Lightyear’s second trailer properly introduces Sox, Buzz’s robot cat. But this creates an intriguing mystery – why wasn’t a Sox toy in Toy Story?
Sox is the latest addition to Pixar’s cute animal roster – but where was Lightyear‘s furry whale call expert during the Toy Story movies? Lightyear is much more than a regular Toy Story spinoff. With Chris Evans taking over the iconic Space Ranger mantle from Tim Allen, Lightyear is based on the backstory Buzz believed was real when he first landed on Andy’s bed – a tale full of aliens, spaceships, and sci-fi heroism. If Toy Story‘s Buzz is the action figure, Lightyear‘s is the movie character those toys might’ve been inspired by.
Lightyear‘s debut trailer introduced Buzz’s pet, Sox – but only very briefly. Lightyear‘s second trailer is more generous toward robotic cat lovers. We see Buzz unboxing his mechanical companion for the first time, then hear Sox introduce himself as a “personal companion robot.” Sox’s AI personality is blunt enough to tell Buzz how he regrets joining the adventure (shades of Rogue One‘s K-2SO there), but remains oblivious in his misguided attempts to help the Space Ranger sleep with “white noise.” Sox will be the comic relief in a film that’s distinctly less comedic than Toy Story fans will be accustomed to… but his introduction creates a curious Pixar puzzle.
Lightyear‘s mythology and world borrows from the bits and pieces of Buzz Lightyear backstory sprinkled throughout the Toy Story franchise. There’s the evil Emperor Zurg, the Zurg Bots from Rex’s Toy Story 2 video game, the “crystolic fusion” fuel cells, the Space Rangers, and numerous other details from Buzz’s made-up universe carried over into Lightyear‘s distinctly sci-fi setting. But if Lightyear is the movie Toy Story‘s Buzz came from, where’s Sox? Any merchandise company worth their salt would see this cute, humorous character as a license to print money, but whichever Toy Story businessman was in charge of Buzz Lightyear’s branding missed the Space Ranger’s furry companion out completely.
A little Sox figurine isn’t included as an accessory alongside Buzz, there are no Sox plushies in Al’s Toy Barn, Sox doesn’t appear in Toy Story 2‘s Buzz Lightyear video game, and Buzz never mentions a personal companion robot when he’s still claiming to be a real Space Ranger. Since almost everything in Lightyear could’ve been the inspiration behind Toy Story‘s Buzz, Sox is such a strange omission – given how very marketable that cute little face is. Maybe Sox does exist inside Toy Story‘s world and Woody’s gang just haven’t bumped into him yet, but considering Buzz’s immense popularity, it’s amazing his feline companion hasn’t been glimpsed at least once – not even on the end of Sid’s rocket.
In reality, of course, Sox isn’t in Toy Story because Pixar designed him specifically for Lightyear, but his in-universe omission from Andy’s world suggests Buzz’s latest venture isn’t really connected to Toy Story canon at all. If Lightyear was the same movie that launched the same Buzz Lightyear action figures Andy loved, it’s inconceivable Sox wouldn’t be a major player of that merchandise line. The fact he isn’t indicates Lightyear should be considered entirely separate.
Still, it’s more fun to imagine potential reasons why Sox might’ve been erased from Toy Story history. Perhaps Buzz’s manufacturers had all their (*types carefully*) Sox toys lined up ready to hit Al’s Toy Barn, but someone pulled the plug. Did another toy company sue over copyright infringement of Sox’s likeness? Did the (fictional) Sox voice actor get cancelled just before the merchandise shipped? Or was Sox given a failed Lightyear spinoff, meaning he was forgotten quicker than Woody’s Roundup? Pixar usually can’t help themselves when it comes to drawing subtle connections between movies, and it’d be fascinating should some in-universe reason as to why Toy Story‘s Buzz Lightyear never had a plastic Sox one day materialized.
- Lightyear (2022)Release date: Jun 17, 2022
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