Tim Allen is not voicing Buzz Lightyear in this weekend’s Toy Story spinoff, Lightyear, as he has been replaced by Chris Evans. The Captain America actor is voicing the man that inspired the toy that we meet in the 1995 film and this isn’t sitting right with Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle star, Patricia Heaton. In fact, she is blasting Pixar for not using Tim Allen to voice the character.
Heaton took to Twitter to say, “Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns. Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?” You can check out Heaton’s tweet below!
What Patricia Heaton doesn’t seem to get is that this Buzz Lightyear is a different character than the one featured in the Toy Story franchise. Tim Allen’s take on the character is that of a toy that belongs to Andy and is based on the action hero of a fictional movie that Andy saw as a kid which made him want the toy. Director Angus MacLane explained it by saying, “Tim’s version of Buzz is a little goofier and is a little dumber, and so he is the comic relief. In this film, Buzz is the action hero. He’s serious and ambitious and funny, but not in a goofy way that would undercut the drama. Chris Evans has the gravitas, and that movie-star quality that our character needed to separate him and the movie from Tim’s version of the toy in Toy Story.”
Heaton got dragged a bit by people responding to her original tweet. Especially her use of the word “castrate.” One user responded by saying, “Hey Patricia! Totally agree, the castration scene in the movie felt unnecessary and gross in light of the casting choice. Seeing Buzz’s genitals was arousing, but knowing they weren’t the penis and balls of the Tool Man himself really steamed me! It was incredibly hard to climax.”
It seems like Heaton started to notice the heat her tweet was getting so she tried to clarify that she knew they were two different characters but she says, “why remove the one element that makes us want to see it? #stupidHollywooddecisions.” Those who agree with Heaton think that Disney made the decision because Tim Allen is conservative and has views that don’t align with Disney. As one user puts it, “Disney makes ALL decisions with political implications in mind. Tim Allen is conservative so no longer suitable for hire in a Disney production. Stop with this “this is not the toy” or other spin. You know and I know why Allen didn’t voice Buzz.”
Making this a move by Disney for political reasons seems to get immediately squashed by the fact that Allen will be returning to the Disney family later this year in The Clauses, a Disney+ series that is a continuation of The Santa Clause franchise. He’ll once again be playing his character of Scott Calvin aka Santa Clause. I think we can now get behind that his Buzz and the Buzz in this new film are different and they simply wanted new blood.
What are YOUR thoughts on Patricia Heaton’s comments about Tim Allen being replaced as Buzz in Lightyear?