If you grew up anywhere from the early to late 90s to the early 2000s, you are likely familiar with the “Toy Story” movies.

Lightyear —released on June 18 — sets the stage for Andy and one of his favorite toys, Buzz Lightyear.

While the movie does not add to the “Toy Story” series, it shows us the backstory as to why Andy wanted the toy for his birthday. 

At the beginning of the movie, it explains that this was Andy’s favorite movie and this is why he wanted the Buzz Lightyear toy for his birthday in the first ‘Toy Story” movie, which was released in 1995. 

I grew up loving the “Toy Story” series as a kid, and I loved this movie. Though Buzz Lightyear was not my favorite in the movie series, I do like that they gave a background story for one of the toys and how he came into Andy’s life. 

Now, my only hope is that Disney can do the same for the rest of the toys from the series. I would love to see a movie based on Woody and how he came into Andy’s life.

What I loved about this movie was the representation of different communities. While many people made a big deal about there being a lesbian couple in the movie, I loved it. 

According to an article from BBC, the movie was banned in several countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where being LGBTQ is criminalized. 

I love that we have made it a point to represent different communities in movies and watch as the couple lives through the years from partners all the way to death. 

I also loved that Disney brings on another generation after the passing of one generation. In the movie, Buzz’s commander and assigned Space Ranger partner, Alisha Hawthorne passes away and hands the torch down to her granddaughter, Izzy Hawthorne. 

A couple of lessons that we can learn from this movie are to persevere through the hardships and to go ‘Infinity and Beyond.’