Pixar released the first Lightyear trailer on Wednesday morning, October 27, and while we love dog dad Chris Evans, who will be voicing the real Buzz Lightyear that inspired the best-selling toy from the Toy Story franchise, that wasn’t what caught our attention right off the bat.
Nope, that would be adorable robot cat that buzz interacts with, and it got us to speculating why the creature would be needed.
While the storyline of Lightyear isn’t clear at this moment, a good chunk of the action seems to take place on a dusty, Mars-like planet, which would, of course, be quite difficult for humans to survive on, and animals would be too much of a hassle to take care of, even if they could adapt to a different environment.
And even if they could, food animals like goats would be the logical primary choice, leaving companion animals like pets well down the list.
One of the Lightyear trailer highlights is a robot cat.
On the other hand, especially if the astronauts are stationed for quite a long mission, their psychological well-being would be imperative to keep strong, and so a pet of some kind would be a understandable necessity.
To infinity and … 🚀 Experience the origin story of a Space Ranger in Disney and Pixar’s #Lightyear, in theaters Summer 2022. 💫 pic.twitter.com/B8kRwSDYSO
— Pixar (@Pixar) October 27, 2021
The robot cat in question is likely a male, as it’s mostly orange (and genetically 85 percent of orange cats are males; the reverse is true for tortoiseshell coats) with white spots.
Based on the first shot we see of it, the cat may not be a huge fan of Buzz, as they recoil from each other in surprise, and then in the second shot we see its head swivel 360 degrees, so that probably comes from a scene where he is afraid.
And given how Mr Mittens the Soul cat kind of stole the show last year, it was probably a smart move from a real-world perspective for Pixar to include him, though it’s also possible they could be copycatting their Marvel Studios corporate cousins a little too heavily, given how much of a role (both in actual plot and comic relief) that Goose the cat/flerken brought to Captain Marvel.
Other than that, other characters in the movie are a complete mystery at this time, though one of Buzz’s coworkers is a black woman who will likely be important to the tale.
Lightyear zooms into movie theaters on June 17, 2022.