Pixar CCO Speaks on Buzz Lightyear Plot Hole in ‘Toy Story’
Written by SOURCE on December 29, 2020
Pixar‘s Soul is out now and you should absolutely have it at the top of your watchlist. Surrounding the Jamie Foxx-led existential animation’s release, writer/director and company veteran Pete Docter took the time to address some long-held questions about the larger Pixar universe, namely one plot-related inquiry about Toy Story’s famed space cadet Buzz Lightyear.
In an interview with Bill Bradley for HuffPost, Docter—who also serves as Pixar’s chief creative officer—was asked about the fact that Mr. Lightyear goes along with the whole “go limp like a toy” thing in front of humans despite being initially convinced that he’s an actual intergalactic traverser. Given that Toy Story is a (classic) movie about sentient toys, it’s hard to believe that this facet of the story could reasonably be considered a “plot hole,” although some people apparently disagree.
According to Docter, this was discussed during the production of 1995’s first installment in the franchise (and the studio’s feature filmography). Ultimately the team concluded it simply doesn’t matter.
“We went through a lot of discussion on Toy Story, the first one, about like, ‘If Buzz doesn’t know he’s a toy, why does he go rigid when a kid walks in the room?'” Docter, who also helmed Inside Out, said. “We had a lot of explanations and talk about that, too. And in the end, nobody cared.”
What’s more important when telling a story, Docter added, is to figure out a way to predict which aspects of the plot your audience will consider the most important “or at least push their interest there.”
Soul is out now. Watch it.
