy. Mixed reviews regarding kiss scene in Lightyear. 3 min read Sometimes, love finds a way. You mean to tell me Als Toy Barn doesnt sell a single toy of Izzy Hawthorne (the films other hero, voiced by Keke Palmer)? To make things even more convoluted in Lightyear, Buzz first thinks the de-suited Zurg is his father, before being told he is looking at an older version (and from another time loop? The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Likewise, The American Conservative's Rod Dreher condemned Disney's decision to include the Lightyear scene, . Ironically, this was never Disneys intention; the kiss was initially cut from the film entirely, as Disney (along with other studios) often re-edit films to conform with local censorship laws around the world, which is why their tepid attempts at LGBT representation are so brief and non-impactful - they can easily be cut without disrupting the pacing of a single scene. He's a Marvel guy. The scene, which only runs for a few seconds in a longer montage, instantly led to outrage on social media. Same-Sex Kiss Restored in Pixar's 'Lightyear' Following Staff Uproar Over 'Don't Say Gay' Bill (EXCLUSIVE) By Adam B. Lightyear tells the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy in the Toy Story franchise. Chris Evans, assuming the role of Buzz Lightyear from Toy Storys Tim Allen, tweeted a clarification of what kind of origin story this would be, spawning much head scratching and even more memes. The Pixar film - the latest of the Toy Story franchise which has been running for almost three decades - features a character called Alisha, a lesbian space ranger voiced by actor Uzo Aduba. One of the strongest things about Lightyear is that it creates its own universe of instantly lovable characters wholly unique to the Toy Story universe, of which Sox is the undeniable crowd-pleasing standout. On social media, right-wing culture warriors and media personalities such as Ben Shapiro had a meltdown over the childrens animation, tweeting panicked warnings about the same-sex kiss, claiming that the film reflected a moral collapse.Ted Cruz went on a bizarre rant about the film in which he complained about lesbian toys being sold as Lightyear merchandise. As in it will take audiences infinity to beyond logic. Lightyear . Actually, nope. Tim Allen [is] not the biggest star in the world anymore, he adds. Ever wonder what celebrities would look like if they were still alive? Susan Granger has been an on-air television and radio commentator and entertainment critic for more than 25 years. 17, 2022 Entertainment "Lightyear" tells the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy in the "Toy Story" franchise. Photo by courtesy image of Disney/Pixar. The balancing act between lawmakers and citizens on social media has been causing a headache for streaming and film studios alike. As per reports, Lightyear grossed $115.8 million domestically and $97.8 million in international theaters. What is the controversy with Lightyear? Lightyear director Angus MacLane says he envisions the film as being released in 1985 or 1986. In Toy Story 2, Zurg even serves an I am your father reference to Buzz. First there were reports that the kiss was edited out, then that it was reinstated. The message issued by the theatre read: Local resident Patricia Kasbek told NBC News that she initially thought the message was a joke but issued a complaint against the theatre after realizing the warning was serious in nature: Kasbek also called the sign cruel and bigoted. Meanwhile, Alex Wade, the Deputy Director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, Oklahomans for Equality, also called out the theatre and said that the move left him heartbroken: The publication also reported that the warning sign remained at the Oklahoma theatre over the weekend but was removed by Monday afternoon. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Toy Story 4 grossed $120 million domestic in 2019. The censorship body of Malaysia, called LPF, asked Disney for edits prior to banning. COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. Cartoon character Buzz Light Year is caught in the middle of some controversy in a new Disney Pixar Film entitled "Lightyear" and playing in theaters across Southwest. Providing comedic moments, theres Buzzs scene-stealing robot-animal sidekick Sox (Peter Sohn), as eventually Buzz teams up with Aishas granddaughter, Izzy (Keke Palmer), and two other Star Command trainees: ex-convict Darby (Dale Soules) and goofy Mo Morrison (Taika Waititi). It was likely that the ban on the movie in countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over a same-sex female kiss scene harmed its international box office result. Your login session has expired. FYI: Buzzs spaceships GPS navigator (IVAN) is voiced by Mary McDonald-Lewis, who voices OnStars navigational system. 'Lightyear' is due to hit cinemas later this year but has proved controversial due to LGBT+ content, President Erdogan of Turkey has already pressured Netflix in recent years over LGBT+ storylines, Marvel covers artworks starring Stan Lee go up for blockchain auction, 'Pose' star Mj Rodriguez to be honoured at this year's GLAAD awards, LGBT representation at record high on streaming services, but some nations still need sex education. Lightyear director Angus MacLane says he envisions the film as being released in 1985 or . It does not store any personal data. Made in L.A. Streaming music, news & culture from KCRW Santa Monica, Live streaming music, news & culture from KCRW Santa Monica. Wed, June 22nd 2022, 4:36 PM PDT. If Lightyear exists among Disney canon, would it have replaced another Disney character in Andys world or existed alongside them? On March 9, LGBTQ employees and allies at . Based on the astronaut action figure Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, the film premiered June 17 and reactions were quick to emerge from various . Podcast Listen 4 min Hollywood Breakdown Will audiences boycott Pixar's 'Lightyear' amid same-sex kiss controversy? Edited by Alberto Arellano and Sterling Creighton Beard. A scene in which Alisha and Keiko greet each other with a kiss has spawned predictable controversy. Opinion Forget the Lightyear controversy it's just a bad movie by Harry Khachatrian June 22, 2022 06:00 AM Pixar movies generally fall into one of two categories. June 15, 2022 1:47pm Disney supported Lightyear ' s inclusion of two lesbian characters but was hesitant about featuring a kiss between them, according to one of the film's producers. In this astronaut adventure, Buzz, the square-jawed, stoic Space Ranger, voiced by Chris Evans, is based on the mass-marketed, hard-plastic action toy doll that young Andy favored, displacing his old-fashioned pull-string cowboy doll Woody. Hawthorne is part of the first significant same-sex couple in a Pixar feature. While this film works for family audiences today partly because Buzz Lightyear is a pre-established character, its dizzying to imagine the reality of it existing as an original entity within Toy Story. The movie featuredChris Evansas the voice of the title character. Buzz Lightyear, left, voiced by Chris Evans, and Alisha Hawthorne, voiced by Uzo Aduba, in a scene from the animated film "Lightyear." Hawthorne is part of the first significant same-sex couple in a Pixar feature. Reminder: 1. love is love. Now that the film arrives, it pains me to say that this human/toy mishegoss is only more complicated by the film itself. The film is also banned from release in the southeast Asian country of Malaysia. The way Buzz defined himself as a toy all make an appearance, but never exactly in the same way. Its rare that Disney/Pixar movies incite controversy but Lightyear, a Toy Story origin story, certainly has. Online, Disneys half-hearted inclusivity is often referred to as passive progressive.The now infamous Lightyear kiss (which is, at best, a quick peck) was only reinstated in the film after an open letter in March by the LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar, and their allies, which criticized Disney for brutally cutting nearly every moment of overtly gay affection regardless of when there is protest from both the creative teams and executive leadership at Pixar.Despite conservative attempts to create a narrative around a supposed gay agenda, Disney is simply trying to avoid bad publicity - Disneys agenda is to make money, without alienating their queer audience, as well as easily panicked suburbanites. . She currently resides in Westport. The reason why you hire big celebrities to do animated films is not because they have amazing voices. Culture Re-View: The loudest gigs in history, Watch: Neil deGrasse Tyson explains the phenomenon of "Manhattanhenge". window._taboola = window._taboola || [];_taboola.push({mode: 'thumbnails-mid-article',container: 'taboola-mid-article-thumbnails',placement: 'Mid Article Thumbnails',target_type: 'mix'}); Previously, Disney revealed its plans to cut costs by $5.5 billion. What initially was expected to be another perfunctory prequel for a beloved character was quickly revealed to be something much more convoluted. Disneys other 1995 output was The Goofy Movie and Pocahontas, so well make it easy on our brain and say that Lightyear takes up the space in the Disney calendar that Toy Story occupied. What other movies would Lightyear have opened against in 1995? While several Hollywood films have been censored in different countries for LGBTQ+ representation in the past, the response to Lightyear has been largely condemned by fans, activists, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Sign up for Rolling Out news straight to your inbox. Copyright 2022 Rolling Out. Meanwhile, in 2018 Chinese station Mango TV was stripped of its rights to show Eurovision after censoring several rainbow flags. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. A bigger problem seems to be confusion as to exactly how this animated movie relates to the iconic Toy Story franchise and, specifically, the Buzz Lightyear character, voiced by Tim Allen. It is what it is. The 'Toy Story' spin-off, which has attracted controversy in many Muslim-majority countries, due to its depiction of a lesbian marriage and kiss, has so far been banned from release in 13 countries. Buzz Lightyear, left, voiced by Chris Evans, and Alisha Hawthorne, voiced by Uzo Aduba, in a scene from the animated film "Lightyear." This would mean that the Andys-world Lightyear is a Disney product, forcing us to contemplate the Toy Story universe as an alternate timeline of sorts. Buzzs closest colleague is Commander Aisha Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba), who winds up marrying a woman. Oklahoma theatre slammed for issuing fast-forward warning over same gender kiss scene. Mathilde De Robien - published on 06/24/22 Working to change mentalities they consider "backward," Disney and Pixar studios have reinstated in their new animated film 'Lightyear' a scene in. 'The Proud Family' reboot features a gay character and couple. In March, a group of unnamed LGBTQ+ Pixar employees and allies wrote a letter calling out Disney for cutting "nearly every moment of overtly gay affection." This was an especially bad look in the context of Disney and CEO Bob . Susman adds her voice to those of the film's cast who earlier this weekexpressed disappointment over censorship of the film because of LGBT+ content. However, this animatedPixarfilm, released in 2022, is considered one of Disneys biggest box office failures. *Terms apply. After the title card that states this is that film that Andy saw, we still get another title card within Lightyear that says it is a Disney film. Earlier this year,Jeremy Doig, the companys CTO at the time, departed, marking the development under CEOBob Igersrestructuring plans for the largest entertainmentcompany. America is becoming 2 countries -- one full of people who realize representation matters, who embrace the rights of people rather than strip them awayand then one like Oklahoma. The majority of Disney films feature heterosexual characters kissing - its never been a problem before. remarked on this controversy in a tweet. Thats right, Lightyear isnt just an origin story; were told that the movie we are about to watch is a movie that a character within Toy Story has actually seen. The news isnt surprising, considering the company hasdecided to remove a wide range of contentfrom the streaming platform as part of cost-cutting measures. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Disney Pixars Lightyear finally hit the screens on June 17, following several months of anticipation and excitement among Toy Story fans. Its their brief display of affection at their 40th anniversary party that aroused all the controversy. It's rare that Disney/Pixar movies incite controversy but "Lightyear," a . It's because they are well known celebrities, and they can market the movie for you. For the mercy of our sanity, neither Woody nor any of Andys other toys make an appearance. The great kerfuffle revolves around a brief, same-gender kiss that was removed and then reinstated when Pixar employees said Disney was censoring overtly gay affection as Disney CEO Bob Chapek reacted to Floridas Dont Say Gay legislation. Its more maddening the more you think about it. This is going to be a big test of the Pixar brand, [but] its Toy Story, it should open more than $70 million, says Matt Belloni, founding partner of Puck News. Or conceivably a toy of one of the other characters in the film? Disney lost an estimated $106 million after the release of Lightyear, with the films total expenses reported to be around $373 million,accordingto Deadline. If Buzz Lightyear becomes the kind of child-adored phenomenon to spawn highly coveted merchandise and party supplies in his image, surely the other characters (beyond Zurg, that is) would make a presence in Andys world. 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