Best Disney sci-fi movies (that aren't Star Wars, Marvel, or Pixar) This delusion is the source of great comedy. To Buzz, Andy's room is an alien world, the likes of Hamm, Mr Potato Head, and Rex — aka "Slotted Pig", "Vegetable Man," and "Lizard Man" in Buzz-speak — its friendly inhabitants. The openly hostile Woody fulfils the role of the narrow-minded town elder suppressing new ideas in an episode of " Star Trek: The Next Generation ". It would have been easy to make Buzz a one-joke character, the sci-fi toy who never comes to terms with his terrestrial origins. But this Space Ranger comes out of the box with so many bonus accessories that he leaves most live-action characters trailing in his wake — those groundbreaking computer graphics aren't the only thing about "Toy Story" that proved to be surprisingly three-dimensional. (Image credit: Disney/Pixar) He's animated to perfection — nobody moves like Buzz Lightyear — and delivers one-liners to die for: "You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity" deserves a place in the movie put-down hall of fame. Meanwhile, Tim Allen makes it easy to see why Billy Crystal (who went on to voice Mike Wazowski in "Monsters, Inc.") regretted turning down the chance to play Buzz. Allen delivers one of the all-time great vocal performances, effortlessly shifting from big laughs to extreme pathos. Crucially, Buzz is so much more than a one-note comedy character — he even becomes a truly tragic (action) figure when a TV commercial confirms his worst nightmares are true: he really is a toy, and not a flying one at that. Had the guilt-ridden Woody not turned up at Buzz's nadir, the crest-fallen Space Ranger might have lived out his days as Mrs Nesbitt, sipping Darjeeling in a cute little apron with toy killer Sid's little sister, Hannah. Even then, it takes an epic pep talk from the insecure cowboy (unsympathetic analysis might portray Woody as the villain of the piece) to assure Buzz that while he is undoubtedly a toy, he's undoubtedly the coolest toy around. (Image credit: Disney/Pixar) This status was confirmed in real life when actual Buzz Lightyear action figures became one of the most desirable toys of the late '90s — Buzz even went on to join "Toy Story" franchise co-stars Mr Potato Head, Barbie, and Etch A Sketch on Time magazine's list of the 100 greatest toys of all time . (Probably better not to tell Woody about that one…) Buzz was the breakout star of Andy's playroom, fronting his own cartoon spin-off, "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command", and becoming the inspiration for Pixar's excessively meta " Lightyear ", supposedly the movie that inspired the cartoon that inspired the toy that became a star in "Toy Story". But while OG Buzz has been an integral part of the ensemble in the three "Toy Story" sequels — and presumably has a big part to play in the upcoming " Toy Story 5 ", as well — he's never quite recaptured the dashing, out-of-the-box appeal of his 1995 debut. Because when it comes to plastic Space Rangers with delusions of grandeur, it turns out they don't make them quite like they used to. All four "Toy Story" movies and "Lightyear" are available on Disney+ in the US and the UK. *Yes, we know we're a week late on the actual anniversary of the movie. Blame our Editor Ian for mixing up the dates. BLACK FRIDAY DEAL: Save 62% on the Disney+ & Hulu (with ads) bundle with this Black Friday deal. This deal is valid for a full year, meaning you'll save $96 total. Hate ads? You can also save $5 per month on the premium (no ads) version of this bundle, too. Offer ends Dec 1 at midnight. Social Links Navigation Space.com Contributor Richard's love affair with outer space started when he saw the original "Star Wars" on TV aged four, and he spent much of the ’90s watching "Star Trek”, "Babylon 5” and “The X-Files" with his mum. After studying physics at university, he became a journalist, swapped science fact for science fiction, and hit the jackpot when he joined the team at SFX, the UK's biggest sci-fi and fantasy magazine. He liked it so much he stayed there for 12 years, four of them as editor. He's since gone freelance and passes his time writing about "Star Wars", "Star Trek" and superheroes for the likes of SFX, Total Film, TechRadar and GamesRadar+. He has met five Doctors, two Starfleet captains and one Luke Skywalker, and once sat in the cockpit of "Red Dwarf"'s Starbug. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Logout Deals not to miss Source: https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-movies-shows/buzz-lightyear-at-30-how-sci-fis-most-famous-flying-toy-took-us-to-infinity-and-beyond