If you’re a Disney fan that spends a lot of time on Twitter and social media, you’d have seen many, many requests for Buzz Lightyear of Star Command to join Disney+. Since launch, it’s easily been in the top 10 requests we’ve seen. Right up there with House of Mouse, Bear in the Big Blue House, The Weekenders, and Aladdin The Series.
Not too long ago people started chatting about how perfect it would for the show to finally arrive in the lead up to Lightyear.
That’s right, Pixar is finally returning to theatres in June with a brand new movie that will tell the TRUE story of Buzz Lightyear, the man who would later inspire toys and franchises in the world of Toy Story. Confusing, right? Not really. What is confusing is why Buzz’s classic Saturday-morning cartoon didn’t arrive at Disney+ launch, or for it’s 20th anniversary last year, or when the first Lightyear trailer released…
Last week the 2nd trailer for Lightyear dropped and it actually looks like a summertime blast. Chris Evans is the epitome of perfect casting. Check the trailer out below.
Now that the half-empty Disney+ May 2022 list is out, we feel pretty confident in saying, like so many other instances over the past 2 years, Disney is gonna blow this opportunity. We don’t get it.
We’re confused why Paramount+ can stream nearly the entire Nick Toons library, but Disney seems to be actively fighting adding their cartoons with a much larger precent missing and a trend of only adding 2-3 each year. Assuming no surprises in May, Disney will have added zero in 2022. That’s almost half the year gone. This is the perfect time to give fans a big surprise. It would help market the movie just because people would be talking about it!
Disney Legend Speaks Out
It’s not just us that feel this way. One of the most iconic creative forces in Disney Animation history, Tad Stones, has taken to Twitter to advocate for his own creation. Yes, the man behind Darkwing Duck and one of the Producers behind Disney’s incredible 80s – early 00s animated hits such as Rescue Rangers, Aladdin the Series, Hercules The Animated Series, and Adventures of The Gummi Bears also helped bring Buzz Lightyear of Star Command to life.
Last fall, he posted a rather heartbreaking wish that Disney would add Buzz to their animation lineup before the movie.
He worried they’d instead bury it even deeper into their archives to avoid confusing the audience. It was quite reminiscent of the exchange we had with the creator of Biker Mice From Mars. The creators of these shows want them to live again!
Earlier this year he responded to a fan’s question regarding whether or not Buzz Lightyear would appear on Disney+ with the Lightyear movie. Once again, his response wasn’t encouraging.
Tad again thinks that the cartoon is held back so as not confuse audiences, similarly to how the original series was delayed until after Toy Story 2 premiered. Considering he’d be due royalties and probably aware of an impending arrival, this doesn’t bode well. It suggests that as of January, no plans were in place to add the cartoon.
Disheartening when we consider just how many requests this show receives. Do requests truly fall on deaf ears at Disney+? Even the Producers of these beloved series can’t convince Disney+ content team to let their shows enter the streaming era where both new audience and old fans are waiting.
Drew Ryan is a film, TV, and Disney geek. He has degrees in English, Student Personnel Administration, and Library & Information Science from Lawrence University, Concordia University-Wisconsin, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Interested in the minutia and licensing of streaming service content, he is always publishing lists, suggestions, and advocating for Disney’s missing library to be added to Disney+. Drew subscribes to Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, and Paramount+. You can find him waxing nostalgic over classic Disney Channel or geeking out over Marvel, CW shows, & Disney on Twitter.
