Buzz Lightyear
Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear was first introduced to us as a birthday gift for Andy in the very first Toy Story movie back in 1995.
At first Buzz firmly believes he is a space ranger capable of completing missions with the aid of fully functioning equipment such as a communicator and laser. In fact these items are just a sticker and LED. Just before Buzz is about to go on a mission he prepares by going into a hypersleep or, to you and I, is placed back in his display box!
Such an impact has Buzz Lightyear had on his audience that 1 in 10 school children believe he was the first man on the moon. The results of this survey come from primary and secondary school children for National Science and Engineering week of March 2010.
Buzz Lightyear is quite an unemotional guy who believes in following rules and to accomplish his important missions Buzz makes sure he is in peak physical fitness. As a space ranger of the Intergalatic Alliance, Buzz is the Alliance Team's captain and is stationed at Section 4 Gamma Quadrant. His goal is to save the universe from the evil Emperor Zurg. This temporary stop in Andy's bedroom is an inconvenience to Buzz who will use the time to repair his broken spaceship (toy box!) to go forward and complete his mission with the Universe Protection Unit.
Unfortunately Buzz soon finds out what Woody and all the other toys in Andy's bedroom have known form the start - Buzz Lightyear is a toy!
However not just any toy - this is the toy little boys dream of. A Buzz Lightyear figure has to be one of the coolest toys ever made. It comes complete with a voice, laser beam and pop out wings and is made of high impact plastic with a bubble helmet. Together kids and Buzz Lightyear will have hours of fun taking on the Evil Zurg and completing missions to help protect the universe and, of course, go to infinity and beyond!!!
The Creators of Buzz Lightyear - Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios is an award winning film studio based in California and specialise in CGI animation - Computer Generated Imagery.
It has brought to our screens some of the greatest animated movies ever made and is one of the most critically acclaimed studios of all time. Beginning with Toy Story in 1995, Pixar has brought eleven feature films to our cinemas with huge commercial success.
Pixar started out as Graphics Group in 1979 which was part of Lucasfilm before it was acquired by Apples co-founder Steve Jobs in 1986. Walt Disney brought the company in 2006.
After the first Toy Story movie featuring Buzz, Woody and the gang a series of hugely popular films followed – first A Bugs Life (1998), and then Toy Story 2 (1999) was a worthy sequel to the first movie attracting a whole new audience. Monsters Inc followed in 2001, Finding Nemo in 2003, Cars in 2006, Ratatouille in 2007, Wall -E 2008 and Up in 2009.
Pixar have hit on a winning formula providing world class animations alongside memorable characters and wonderful thought provoking storylines. Its popularity can be judged by the vast amount of awards won over the years and the multi million dollar merchandise industry that accompanies each film release.