One of the most controversial premieres of 2022 was lightyear. The production, related to the historic franchise toy story, explored the origin of the astronaut who gave the toy figure its name. Initially, after each advance, the expectation with which movie increased. However, box office wise, it was a flop.
lightyear It had an estimated budget of $200 million. After its release on June 17 of last year, the film grossed just over $226 million. The animated feature film, beyond its history, was affected by the most obvious, ridiculous and unfair controversy, which occurred due to the kiss between two women.
A scene that put lightyear in the wrong focus, with insipid discussions that were of little interest or had to do with the film itself. Especially if we consider that the production told the origin story of the character on which the toy that we have seen in the four installments of toy story. Regarding the commercial failure, Pete Doctorone of the high commands of pixargave his opinion on what happened with the film.
lightyear and an explanation for its failure
Peter Docter, who is a screenwriter and executive, was the director of several of Pixar’s most relevant projects in recent years. Within his resume are up —perhaps one of the best animated films of all time—, Intensely and Soul. Through these productions, Docter has touched on themes such as death, aging, love and heartbreak, among others.
Of course, some of those issues are present in lightyear. However, the production did not finish convincing the audience. Because? In statements given to The WrapPeter Docter explained:
“We’ve done some soul-searching about it because we all love the movie, its characters, and the premise. I think what probably went wrong is that we asked too much of the audience.. When they hear Buzz, they’re like, ‘Great, where are Mr. Potato Head, Woody and Rex?’”
Pete Doctor.
Docter refers to an iconic group of figures who accompanied buzz lightyear during the saga toy story. Is it just the responsibility of the audience? The creative qualified, with the following statement:
“Even if they (viewers) read the press material, it was too distant, both in concept and in the way the characters were drawn and portrayed. It was much more of a sci-fi movie.”
Pete Doctor.
Within his reflection, Peter Docter referred to the kiss scene, designed with the intention of representing different families in contemporary society. Regarding this last intention, the executive said:
“Angus McLane (the director) took it very seriously and genuinely wanted to portray those characters as real. But the characters of toy story They’re much broader, so I think there was a disconnect between what people wanted or expected and what was offered to them.”
Pete Doctor.
The future of the franchise toy story
Regarding the announcement of toy story 5Peter Docter took advantage of his time in The Wrap to give some clues about the project:
“I think it will be amazing. It has some really cool stuff that hasn’t been seen before. We’re trying to make that movie, but making it takes you to unexpected places and we love the creative process. If I knew exactly what I’m doing when I start making a filmIt wouldn’t make sense to do it. I discover a lot along the way.”
Pete Doctor.
Date of high in disneyplus now and save thanks to the annual subscriptionwith which you can enjoy its entire catalog of series and films, access to the latest releasesto the catalog of stars and the best documentaries from National Geographic.
In early February 2023 it was revealed that toy story 5 is being developed by pixar. This occurs at a time when the company has released several projects that do not quite satisfy their audience. Is it a return to the classic franchises, previously successful to connect with the public? We’ll see.
