Lightyear

There’s two ways at looking at a film like Lightyear.

In one sense, this is undoubtedly a cynical cash grab and another attempt to get blood from the ever-profitable stone that is the Toy Story franchise.

On the other hand, it’s a decent kids movie that my two cousins really enjoyed.

At this stage, is there any point in debating which of the two holds greater value?

Films like this are always going to be churned out by big studios – if they make a shed load of cash, they’ll be greenlit for a sequel. If they don’t, everybody will forget about them by the time the summer is done.

One aspect that I did really like about Lightyear is how it tied in with the original Toy Story film. It’s cool to imagine yourself as a young Andy experiencing this iconic character on the big screen for the first time. My youngest cousin asked for a Buzz Lightyear doll as soon as the credits started rolling, so I guess this flick had the desired effect on its target audience.

Aside from that, there isn’t an awful lot that’s new about this. It’s rare to see Pixar go through the motions but every now and then they do, and this is definitely a case in point. There’s no real jeopardy to speak of, there’s a cute talking cat that will inevitably rake in a load of merchandise sales, and there’s a handful of heart-warming moments along the way.

It’s a solid formula and one that will inevitably always go down well with the majority of audience members. Is there much creative value to it? Not really, no. Does it put a smile on kid’s faces? Yes, and I guess – at least in the mind of this soppy writer – that holds greater weight than any artistic pomp ever could.