Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!

There were no movies at the video store I wanted to see so I decided to get one for the kids. Buzz Lightyear of Star Command happened to be there and since we all liked Toy Story, I decided to rent it. To be honest, I was actually looking forward to seeing it myself. I liked the original Toy Story, but Toy Story 2 was even better. I loved that movie and I was hoping some characters from those movies other than Buzz would be included in this prequel.

The other characters, Woody, Mr. Potato Head and all the other toys do make an appearance at the beginning, but just a brief one. It begins in the bedroom where they live with all of them gathered around anticipating Buzz’ new film, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. After that the story begins.

This is the story of Buzz before meeting up with Woody and the gang. This is also before he knows the Evil Emporer Zurg is really his father as he finds out in Toy Story 2. Buzz and his partner, a fellow space ranger named Warp Darkmatter, are given the assignment to rescue 3 missing personnel who happen to be LGM’s or Little Green Men. They are the same little men who live in the game at the pizza parlor in Toy Story. He says he will rescue them even if has to go to infinity and beyond.

But first, he must get through the crater vipers, a dragon-like creature sent by the Evil Emporer Zurg to foil his rescue attempt, which takes place on the moon. He defeats them easily enough and then happens upon 3 more LGM’s who have come to help look for their friends using their “mind link”. It seems that all of the LGM’s are of one mind.

Meanwhile, Zurg is using his torture division in his subterranean outpost to torture test the LGM’s and prove they think and feel as one. Zurg wants to use a cranial dissector. It’s discovered there is a giant mystical orb called the Uni-Mind. Buzz and Zurg battle and Zurg sets the moon to self destruct in 60 seconds. Buzz tries to save his partner, Warp, and fails.

His superior, Commander Nebuli, tries to get him set up with a new partner. “I work alone”, says Buzz, unwilling to replace his partner. A group of cadets are undergoing level 9 training and Buzz is amazed. This is the level he trains at. Next, it is increased to level 10. Only one cadet can endure, a female rookie named Meara Nova. She uses the Tangean Ghosting powers she learned on her planet. Buzz is still not sold on the idea of a partner.

Back at the Star Cruiser Launch Bay, Star Cruiser 36 sits waiting for its next mission. A big red creature resembling a muppet and named Booster is desperate to become a Space Ranger. He’s a custodian who uses a molecular mop to clean the floors. He tries to convince Buzz to allow him to become a ranger. Buzz is introduced to a tiny little man with thick glasses and a Space Ranger suit and told he is his new partner, a robot. He is called Ex-R., or Experimental Ranger. Commander Nebuli is not impressed and calls him the Expendable Ranger and says he is unauthorized. However, he is soon called into action to help Buzz anyway.

The the LGM homeland is infiltrated by Zurg’s henchmen. The LGM do things such as touch the giant orb, Uni-Mind, and chant, “We are one.” They go about their business until they realize there has been an invasion. They try to save the Uni-Mind. Then they change their chant to, “We are one. We are powerful…we are afraid!” Buzz comes to the rescue and Ex-R. ends up being blown up. The Uni-Mind is captured.

Without Uni-Mind, the LGM can’t fix Ex-R. who has become “carbonic scrap.” They just can’t focus on the task and work as a team anymore.

Back in his tower, Zurg is with his little cockroach soldiers. Buzz plans to launch a full scale assault on Planet Z. Ex-R. is repaired finally and comes back to offer a time-share solution to share the galaxy with Zurg. But Meara proposes a battle plan to overtake Zurg. Buzz refers to Meara as Princess and still is not interested in her help.

Ex-R offers Booster a VIP tour of the Star Cruiser. It becomes obvious that they are somehow going to be launced into space. There are many funny, inside jokes only adults will get in the movie. One of them is when Ex-R is looking at a magazine in the cruiser called ‘Victoria’s Circuit’. Nova and Buzz both hatch separate plans to hijack alpha 1. They struggle and she gives him the Tangean Brain Squeeze.

To practice blowing up Star Command, Zurg blows up the Planet of the Vegetarians. They are odd, salad-eating creatures. Then he blows up an underwater planet. Star Cruiser is launched with Booster and Ex-R down below trying on Space Ranger suits. Soon they are discovered by Buzz and Meara.

Zurg is using the Uni-Mind to control the minds of the LGM’s and turn them into versions of himself. He ends up bombing the rangers who unbeknownst to Zurg, escape on a small space craft and infiltrate Planet Z. Buzz orders the others to leave the planet and unmasks the one he thinks is Zurg. It turns out to be Warp Darkmatter who has betrayed him. You can draw comparisons to Star Wars here. Warp has crossed over to the dark side. He tells Buzz that evil is more fun and profitable. They arrest him.

Zurg wishes to turn Buzz into himself using the Uni-Mind. The others, who have left the planet on the craft, overhear Buzz on the radio recording his goodbye as he plans to meet his doom. They come to rescue him. To bring Buzz out into the open, Zurg threatens to blow up the ‘Planet of Widows and Orphans.’ But as Buzz says, “Evil never wins.” They all arrest Zurg. But he gets away and and enslaves all the remaining planets with Uni-Mind saying, “Evil rules!” Buzz goes into the core of the Uni-Mind using Meara’s ghosting powers. The LGM’s test it and Uni-Mind has been restored.

I’ve given away most of the movie, but I’ll stop short of giving away the ending. I found this to be an entertaining family film. My husband and I laughed as much as the kids. It didn’t have the computer-generated animation of Toy Story, but rather basic animation. We still enjoyed it. At 70 minutes long, it was nice and short. And there was no objectionable material for any age group. These days, that’s hard to come by.