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Patricia Heaton spoke out against Disney and stood up for her longtime boyfriend Tim Allen after seeing the new trailer for the upcoming Toy Story spinoff based on the Buzz Lightyear character, aptly titled Lightyear .
The ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ star took to Twitter to decry the new film: “I’ve seen the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is that Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in making mine Buddy @ofctimallen didn’t cast.”
She added: “Tim Allen in the role that he created, the role that he owns. Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?”
Allen, 69, has voiced the astronaut doll character since 1995 and has reprized the role on Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, and Toy Story 4, among a variety of other projects. Chris Evans plays the new Buzz Lightyear in the upcoming film.
Patricia Heaton has slammed Disney for not casting Tim Allen in the new ‘Lightyear’ movie. The ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ actress was pictured in 2019. (Nicholas Hunt)
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She later tried to clarify in another tweet that Allen is “the reason” so many people fell in love with the animated stories in the first place.
“Ok so the current Buzz Lightyear movie is an origin story – but the reason the character became so popular is because of what @ofctimeallen created,” she tweeted.
“Why remove the one element that makes us want to see it?” Heaton added the hashtag: #stupidHollywooddecisions.”
Patricia Heaton stood up for her pal, who has long portrayed adventurous astronaut Buzz Lightyear in the animated classics from Toy Story. (FOX Image Collection via Getty Images)
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Director Angus MacLane explained the character’s differences to Vanity Fair earlier this month, noting that Tim’s ’90s version of Buzz was “a little more goofy” than the new adaptation.
“In this film, Buzz is the action hero. He’s serious and ambitious and funny, but not in a goofy way that would undermine the drama.”
He added, “Chris Evans has the seriousness and movie star quality that our character needed to differentiate him and the movie from Tim’s version of the toy in Toy Story.”
Toy Story 3 was one of the most anticipated sequels of 2010. The computer-animated film, which also stars Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg and Michael Keaton, grossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
Toy Story 4 also grossed more than $1 billion at the box office in 2019 with a budget of $200 million.
Toy Story 3 was one of the most anticipated sequels of 2010. The computer-animated film, which also stars Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg and Michael Keaton, grossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office. (Walt Disney Pictures)
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The film’s controversy began months ago when a same-sex kiss was reportedly removed from the film and then added back after Disney failed to respond to Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill.
The bill (titled “Parental Rights in Education” or Florida House Bill 1557) prohibits teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity to children in kindergarten through third grade.
The on-screen kiss is between Hawthorne, a female lead voiced by Uzo Aduba, and another female character.
Evans was responding to critics who said the film’s kissing scene between two female characters advances a pro-gay agenda.
Chris Evans attends the Out Of This World Premiere Of Disney And Pixar’s “Lightyear” at El Capitan Theater on June 8, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo bVALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
“The real truth is these people are idiots,” Evans said during an interview with Reuters Television. “There will always be people who are scared and unaware and trying to hold on to what came before. But these people are dying like dinosaurs. I think the goal is to ignore them, to march forward and embrace the growth that makes us human.”
“Any time there’s been social progress in waking up, American history, human history is a story of ongoing social awakening and growth, and that makes us good,” Evans added.
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Tracy Wright is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.