4191. Buzz Lightyear

Buzz Lightyear is a main character and the deuteragonist in the Toy Story series. His often repeated catchphrase is "To Infinity and Beyond!"

In a way Buzz may be the co-leader of Andy's toys.

Buzz Lightyear is a character and the main deuteragonist of the Toy Story franchise. Buzz is a space ranger action figure and the co-leader of Andy's Room. He has also appeared in the movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins and the television series spin-off Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, as well as the two film sequels. His often repeated catchphrase is "To infinity ... and beyond!" Tim Allen voiced the character in the Toy Story film trilogy and the TV movie, while Patrick Warburton provided Buzz's voice for the TV series, and Pat Fraley voiced him for the video games and the attractions in Disney Parks.

Buzz Lightyear's name was inspired by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin acknowledged the tribute when he pulled a Buzz Lightyear doll out during a speech at NASA, to rapturous cheers; a clip of this can be found on the Toy Story 10th Anniversary DVD. Aldrin did not, however, receive any endorsement fees for the use of his first name. Regarding the design of Lightyear, his creator, John Lasseter, is on record as saying he wanted to create an action figure in the line of GI Joe for Toy Story and decided upon a spaceman figure. He attributes his design to the influence Apollo astronauts, in particular their clear helmets, skullcaps, communication devices and white suits[4] The purple and lime green colour scheme were his wife's and his own favourite colours respectively. The wholesome good looks of television actor Ed Kemmer are also believed to be a prototype for Lightyear. Lightyear's chin, specifically, was inspired by Brendan Mullen, although Lasseter downplayed Lightyear's chin size in comparison to keep it from seeming too 'cartoonish.' Kemmer played Commander Buzz Corry in Space Patrol, one of first science-fiction series on US TV.

Buzz is a space ranger from the Intergalactic Alliance and is stationed in the Gamma Quadrant of Sector 4. He is the captain of the Alliance's Team. Lightyear is known for his bravery and courage. Buzz believes that following rules is the way people should live their life. Though a great leader, at times he can be rather unemotional, one of his biggest character flaws. Buzz is said to be Emperor Zurg's son (à la Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back) as mentioned in Toy Story 2, but in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, this is revealed to be a taunt intended to catch Buzz off guard.[episode needed] Either way, this shows that Buzz does not know his father (although as mentioned in Toy Story 2, he was indeed killed, possibly by Zurg, as neither of these facts have been refuted). Buzz is trained in several forms of martial arts and is a highly skilled warrior in hand to hand combat. Being in peak physical condition, Buzz makes a perfect space ranger and is an example to many. Perhaps unexpectedly, Buzz Lightyear the space ranger toy enjoys his closest personal relationships with two cowboy dolls: his best friend in the trilogy is Sheriff Woody Pride, who along with Buzz is the main protagonist of the three films, and by the end of Toy Story 2, he has developed a crush on Jessie the Cowgirl, which is consummated with their romance in Toy Story 3.
Buzz wears a high-tech space suit, similar to those of modern-day astronauts though more streamlined and iconic. The suit chest features a control panel. On the left hand side of the suit, a large red button activates the suit's flight system. The buttons on the right of the suit have numerous functions such as contacting Star Command, shooting grappling hooks, and activating full throttle. On the toy Buzz of movies however, all they do is make Buzz say different catch phrases. Buzz's suit also protects against the vacuum and cold of space. It can also translate all he says into any language even an outer space dialect. A retractable helmet, when activated, covers Buzz's head and allows him to breathe in space or on planets lacking a sufficient supply of oxygen. The left arm of the suit has a panel that flips open to reveal a display that contains a mission log in the wrist area to record history and provide records. The right arm contains the weapon system which projects an unusually strong and powerful red-colored laser out of the small cannon on the back of the wrist. Buzz has a utility belt as an upgrade to suit. It has various things such as anti-gravity servos, magnets for climbing purposes, and a grappling hook.

On October 2007, readers of Empire voted him #1 of the Top 20 Greatest Pixar Characters. They also rated him the 94th greatest movie character of all time.
Buzz's classic line "To infinity... and beyond!" has seen usage not only on T-shirts, but among philosophers and mathematical theorists as well. Lucia Hall of The Humanist linked the film's plot to an interpretation of humanism. She compared the phrase to "All this and heaven, too!", indicating one who is happy with a life on Earth as well as having an afterlife. The 2008 quadruple platinum song Single Ladies by Beyoncé Knowles includes the lyric "...and delivers me to a destiny, to infinity and beyond," a reference which was pointed out by alt-country singer Jeff Tweedy of the band Wilco during a 2010 solo performance in Chicago. Also in 2008, astronauts took an action figure of Buzz Lightyear into space on the Discovery Space Shuttle as part of an educational experience for students while stressing the catchphrase. The action figure was used for experiments in zero-g. Also in 2008, the phrase made international news when it was reported that a father and son had continually repeated the phrase to help them keep track of each other while treading water for 15 hours in the Atlantic Ocean.