Pixar exec says 'Lightyear' movie flopped because 'we asked too much of audience'

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Pixar’s chief creative officer Pete Docter complained to The Wrap this week that audiences could not comprehend the nature of "Toy Story" spinoff "Lightyear," while appearing to ignore cultural boycotts.

The 2022 film was a prequel or spinoff of the original "Toy Story" film series that revolved around the friendship between a toy space ranger named Buzz Lightyear and a toy cowboy named Woody. The premise of the new film was about the space-age science-fiction protagonist that the Buzz Lightyear toy was theoretically based on.

"Lightyear" ended up doing poorly at the box office, compared to Pixar’s long history of blockbusters films that revolutionized animation. Docter complained that a spinoff about a hypothetical character the Buzz Lightyear toy was based on was too abstract a concept for audiences to handle.

"We’ve done a lot of soul-searching about that because we all love the movie. We love the characters and the premise. I think probably what we’ve ended on in terms of what went wrong is that we asked too much of the audience," he told The Wrap. "When they hear Buzz, they’re like, 'Great, where’s Mr. Potato Head and Woody and Rex?' And then we drop them into this science fiction film that they’re like, 'What?'"

"Lightyear," which was teased at CinemaCon in April 2022, met with mixed reviews and was considered a rare box-office flop for Pixar. (Getty Images)

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Not mentioned in the interview is that "Lightyear" contained a gay kiss that was originally removed and then added back by Disney. 

Docter underlined his point that no amount of press coverage explaining the film’s abstract premise could make audiences anticipate what it would be about.

"Even if they’ve read the material in press, it was just a little too distant, both in concept, and I think in the way that characters were drawn, that they were portrayed. It was much more of a science fiction," he said. "And [director] Angus [MacLane], to his credit, took it very seriously and genuinely and wanted to represent those characters as real characters. But the characters in ‘Toy Story’ are much broader, and so I think there was a disconnect between what people wanted/expected and what we were giving to them."

Pop culture website Bounding into Comics observed that the interview said nothing about Disney being boycotted by millions of American conservatives for its involvement in far-left cultural politics. It quoted a statement from then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek amid Disney’s feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has made multiple bills to rein in woke politics.

Chris Evans, rather than Tim Allen, voiced Buzz Lightyear in the animated movie "Lightyear." (AP Newsroom)

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"Because this struggle is much bigger than any one bill in any one state, I believe the best way for our company to bring about lasting change is through the inspiring content we produce, the welcoming culture we create, and the diverse community organizations we support," said Chapek.

The article also quoted Disney television director Latoya Raveneau as she declared she was "wherever I could, just basically adding queerness" to children’s entertainment. 

After Chapek was ousted in late 2022, returning CEO Bob Iger appeared to declare that he would roll back at least some of Disney’s political messaging, while still attempting to be a good "citizen of the world."

Tom Hanks, left, and Tim Allen appear with characters from "Toy Story" at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, on June 8, 2019. (Matt Stroshane/Disney Resorts)

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"Do I like the company being embroiled in controversy? Of course not. It can be distracting, and it can have a negative impact on the company," Iger said in a town hall. "And to the extent that I can work to kind of quiet things down, I’m going to do that."