“Buzz” Aldrin teaches Lightyear a lesson.
The Toy Story craze is gaining momentum as Lightyear approaches, the new Pixar movie about the fictional astronaut that inspired Woody’s toy friend.
Lightyear will explain why the character of toy story has so many fans in America. The plot revolves around a young test pilot, Buzz, who embarks on an intergalactic adventure where he is abandoned on a hostile planet 4.2 million light years from Earth.
The film, which features Chris Evans in the voice of the protagonist, opens this Thursday in Argentina.
Lightyear tells the story of the man who inspired the Toy Story toy.
Both the Buzz from the new movie and the Four Toy Stories Buzz weren’t entirely original inventions from the Pixar studios. To create it, John Lasseterthe director of the first of the saga, was based on a real astronaut.
That astronaut is none other than the famous Buzz Aldrin, known around the world for being the second person to step on the moon. She did this after her colleague Neil Armstrong took the first step in the mission Apollo 11 NASA, which reached the satellite in 1969.
Although Aldrin is exclusively famous for Apollo 11 to many, his work in the service of the US Air Force is highly regarded.
Left to right, Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins, the three Apollo 11 astronauts. Photo: NASA, via AP
The now retired 92-year-old has served for decades as an Air Force engineer, pilot and astronaut. He fought in the Korean War and when he returned to his country he earned a doctorate in astronautics.
His relationship with NASA ended in 1971. After completing his work as an astronaut, he was made commander of the Air Force test pilot school, a position he held for just one year until he finally left service.
To infinity and beyond
Aldrin first recognized Pixar’s tribute to him by wearing a Toy Story character bracelet during a NASA speech and even taking photos with the character at Disney parks.
And not only that, he also had a replica of the toy in his hands and gave him lessons on how to be an astronaut, as you can see in this video:
The multiple relationships between the Buzzes have manifested on many occasions since the first Toy Story came out in 1996. Some have occurred in the film as a tribute and others in real life.
For example, a Buzz Lightyear toy was on the International Space Station between 2008 and 2009 and when it returned to Earth it was received in a parade attended by Aldrin himself.
In a note to Entertainment Weekly, Pixar producers revealed that Buzz Lightyear’s character was originally named Lunar Larry.
Buzz Aldrin and his tribute character.
Going for “Buzz Lightyear,” Lasseter designated him as a GI Joe-style action figure and dressed him in astronaut gear inspired by the Apollo 11 crew.
Source: Clarin