Over 25 years ago, a little boy named Andy received a Buzz Lightyear action figure in the 1995 Pixar film, Toy Story. Now, all these years later, audiences will finally see the movie that inspired that action figure in the Toy Story spin-off movie, Lightyear, which is soaring into theaters this weekend.
This is not the Buzz Lightyear you know and love—the one who is best friends with Woody and voiced by Tim Allen. This is the original Buzz Lightyear, a bonafide space ranger voiced by Chris Evans, who is marooned on a hostile planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth, alongside his commander and their crew. The Lightyear cast also includes the voices of Keke Palmer, Peter Sohn, James Brolin, Taika Waititi, Dale Soules, Uzo Aduba, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.
With this new Toy Story adventure coming to theaters, you may feel the urge to revisit the classics. Decider is here to help with that. Read on to find out what Toy Story movies to watch before Lightyear and how to stream the Toy Story movies online.
Is Lightyear a prequel to Toy Story?
Sort of, but not really. If you remember Toy Story, you remember that Andy receives a Buzz Lightyear toy on his birthday. Lightyear is the movie that inspired the toy. In other words, Lightyear is a fictional movie that exists in the Toy Story universe, and technically does happen before the events of Toy Story, but you won’t be seeing the Woody, Buzz, or Andy that you know and love.
What Toy Story movies to watch before Lightyear:
Lightyear is a standalone spin-off story in the Toy Story universe, meaning you don’t need to watch any of the first four Toy Story movies to understand what’s going on.
That said, there will undoubtedly be some references in there for the true Toy Story fans so it may increase your enjoyment of the movie to at least watch the first movie in order to get introduced to the character of Buzz Lightyear, as well as Toy Story 2 to learn more about the Buzz Lightyear lore—and, more importantly, to learn about Buzz’s nemesis, Emperor Zurg.
Where to watch the Toy Story movies before Lightyear:
Good news—while Lightyear is not yet on Disney+, all of the other Toy Story movies are. You can also buy or rent the Toy Story movies on digital platforms like Amazon and iTunes. Here’s where to watch Toy Stories 1 through 4:
- Where to watch Toy Story: Stream free on Disney+, or purchase via Prime Video, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, and more
- Where to watch Toy Story 2: Stream free on Disney+, or purchase (via Prime Video, iTunes, Vudu, and more)
- Where to watch Toy Story 3: Stream free on Disney+, or purchase (via Prime Video, iTunes, Vudu, and more)
- Where to watch Toy Story 4: Stream free on Disney+, or rent or purchase (via Prime Video, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, and more)
