Who knew the mom from Everybody’s Love Raymond was such a devoted conservative and fan of Tim Allen? Patricia Heaton (not to be confused with the Home Improvement mom and actress, Patricia Richardson) rage tweeted how Disney/Pixar essentially “castrated” the “iconic” character of Buzz Lightyear by not casting Tim Allen as Buzz. Now all these articles from Entertainment Weekly to the right wing Daily Mail are all buzzing about this beef.
Tim Allen was perhaps one of the more higher profile celebrities--who’s still working in Hollywood--who admitted to voting for Donald Trump. And Chris Evans, the voice for 2022 Buzz Lightyear in the new movie, Lightyear, is a vocal Democrat who has dabbled a bit in political matters with his A Starting Point app.
I find it ironic that conservatives who tend to fall on the side of business and preserving their own money (less taxes for me, please), would whine about a millionaire losing out on one gig to another millionaire. Now, I don’t mean to be harsh, but having worked so many years in corporations and industries like banking where it’s only about the bottom line, in the end it’s really just about the bottom line. If it wasn’t about the bottom line, I’m sure the whole Ezra Miller as The Flash situation would be done and dusted by now.
Tim Allen first appeared as Buzz Lightyear 27 years ago. He was young-ish back then at 42, but he’s now 69. There’s a whole new generation of kids like my nieces who weren’t even born in the 90’s, and have no idea what Home Improvement, The Santa Clause, or even the first 3 Toy Story movies are. Lightyear may be an origin story, but let’s face it, it’s also a new avenue to lasso in the Gen Alpha and younger end of Gen Z viewers. And anyone who’s worked in business knows it’s always about getting the new customer and keeping the average age of the buyer as young as possible.
Chris Evans is interchangeable these days as Captain America in the hugely successful Captain America and Avengers movies. My little nieces and their buddies have definitely heard of Captain American even though they weren’t around in the earlier installments of those movies. And because we’re talking about Hollywood, we also have to face the fact that Chris Evans at 41 is even better looking today than he was at 30 during the first Captain American movie. If you’re a movie producer or some marketing strategist, which actor do you think will bring in the new eyeballs and help keep the average age of the viewer young?
No matter if you work in Hollywood or in a corporate office, there comes a time when everyone eventually ages out of that golden opportunity window. The promotions eventually come slower and harder to get. The praise and pats on the back are now being given to the new guy or gal. It happens. I’m sure 25 years from now, there will probably be another reboot of The Avengers movies and there will be another young, buff actor who will be the new Cap and young people and fans of that new generation will only understand that new actor as Cap and not Chris Evans.
Funnily enough, Tim Allen starred in a really cute ensemble film called Wild Hogs with John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy back in 2007. The movie is about a bunch of aging guy friends who escape their boring lives by riding their hogs or motorcycles. This movie and many like it like Grown Ups which feature aging stars are really funny and surprisingly heartwarming. I really liked Wild Hogs and I appreciate that the movie and actors welcome the reality of growing old, but there’s still fun and life in the stories. It’s like oh, there’s actually compelling and interesting stories to be told as a 50+ year old adult.
But don’t fear friends who don’t like change, Tim Allen will always be Buzz Lightyear of the original Toy Story movies. These movies can be streamed on Disney+ whenever you like and you can hear “to infinity and beyond!” to your heart’s delight.
And contrary to the more right leaning news outlets, Tim Allen hasn’t been cancelled by Hollywood or at least by Disney. If you didn’t know, Tim Allen is set to reprise his other iconic role as Santa in the Disney+ reboot called The Clauses. For me, The Santa Clause really demonstrated Tim Allen’s star power and talent. I love all three of the movies, but the last one, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, is my favorite of the three. I’m disappointed they chose not to do a Santa Clause 4 because that would have been brilliant, but a whole series may even be better.
So one more time for those at the back, it’s most likely not about Tim Allen’s conservative political beliefs that led to Buzz Lightyear being “castrated”. It’s about money, money, money. And oh right, getting those younger viewers hooked. It’s called show business and not show friends, friends!
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