Pixar’s First TV Show Did What The Studio’s $200 Million Movie Couldn’t And Is Still Incredibly Underrated 24 Years Later

Although Pixar has created a few TV shows in the years since 2000, the studio’s first cartoon did what Toy Story’s spinoff Lightyear couldn’t manage in 2022. Every Pixar movie has its champions, and the studio isn’t short of critical defenders. Pixar’s movies have fared incredibly well with reviewers, with no less than 11 of their feature film efforts winning Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. Only six Pixar movies weren’t nominated for any Academy Awards, and all of them were spinoffs, sequels, and prequels. One such movie was 2022’s box office failure Lightyear.

An attempt to expand the Toy Story universe by making the in-universe toy Buzz Lightyear into a real franchise leading man, Lightyear was seen as a misfire by audiences upon its 2022 release. Although critics were comparatively kind to Lightyear, its disastrous box office means that Lightyear 2 is unlikely to be among Pixar’s upcoming movies anytime soon. This is ironic since, some 22 years earlier, the studio had already followed up Toy Story with a successful Buzz Lightyear-centric spinoff that managed to do what Lightyear couldn’t manage. This show also cost a lot less money in the process.

Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command Was A Better “Real Buzz” Than The 2022 Movie

Buzz Lightyear’s Cartoon Captured His Hilarious Personality

Beginning in October 2000, the cartoon comedy series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command successfully de-fictionalized the character of Buzz Lightyear over two decades before Lightyear was released. Developed by the same creators that went on to make Kim Possible, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command starred a veritable who’s who of ‘90s cartoon voice acting talent. Patrick Warburton voiced Buzz Lightyear himself, while Scrubs scene stealer Nicole Sullivan played Princess Mira Nova. Neil Flynn, Phil LaMarr, Michael Showalter, and Wayne Knight filled out the rest of the show’s impressive lineup.

Despite this string of major names, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command succeeded primarily because the show had an effectively simple premise. Each episode saw Buzz and his team going on a different adventure across the galaxy, as opposed to the gritty origin story that Lightyear attempted. While both were fun, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command took itself far less seriously than Lightyear and was better for it. Coming off the back of a string of anarchic ‘90s cartoon comedies, including Warburton’s earlier superhero spoof The Tick, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command was a fun, self-aware sci-fi spoof.

Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command Had A Simple Premise But Was A Lot Of Fun

Buzz Lightyear’s Spinoff Show Never Took Itself Too Seriously

Even casting the voice of Toy Story 2’s villain as the evil Emperor Zurg was a smart way to link the Toy Story movies to Buzz Lightyear of Star Command without over-complicating things. Lightyear’s downfall as a Pixar movie came from taking its title character too seriously and trying too hard to make him a John Carter-esque hero for a new generation. Buzz Lightyear of Star Command’s Buzz is as silly as his movie counterpart, and Warburton imbued the character with the same deadpan self-seriousness that the comedy veteran brought to many more live-action and animated roles.

Unlike Lightyear, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command seemed willing to embrace the silliness at the core of its title character. Even though the show’s version of Buzz is a real heroic Space Ranger, in contrast with Tim Allen’s delusional toy from the movies, his antics remain comical and absurd. Buzz Lightyear of Star Command doesn’t prioritize action over comedy, something that Lightyear struggled to balance in the movie’s attempts to craft a straightforward sci-fi adventure story out of a series that originally focused on talking toys.

Pixar’s TV Strategy Has Changed A Lot Since Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command

Pixar’s New Shows Are Generally Straightforward Spinoffs

Although Buzz Lightyear of Star Command is fondly remembered, Pixar’s slate of upcoming projects proves that the studio may not have learned the right lesson from the series. When the studio returned to making TV shows after a lengthy absence from the small screen, it was with the show Car Toons in 2008. Running from 2008 until 2014, Car Toons was a direct continuation of the Cars franchise. Similarly, 2021’s Monsters At Work functioned as a followup to Monsters Inc. and Monsters University, with John Goodman and Billy Crystal even returning to the roles of Mike and Sully.

Clearly, despite an early willingness to experiment with formula, the studio has since returned to relying on direct continuations of existing franchises for its small-screen spinoffs. 2021’s Up spinoff Dug Days and 2022’s Cars on the Road both continued this reliable trend, directly adding to the world of an existing IP instead of taking a more experimental approach like Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command. Thus, it is unlikely that viewers will soon see another Pixar TV show like Lightyear’s predecessor, which was the earliest Toy Story franchise spinoff.