Disney Releases Unseen Sketches Of Buzz And You Won’t Believe What He Was Called Back Then

It’s has been 25 years since Pixar won the hearts of millions of fans with the release of “Toy Story” in 1995, when Buzz and Woody were respectively voiced by two of our all-time favorite actors Tim Allen and Tom Hanks. To celebrate this silver jubilee, Disney has released some pencil sketches of its beloved astronaut toy Buzz Lightyear that fans have never seen before.

Source: Pixar Animation Studios

You can literally see how much Buzz’s design was changed through these amusing series of sketches. He was featured with an adorable baby face, a voluminous bouncy hairstyle and in some original drawings, you can also spot the “LL” symbol on his suit – which stands for... “Lunar Larry”. Yes, you read it right. Our Space Ranger superhero was called Lunar Larry back then.

Source: Pixar Animation Studios

Luckily, Pixar producers weren’t going to stick with that name because, as they once admitted, it just sounded “too wacky”. And as many of you already know, he was later named Buzz after famous astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin – the second man to walk on the Moon. Isn't it great?

Source: Pixar Animation Studios

Commenting on the interesting sketches, Pixar Historian Christine Freeman shared that he really enjoyed looking back at all of these changes.

“Buzz is one of our most popular characters, and it’s fascinating to see the different ways that Pixar’s artists imagined him during the evolution of his design,” he said. “Even his name changed over time – from Tempus of Morph to Lunar Larry, to Buzz Lightyear. You can see the LL belt buckle (for Lunar Larry) in a few of these early designs.”

Source: Pixar Animation Studios

Source: Pixar Animation Studios

“Toy Story” was the very first fully computer-animated feature film in history and there’s no surprise that it was quite a box-office smash hit then.
Source: Pixar Animation Studios
“Pixar revolutionized the art of animation 25 years ago with the release of “Toy Story” and since then has brought us some of the most iconic and unique moments in filmmaking history,” said SVP Disney EMEA Tasia Filippatos.

Source: Pixar Animation Studios

Since it was founded in 1986, Pixar has gone a long way with 23 full-length films, 21 shorts, and 37 Oscars so far. It is now undoubtedly one of the most celebrated animation studios in this world.

Source: Pixar Animation Studios

2020 also marks the 20^th year Disney has supported the charity MediCinema. To celebrate these wonderful milestones, the animation giant also launches an online family festival titled Pixar Fest that will bring you tons of fun stuff to immerse yourself in.
“Pixar Fest will give fans of all ages the chance to celebrate their favorites through a host of activities and even cast their vote in “The Golden Lamp Awards”. We hope the line-up brings some summer holiday fun and movie magic to homes across the UK,” Filippatos added.

Source: Pixar Animation Studios

Make sure to visit Pixar’s Facebook page on August 9 to take part in this magical occasion!