LIGHTYEAR makers yesterday told AFP that they were warned of a likely backlash against the same-sex marriage in the animated movie, but did not care.

More than a dozen Muslim-majority countries have refused to show the Disney-Pixar new blockbuster about Buzz Lightyear – a sci-fi spin-off from Pixar classic Toy Story and set for global release today – in opposition to the marriage between two female side characters.

“We had been warned this would be a likely outcome,” said producer Galyn Susman in an interview.

“We were not going to change the movie we wanted to make just because of a few countries with, for a lack of a better term, backward beliefs.”

Although many reports have focused on a supposed “lesbian kiss” in the movie, the scene in question is more of a brief peck between two long-married characters who have a child.

Director Angus MacLane said no efforts were made to alter the movie to please censors.

“We made our movie and they did not want to watch it, so fine.”

Susman said she found the debate bizarre considering the lack of concern over children’s movies in which the mother dies, such as Bambi.

“Personally… I did not want my children, when they were young, watching films where we kill off the mother.

“We all have different ideas about what makes an acceptable film for family watching.”

‘Empathy’

The debate is an unwelcome distraction from the film itself – which is presented as the movie that spawned the Buzz Lightyear toys in the original Toy Story.

Set many centuries in the future, it follows the arrogant captain as he struggles to save his crew from an inhospitable alien planet.

Much more than any debate about LGBT characters, what is more likely to excite children is the loveable and extremely well-equipped robot cat, Sox.

MacLane said they wanted to avoid the cliché of a cute, wise-cracking sidekick.

“It is really easy to have the rogue character who laughs at danger and is always having punchlines.

“That kind of thing can be funny but we have seen it a lot. There is something interesting about making comedy from simplicity and empathy.”

The movie is more of a straight-ahead action-thriller than Pixar usually makes, but still carries its familiar meditations on the emotional challenges of life.

“(Buzz) believes he can solve a problem and he is so committed to proving himself right that he isolates himself from everyone he knows and ultimately has to learn to work in a team and recognise he does not have all the answers and that is okay.”

Reviews have been mixed, with some critics praising the action and underlying themes, while others have called it a rare miss by Pixar.

“Despite its messy plot… the strong voice performances and stunning visuals – and, of course, Sox the cat – make Lightyear a solid space adventure,” wrote Empire magazine. – AFP, June 17, 2022.