These are the ‘Lightyear’ scenes drawing ire from anti-LGBTQ critics – Chron
Disney and Pixar’s latest animated picture “Lightyear,” which tells the origin story of legendary space ranger Buzz Lightyear in a spinoff of the “Toy Story” film series, is drawing backlash from anti-LGBTQ critics taking issue with the film’s representation.
In the movie, which premiered Friday, Space Ranger Commander Alisha Hawthorne, voiced by Uzo Aduba, is Buzz Lightyear’s best friend. She also happens to be part of the LGBTQ community.
Alisha Hawthorne, voiced by Uzo Aduba, is Buzz Lightyear’s commander and best friend.
Pixar
Hawthorne and Lightyear, who is voiced by Chris Evans, are marooned with their crew on a planet millions of lightyears away from Earth. Lightyear goes on several hyperspeed test flights to figure out how to get their ship home. However, each four-minute trip equals four years on their space colony due to the effects of time dilation.
After his first failed launch, Hawthorne tells Lightyear that she got engaged to a woman named Kiko from the science team. “Wait, what’s that?” Lightyear asks after spotting an engagement ring on Hawthorne’s finger. “Oh, I got engaged,” Hawthorne replies.
In the film ‘Lightyear,’ Buzz Lightyear and his commander and best friend Alisha Hawthorne tap fingertips as they share the iconic phrase ‘to infinity and beyond.’
Disney/Pixar
“Oh wow, that’s great. What’s her name?” Lightyear asks, once again confirming Hawthorne’s sexuality to the audience. “Kiko. She’s one of the science crew,” Hawthorne explains. “It’s funny, I never would have met her if we hadn’t been stranded.”
In an ensuing montage showing the shift in time as Lightyear continues his tests, Hawthorne marries and starts a family with Kiko. The pair stare lovingly into each other’s eyes as they hold their son in one of the scenes. In a subsequent shot, an older Hawthorne gives Kiko a quick peck on the lips as they celebrate their 40th anniversary.
The on-screen gay kiss is the first-ever for Pixar. And while Buzz Lightyear does not think the same-sex relationship or kiss is out of the ordinary or inappropriate, it appears some in the audience do. Some fans left negative reviews of “Lightyear” on film sites like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB before the film’s theatrical release as a result of the LGBTQ content. As of Friday, the critiques that were left earlier in the week are no longer accessible, though Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB did not respond to a request for comment as to why.
Still, after the film’s release, more negative reviews along the same lines have surfaced on those sites. On Rotten Tomatoes, where the film holds a 79 percent critics rating, one user commented, “Why can’t cartoons just be cartoons anymore?? Why can’t we allow the innocence of kids to remain innocent until they grow up and make their own decision before shoving confusion down their throats through entertainment? Toys should remain toys! Even in cinema!”
Another wrote: “Disney continues to push political narratives instead of entertainment. Very disappointing. My kids will not be watching this.” On IMDB, some users submitted parental guidance warnings under the category “sex and nudity” over the kiss scene.
The kiss scene also resulted in the film being banned in 14 Middle Eastern and Asian countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia. Sen. Ted Cruz has also joined the chorus of criticism of the LGBTQ representation, complaining about the film’s “lesbian toys.”
“The last time I checked, most toys are kind of androgynous. They’re usually without genitalia,” Cruz said in a recent podcast. “It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘to infinity and beyond.’ Why do toys have to go at it?”
In an interview with Reuters, Evans called out anyone who has a problem with the same-sex kiss: “The real truth is those people are idiots… There’s always going to be people who are afraid and unaware and trying to hold on to what was before. But those people die off like dinosaurs.”
Aduba also defended the scene in an interview with USA Today, saying: “What this film does is handle love and those stories the way that they should be, that they are not the totality of a person. It’s addressed with the same simplicity as we address any type of love, and I think that’s the way it should be.”
Some fans have also likewise condemned the anti-LGBTQ comments online. On Twitter, one user wrote “If your argument for not taking your children to see the movie Lightyear is this scene, the problem is not your children. The problem is you and your prejudices so messed up that you will end up transmitting it to an innocent person. It’s so easy to say ‘they are two women who love each other.'”
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