Lightyear: Good entertainment

Disney has dabbled in controversy in the past few years. Lightyear was caught in those "controversies", for some scenes were censored in some countries and paned by conservatives. I really have to wonder about that latter part...

As the title implies, the movie is about Buzz Lightyear in his own universe - what Andy was watching in the original Toy Story in 1995, according to the movie. While traveling through space, his ship's censors detect life, which prompts him to change course to explore it. That's when all the troubles start...

Let's address the "controversy" first: there is a lesbian couple. But the relationship is rather secondary to the story line. We 1) hear a mention that Alisha got engaged to a woman (who never even speaks), 2) see them hold hands and 3) see them exchange a brief kiss (nothing long and passionate). No, it doesn't "add up" to the story, but it's NOT propaganda. There are same-sex couples with children everywhere; why ignore them?

For the rest, the movie was interesting and entertaining. It even addresses advanced scientific terms like time dilation and we see it in practical action. While Buzz tries to reach light speed in space, everyone on the planet ages - Alisha even dies during his trials and he sees her granddaughter as an adult.

My favorite parts are where Sox (a robotic cat) is there. The character is both an important part of Buzz' adventure and a comic relief. When he "thinks", he utters "meow" like Homer does when Bart is in court to prove someone's innocence. He even has a "cat mode" where he chases a red dot.

However, the Zerg "revelation" was quite disappointing and seemed out of line. Sure, time dilation can create a multiverse, but it seemed heavy for a kids' movie. And the rookies-Buzz relationship has a predictable direction, which was uninteresting.

But overall, the movie is definitely worth a watch. It one of Disney's best ideas in a while; let's hope that any subsequent sequels (excluding low-budget, direct-to-video releases) will not spoil it.

Final rating: 3.7/5 (not a masterpiece, but still better-than-average)