Syllable In The City

Lightyear perfect for the whole family

“Lightyear,” is a sci-fi action-adventure and the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy. The movie follows the legendary Space Ranger after he and his commander are marooned on a hostile planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth. In his endeavours, Buzz is joined by a group of ambitious recruits and his charming robot companion cat, Sox, my absolute favourite character in this movie.

As I watched an early preview of this movie that premiers globally on Friday 17 June 2022, I found myself in literal wide-eyed wonder. It is a wonderful balance of action and humour and I would watch it a hundred times over. And even if you’ve never watched a Toy Story movie (I’ve only watched the first one) you know the phrase “To infinity, and beyond!”, Buzz’s catchphrase.

Fierce and fun

In the movie, Buzz and his crew are marooned on a hostile planet and in his efforts to finish the mission and get everyone back to earth, he gains new friends, loses old ones, and faces an unlikely foe, Zurg. The charming Space Ranger is voiced by Chris Evans (Captain America).

In his continued efforts to achieve hyperspeed with stable fuel, everyone left behind ages in the four minutes it takes each test flight. Just as he finds the solution, the robots invade, and he is forced to team up with a group of ambitious recruits known as the Junior Zap Patrol. However, they aren’t trained and have their own baggage, including fear of space, fear of commitment, and fear of being arrested for parole violations.

His number one wingman though is Sox, a devoted robot companion cat bestowed on Buzz by Star Command. Sox exists primarily to make Buzz happy, with the goal of easing the Space Ranger’s emotional transition after his absence. He is the friend and sidekick Buzz requires, a hidden grab bag of gadgets in a cute, kitty package. In addition, Sox is also skilled at producing white noise and is capable of performing complex computations.