Lightyear's Director Explains Why This Pixar Film Deserves The Big Screen

"Lightyear" is an important film for several reasons. First, it provides essential context to the "Toy Story" mythos by giving audiences in the real world a glimpse into the movie that inspired Andy to get a Buzz Lightyear toy in the first place. "Lightyear" is effectively this universe's version of "Star Wars," so Andy and all of the other kids would naturally want action figures of their favorite space ranger. 

In a much more real context, "Lightyear" is significant because it marks the first time in over two years that a Pixar film landed in theaters. The last movie to do that was 2020's "Onward," which came out right before the COVID-19 pandemic caused mass shutdowns. Since that time, every Pixar film has gone straight to Disney+, including "Soul," "Luca," and "Turning Red." Those were all original concepts for movies, but "Lightyear" has some pre-existing intellectual property to go along with it. As such, it marks Pixar's triumphant return to the big screen, and the film's director recently explained why audiences should absolutely stop by their local cineplex to see it.

Naturally, audiences may wonder if they should see "Lightyear" on the biggest screen possible, knowing it will go to Disney+ in the near future. However, according to the filmmakers behind "Lightyear," the film deserves to be seen with a ton of other people. 

Angus MacLane (co-writer and director) and Galyn Susman (producer) sat down to do an interview with Grace Randolph about the upcoming Pixar flick. They were asked what makes the movie "cinematic" in their view, and MacLane responded, "A lot of the narrative is intended to be seen with an audience to experience it collectively. Much like a comedy is very much that way. You want to feel the electricity of the audience, so the cinematic experience benefits this film tremendously." 

It sounds like "Lightyear" was designed to be seen on the biggest screen imaginable, which makes sense. It's not a down-to-earth coming-of-age story or anything like that. It's a big, epic sci-fi rollercoaster, and Susman added, "It's an immersive experience. You want to feel like you're in space right with Buzz and the team, and so, you know, the bigger you can see it, the better." Based on critics' reviews so far, Pixar has knocked it out of the park once again, so if you haven't been to the theater since the pandemic started, "Lightyear" sounds like a great excuse to revisit and have your mind blown.