Customer Reviews

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins [VHS]

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

My two year old loves this video since it stars Buzz, his hero from the Toy Story movies. As other people have noted, this is not animated the same way as Toy Story 1 and 2; it is a straight-forward cartoon. That said, it is still a lot of fun. We've watched this together many times (many, many times...parents, you know what I mean) and I still haven't gotten tired of it. The script is funny and well written with lots of great one-liners, especially from Zurg. There are plenty of laser blasts and action, but it is pretty tame any my two year old didn't find any part of it scary. I wish they had done this in wide-screen, but that is a minor complaint (from me, not my son). I am looking forward to the next one.

Initially, I had pretty low expectations for this film and expected that it would be a quickly completed low-quality effort released only to maintain the Toy Story cash flow. How many ways can they make money from "To infinity and beyond"? However, since my household includes a three-year-old boy, any new Toy Story item is a mandatory purchase.

I am pleasantly surprised how good the film is and how entertaining. My son is watching it repeatedly, and I have watched it three times with him. While the Pixar animators admittedly owe a huge debt to "Star Wars" (as they made explicit in "Toy Story 2"), Buzz Lightyear's story has the making of an interesting series on its own terms. I am looking forward to the next installment.

Buzz Lightyear, of course, remains an admirable super-hero as he zealously pursues Evil Emperor Zurg. His inherent "squareness" and single-minded determination to follow the Space Ranger rules are character traits that make him interesting. What I like about the film is the way it shows how even a super-hero can use a little help sometimes. Buzz's partners are eccentric and a bit out of the Space Ranger mainstream; it is nice to see the filmmakers give a nod of approval to eccentricity.

The film works as pure entertainment for children, but it also contains good messages about the value of friends, about persevering in the face of obstacles, and about how good always wins in the end. There is nothing subtle about the story or its presentation, but that is part of its charm.

Although you will buy this film for your children, the whole family might enjoy watching it. Even so, I sort of dread the new action figures that we might have to buy soon.

That said, this is something that is a great continuation from the Toy Story movies. It is a cartoon and not computer animation like the Toy Story movies, in case you're wondering. It's interesting - how they kill off Buzz's sidekick and gives him a new one. But it really is a bit much for the younger toddler set. I guess I wouldn't recommend this much before age 6. It really involves a plot that is quite long and gets a little boring. I'm not sure that I'd watch it again and my little guy actually wanted to watch something else. He LOVES Buzz but this movie just wasn't up to par. The story basically served as an introduction to a series, but still, it could have been better and more appealing to the younger crowd as well. Again, I wouldn't get this for a toddler. It's just a bit much and too boring for them.

I bought the DVD of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins despite all the bad reviews given to it on Amazon. And I have to say, I was very impressed. It's not Toy Story, OK? Don't buy this expecting that, cause you won't get it. But it is a very witty, action packed movie, with a few twists and turns that I doubt anyone would predict. The animation is far better quality than most Disney direct to video releases, and some of the dialogue is great. Zurg is one of the only humorous villains that I have seen work on any movie. Most usually come off just looking goofy, but this movie really pulls it off. And although Buzz's character is slightly different from that of his Toy Story counterpart, he is still very lovable. Pretty much the only reason I gave it 4 stars was the running time. It's a bit short. But all in all, it's well worth the money, and I recommend it to everyone. I wish I could hope for the series to be this good, but the preview of it on the DVD makes it look like it will be horrible. Oh, and just to add a correction to an above review, in the beginning Pixar animated scene, Woody, Buzz, Rex, Hamm, and Wheezy all talk.

I bought this on DVD for my three-and-a-half year old son. He has enjoyed it just as much as Toy Story I & II (although the latter are clearly better, IMO). The plot is your garden variety save-the-universe stuff, the story moral is nothing earth shattering, and unfortunately, the animation quality is pretty much on the level of stardard Saturday morning fare (they use traditional animation instead of computer graphics like in Toy Story). But for a children's story, this movie has surprising wit, and that's what not only saves the story, it's what makes it surprisingly fun to watch--even on the tenth viewing... No, I wasn't rolling on the floor, but I found this a lot more amusing than some of Disney's feature film releases. If your kids already like Buzz from watching Toy Story, they'll probably enjoy this movie, too.

Other reviewers have compared this direct-to-video offering with the likes of Pokemon, etc. Well, I think they hit the nail on the head! Pokemon and the like are, in my opinion, senseless, pointless efforts to market products to children. The shows themselves seem to have no real point other than to engage in pointless violence and sell products.

I have to say that this video is 1/2 step up from Pokemon offerings. At least Buzz and his cohorts are out to defeat the forces of evil. You have to admit that's a good cause. Still, this show played like what I'd imagine would happen if the old "Spaceghost" met up with professional wrestling of today. Lots of action, and lots and lots of blasting. Some of the characters were OK, not too memorable. There was ONE interesting plot development though.

The MAJOR saving grace of this video was the brief PIXAR intro where Andy's toys struggle to get the new Buzz video into the VCR. Now THAT was classic -- the 2 stars in my review are primarily for that alone.

As for another reviewer's comment about how well their child likes this BUZZ offering...of course a child will sit through it for multiple viewings...if someone doesn't provide any parental direction. A case in point is that kids will also sit through Pokemon, Digemon, and all other kinds of brainless offerings that are out there. Let's face it...all those kinds of things are is digital candy for kids. That's exactly what marketers are hoping for...that kids will eat it up, and then persuade their parents to buy them related products. I don't say that in judgement of another parent, just as an observation of what most any child will do, given the opportunity.

My recommendation is that you put this video toward the bottom of your "need to watch" list. Not that there's a whole lot wrong with it...it's just that there are so many better things children could be watching.

Good luck.

Alan Holyoak

This DVD is a MUST for any fans of Toy Story, especially those who like Buzz more than Woody. Hey, it IS a hard choice, and maybe the country is split 50/50, but I think I'm in the Buzz Lightyear half. Though like I said, it's a tough choice. Anyways, I give it 4 stars instead of 5 because it is clear that it is merely a TV series pilot. What I mean is, most of this film is about introducing the characters you'll see on the show, setting up the situation for this upcoming situation comedy and all that. Now the show is out there, heck, it might even be off already, I'll have to check one of these Saturday mornings, but I watched it when I could, got several episodes on tape, and it was hilarious! On this DVD Tim Allen once again plays the voice of Buzz, but on the actual series the role was taken over by Patrick Warburton (The Tick, Kronk from the Emperor's New Groove, and Putty from Seinfeld). At first this bothered me, but eventually I grew to prefer his version of Buzz to Tim Allen's! Anyway, this is not important since the DVD uses Allen, so back to the DVD. As I said, it's about introducing the characters, but there IS a story involved. Here we get to see what Buzz is really all about. We get to see Evil Emperor Zurg, what it means to be a Space Ranger, and so on and so forth. It's all GREAT to a real Toy Story fan, but keep in mind that this is not Toy Story, it's not computer animation and the Toy Story gang only appear at the beginning to "introduce" the movie, or rather, to put it in their VCR and start watching it. The charcters here are Buzz, the huge, childlike Booster, XR the fast talking robot (who is the funniest character on the show), and the lovely Mira Nova. All the characters together do remind you a bit of the cast of Seinfeld, and some of them A LOT, especially Mira Nova. The story on this pilot episode is a bit less interesting than the show, and less funny, but it's still a must have and very entertaining. The DVD has some nice extras, including some cool games. I only hope more of this great show is released on DVD. Preferably all of it, though they rarely do that with American animation. I'd at least like to see more of these pilot episodes released, like the outstanding Duck Tales pilot, and the pilots for Tale Spin and Chip 'N' Dale's Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, Bonkers, Goof Troop, etc...All these great Disney animated TV shows need to get DVD releases.

My two-and-a-half-year-old son is obsessed with Buzz Lightyear, and yet this video didn't hold his interest for even a minute (literally). He will still watch both the Toy Story videos over and over, but not this one. Also, as many reviewers have noted, it is pretty violent, which bothered my son when the alien got blown up at the beginning.

One day we happened to find the Buzz Lightyear cartoon on TV, and he was mildly interested in that, so I though maybe he might like this video again. When we tried watching it again, he still didn't want to watch it.

If you're wondering what to get for a two-year-old boy, I can tell you that my son loves "There Goes a Garbage Truck", which is a 30-minute video about garbage, recycling, and street sweepers. It's been his favorite for a long time, and it's not as annoying as some videos. Also, the "Baby Mozart" series of videos (by Julie Aigner-Clark) are a favorite with both my son and daughter (8 mos.).

For those of you who didn't see my other review of this, scroll down to the part where I start talking about the bad parts. Yiu deserve to know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth first. Come read this later. And now, for those of you who HAVE seen my other review, continue. First, I must say--this wasn't great, this wasn't horrid either. It is better than Pokemon junk, which I avoid. Mira Nova was nice, and now that I have second thoughts, I like Booster, too. He shows kids that dreams aren't wrong, but critical to a happy life. We all have to have goals and longings, and Booster is a perfect example of that.

*Now onto the bad parts. "Toy Story" fans will be utterly disappointed. As said before, this is no computer-animated classic; heck, if it was, it'd get five stars on my scale. The only part Pixar did anything on was the charming opening scene, in which the toys put the tape in the VCR and start watching it. Other than that, this shouldn't even carry the name "Pixar". This is more of the crud that the TV-annamation team has thrown out on the market as horrid sequels to the stuff we love. And this is WAAAY TO VIOLENT FOR YOUNG KIDS! Sure, this will charm you if you drool all over Saturday morning cartoons (as "Buzz Lightyear" has become on ABC), but this isn't wholesome family entertainment I'd expect from Disney. This is--something.

To sum it up, this is okay--nothing more than that. Booster and Mira Nova are the charmers, not Buzz. But I wouldn't mind having it in my collection just for the heck of it. I can watch it occasionally and see the good parts stand out, the values Booster and Mira (who is very independent) teach to kids. But this is SURELY NOT a Disney classic. Go dust off "Toy Story" or "A Bug's Life" and watch that. Better yet, use your money on "Toy Story 2", which is one of the best animated features I've seen recently. But do acknowlege this movie, which accomplished SOMETHING--whatever in this wide wide world that something may be.

Now, this movie is no Toy Story. It's not comparable to Beauty and the Beast, Lilo and Stitch, or Mulan. It was never a theatrical release. But as direct-to-video sequels and spinoffs go, you aren't going to find anything else out there that's half so much fun.
This movie is supposed to be something children in the Toy Story universe watch, and is presented in the style of a Saturday morning cartoon (which it inevitably became -- one of Disney's better tv cartoons, too). Sure, the animation is less than awe-inspiring, but it's a look that fits perfectly with the particular style of the story and characters.
The story is relatively simple. Evil Emperor Zurg, with the help of his mysterious henchman Agent Z, invades the planet of the Little Green Men. He steals the Unimind (a mystical orb that allows the LGMs to mind-link) and twists it to his evil purposes. Buzz, naturally, has to stop him. Along the way, he gets help from rookie rangers Mira (a butt-kicking alien princess), XR (which stands for Experimental Ranger or Expendable Robot, depending on who you ask), and Booster (the over-eager Star Command janitor). Meanwhile, Buzz is trying to cope with the loss of his best friend and partner.
There is quite a lot of traditional cartoonish violence -- lasers, explosions, and enormous, impossible-looking guns. I personally don't consider that a bad thing in this context, but it's worth noting. The dialogue is quite clever at some points, and there are some very funny sight gags. The climax is a bit cheesy, but the kids won't mind that -- and neither did I.
Depth is not the key here. It's just for fun. Anyone expecting the cutting-edge animation and beautifully original storylines of the Toy Story movies will be disappointed. But those with a soft spot for the wacky action of Saturday morning cartoons will want to watch this movie again and again.