As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
Fridge Brilliance
- Why does Buzz (the movie character) not sound like Buzz (the toy)? Because the toy company used a less expensive voice actor for the toy - a common practice going as far back as the 1980s.
- Alternatively, the toy isn't based on the "live action" Buzz. In the 1980s and 1990s, some R-rated films had Animated Adaptation performed on them, which often not only toned down the elements of what made the films R-rated, but also used voice actors who weren't the original actors. The Real Ghostbusters is a great example of this, as the voice actors in the show were not any of the original actors from the film. Kenner, for this example, based their toyline off of the animated series, using the character designs from the show, as a means of skirting around likeness rights in the process. It could be possible that the Buzz toy is based on an in-universe animated series (perhaps even Buzz Lightyear of Star Command), which would have had a stylistic downgrade of Buzz's look from the film, and the voice we're hearing is the voice actor sound alike that was hired to play Buzz in the animated series. Other examples include Rambo: The Force of Freedom, RoboCop: The Animated Series, Police Academy, Batman: The Animated Series, and The Karate Kid, to which all are animated series adaptations and had action figure lines based on them. This wouldn't just account for why Buzz doesn't sound the same, but it would also explain why Buzz doesn't look the same as the "live-action" Buzz: because Buzz's toyline was based off of the in-universe animated adaptation, and the voice is the voice actor who regularly voices Buzz on the show.
- Word of God has indeed confirmed
that the toy Buzz and Zurg are from the Star Command toyline.
- The film's portrayal of Buzz isn't as hammy or wacky as the previous versions of the character, and acts more like a normal guy. This is because, in-universe, the toy and the Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command versions of the character are simplified caricatures of his most iconic traits, while this original, "real" Buzz Lightyear is more complex and layered than that.
- The film's twist of Zurg being Buzz Lightyear actually was hinted at long before the film came out with the toy version of Buzz; 1 made him a delusional toy who thought he was a space ranger, 2 had him facing a Buzz who still thought he was a space ranger, 3 brainwashed him back to space ranger mode, and 4 cost him a few brain cells and made him think his voice box was his actual "inner voice". In other words, Buzz's own worst enemy isn't just Zurg, but also himself. It only made sense that, this time, the two were one and the same.
- Heck, Kingdom Hearts III had Buzz being corrupted by Darkness by the main villain's past self.
- To say nothing of the mirror universe version of Buzz on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, who became his timeline's Evil Emperor.
- Another theme that returns from the Toy Story movies is the conflict of Buzz vs. an inevitable future of saying goodbye to a loved one. Recall that Andy gets older and slowly outgrows his toys while said toys stay the same "age." Now look what happens to Alicia. The biggest difference being she doesn't just grow older; she actually passes away. Izzy could then be seen as a stand-in for Bonnie. First time we see her, she even appears to be roughly Bonnie's age.
- Remember in Toy Story 4 how Bo Peep left Woody out to dry when he wouldn't stop going after Forky, even when it was clear they stood no chance? Notice how Buzz was the only one who didn't chew him out for his attitude, instead gently encouraging him to go home. Even though he knows he's a toy, he still remembers his experiences from the movie, specifically his attitude towards "completing the mission" resulting in a future version of himself becoming Zurg, coming to the realization that this attitude was hurting everyone around him. With that in mind, he was trying to keep Woody from making the same mistake. It also explains why he was so willing to let Woody leave Bonnie's room and stay with Bo Peep—both were able to overcome their original mindset and move forward with people they cared for, so Buzz wanted Woody to have that chance.
- Crosses over into Fridge Sadness, there may be a second reason why Buzz chose not to leave: at this point, he’s been gone for the better part of 50 years. Everyone he loved, his family, friends, possible children, would either be dead or unrecognizable. He has nothing to return to.
- Future Buzz doesn't go into details about the Zurg suit, spaceship, and robots. It's possible the writer(s) left out certain details on purpose. His dialogue implies there was already a Zurg long before Old Buzz came along. If the audience are not satisfied with the Zurg reveal, they could give them the real Zurg in the sequel.
- The sandwich composition after Buzz's successful Warp Jump in Lightyear being two slices of meat with a slice of bread would have made sense since T'Kani Prime would have issues with farming (due to hostile wildlife hampering with cultivation) yet able to procure meat (either from those killed by electrified fences or Zap Patrol's hunts).
- The first Space Ranger suits are sparse compared the new ones at the end of the film. However, as Buzz had the clearance to attend design meetings for the Turnip, he was able to contribute to the designs of the new suits based on his experiences in the movie, with them being directly built-in to solve the problems he or someone else had prior:
- The laser pistols and wrist-mounted laser gun Buzz used throughout the movie kept causing problems if he were to lose them.
- The jetpack naturally would've been a big help for saving Rookie at the beginning and Izzy would have much less of a risk floating through the vacuum of space and nearly lost Sox as well.
- It's a subtle moment in Toy Story, but notice how Buzz is a lot more hostile to Woody when he tells him to knock off the spaceman act? Or how he gives Woody a Death Glare when he starts mocking the idea of him being the "real" Buzz Lightyear? Or how, under the gas tanker, that Woody's "You are a toy!" rant towards Buzz gets him to leave? This movie adds a lot more context to those moments—Buzz didn't take too kindly towards being accused of not being the real Buzz Lightyear because he already met Zurg, whom our Buzz had rejected as being himself given how selfish he had become in trying to undo his mistake. Woody may have been right in the moment, but he was unknowingly accusing Buzz of being Zurg. Pixar hid a Berserk Button for Buzz right under the audience's noses the entire time.
- Why would Lightyear, a movie that's very bleak in tone and far from kid-friendly, be Andy's favorite movie? Because of his father. Andy's dad, whether dead or divorced, is not in his life, and Andy no doubt felt like he missed out on a lot of time that he could have spent with him. Then he sees this movie and sees Buzz, who goes through the difficulties of devoting himself to his mission, and thus missing out on spending time with Alisha—his best friend—and the life he could have made for himself. It wasn't just those cool gadgets and heroic deeds that made Andy a fan of Buzz; he saw something of himself in the Space Ranger, and if Buzz could learn to make a new path for himself in spite of the time he missed with his loved ones, so could Andy.
- Izzy's Absurd Phobia of space is actually a subversion. She got the phobia because she wanted to go to space. She wanted to become a Space Ranger just like her grandmother and Buzz, so she studied everything she could about space. And the childlike wonder came crashing down when she learned about the dangers of going to space. Izzy's fear of space is fully rational since she was probably a teenager when she first learned about the dangers of what could go wrong and that's what she focused on. From there, nerves and anxiety took over for her, which is what really hampers when it comes to space travel.
- Zurg could be considered a good metaphor for insanity. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Case in point, Buzz had tried perfecting hyperspeed a total of 15 times with each attempt failing while his friends had moved on with their lives. In an alternate timeline, Zurg had become so trapped and consumed in this toxic mindset, determined to fix his mistake, no matter who or what suffers. Best exemplified when Buzz points out that of they undo the Turnip crash, Alisha won't have Izzy, to which Zurg nonchalantly asks, "Who's Izzy?", and later on, when Zurg crushes his Sox for betraying him.
- Zurg is also a good metaphor for perfectionism, particularly unhealthy perfectionism. If you try to make to your life a flawless performance, you become devoid of all humanity, no different from a robot. And what did Zurg inhabit most of the time? That's right, a robotic mech-suit.
Fridge Horror
- Also overlaps with Fridge Sadness, as the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the movie presents the character at his most vulnerable— being stuck in his devotion to completing the mission, unable to be the hero he desperately wants to be, or the hero we know him as in Toy Story. Seeing how popular Buzz is in the Toy Story franchise, he became that hero, both in the movie, and to kids like Andy. But the toy of Buzz he got? The one who faced the ultimate existential crisis when he learned he was a toy and not a space ranger? That means that everything he will go through in the film will have been All for Nothing. It's little wonder he took to being "Mrs. Nesbitt" so hard. It wasn't enough that he discovered his entire life was a lie; the struggles that he faced in the film, all that devotion to overcoming his flaws, never happened. True, Woody is able to convince Buzz that he has a purpose, but it makes his downfall over the whole thing all the more tragic.
- It gets even worse with Buzz's goal; to be a space ranger again. Imagine how Buzz, who finally got to have his dream again after he accepts his mistake, suddenly learns that it was all a lie and he's just a toy. Double ouch.
