Review: Straight-to-video Buzz Lightyear is clever spinoff

A gentler 'Dragonheart'

By Scott Hettrick

(Buena Vista, VHS $24.99, DVD $29.99, not rated) 2000.

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins

Directed by Tad Stones; starring the voices of Tim Allen, Patrick Warburton, Linda Hamilton, Wayne Knight and Stephen Furst.

As is the fate of most Disney animated movies, "Toy Story" is the latest to be reduced to an animated TV series. But this time the evolution is more dramatic, as the highly sophisticated computer-animated films have given way to an ordinary-looking TV cartoon.

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But if the animation is ordinary in this 70-minute made-for-video picture that sets up the launch of a new TV series (this fall), the concept and the humor is not. Even though lovable Woody and nearly all the rest of the toys are absent from this "Toy Story" spinoff, Buzz Lightyear (with Tim Allen reprising the voice) remains surrounded by smart-aleck characters whose humor will amuse adults as well as kids.

"Kind of an outdoor voice there," bravely scolds a nerdy assistant when his evil emperor Zurg yells at him.

"Wherever he is, I'll bet he's got leg room," snarls a robot version of Buzz who is cramped inside a tiny spaceship with several others.

The genesis of this cartoon is more palatable than expected and actually kind of clever. It turns out that this is the TV cartoon series depicted in "Toy Story," on which the action figure Buzz Lightyear is based, the one in which the catch-phrase, "To infinity, and beyond!" was coined. Buzz is pitted against Zurg, his nefarious enemy who has captured a group of the little green men (who are much more talkative here than they were in "Toy Story") in order to uncover the secret that allows them to think as one. His sinister plot involves using a device that puts practically everyone under his control. It's up to Buzz to save the galaxy.

Helping him (and just as often annoying him) are his "Star Wars"-esque partners: a feisty smart-aleck Princess Leia-type woman, a Chewbaca-like tall and furry fellow, and an R2-D2-type robot.

In a nod to another space-movie franchise, William Shatner of "Star Trek" fame talk-sings a silly song version of "To Infinity, and Beyond" during the closing credits.

Those creative folks at Pixar, who produced the "Toy Story" movies as well as this video and the upcoming series, have cleverly introduced this spinoff with a more "Toy Story"-like computer-generated introductory segment. Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks' sound-alike brother Jim) and the gang of toys gather around a TV as Woody plops in a copy of the same VHS videocassette that viewers are watching. In a dig at Disney that only Pixar could get away with, Woody tells an excited Buzz, "Buzz, we're not going to watch the whole thing; we just want to see all the commercials at the beginning."

A DVD version of the movie also includes a digital comic book that can be read by the viewer or a narrator, and an interactive trivia game.

(Universal, VHS priced for rental, DVD $24.98, rated PG) 2000.
Directed by Doug Lefler. Starring Chris Masterson, Harry Van Gorkum, Henry O., John Woodnut, Rona Figueroa and the voice of Robby Benson.

The charm of the original "Dragonheart" (in 1996) was Dennis Quaid's Everyman persona and particularly Sean Connery as the charismatic voice of the dragon. Together they overcame a rather weak story and dialogue.

This 85-minute live-action made-for-video sequel has neither of those attributes (Robby Benson was more convincing as the Beast in "Beauty and the Beast" than he is as this dragon) and suffers from inferior effects that make the dragon look cheesy. So that leaves "A New Beginning" with just a weak story and dialogue.

But even though this certainly will prevent this sequel from gaining the same kind of adulation from sci-fi and fantasy fans that the original has enjoyed, "A New Beginning" should appeal to younger viewers. The cute dragon -- the son of the dragon in the original and once again the last of his breed -- is a youngster himself (he looks more like Barney the dinosaur than a dragon) and is just learning to fly and breathe fire.

His first attempt results in flames coming out the wrong end. A young stable boy (Chris Masterson) who yearns to be a heroic knight befriends the dragon and they work together to thwart the evil intentions of the king's manipulative chief advisor.

There are lots of sword fights and some scenes that involve opening the chests of several of the characters (has to do with getting a piece of the heart of the dragon in order to gain its powers), both of which earned the film a PG rating; it certainly may not be suitable for very young viewers.

The DVD version includes several interesting behind-the-scenes segments on the making of the movie, animating the dragon and a some refreshing comments from Benson about how he enjoyed doing the voice and generally loves everything he does.

(c) 2000, Scott Hettrick. Distributed by Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

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