Buzz Lightyear of Star Command - the Adventure Begins [VHS]

Both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were PERFECT masterpieces. To this day, they're still Pixar's finest films and will continue to stand the test of time. Aside from both being beautifully animated, having perfect scripts and plots and faultless presentation, the films also sported an unforgettable cast of colourful characters, the most important obviously being Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

One of Toy Story 2's many great ideas was that Woody had his own television series, "Woody's Round-Up". So the premise has been adapted and given to Buzz in "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command". This spin-off movie was produced by Disney and launched the Buzz Lightyear animated series several years back. And it's one of those things that ranks up there with stuff like Kim Possible, American Dragon, Recess and other quality animated shows that Disney have given us.

The Adventure Begins not only features Buzz (here voiced by the one-and-only Tim Allen), but also explores his universe, notably the Galactic Alliance and Star Command (prominently mentioned in both Toy Story films). You can also expect the brilliant Little Green Men (the three-eyed aliens) as major characters, and of course, Buzz's arch-nemesis, Evil Emperor Zurg (here voiced by Wayne Knight).

Emperor Zurg is after the mysterious `Unimind', a giant sphere of great power that mentally links and unites all the Little Green Men. Obviously, the megalomaniac means to use it to conquer the whole, wide universe...and Buzz Lightyear is the one who can stand in his way. However, he can't do it alone and must accept help from Mira Nova (a spunky, mystical space ranger graduate), Booster (a bumbling, but brave janitor who dreams of being a space ranger) and XR (an experimental robot ranger) in order to survive and stop Zurg and his evil scheme.

First of all, there is an absolutely cracking intro from Pixar that features Woody, Buzz, Rex and the cast from Toy Story. Like all of Pixar's stuff, it's perfect in its CGI, script, and voice-work. It's a great way to kick off the film and will please all Toy Story fans.

The film itself...I really, really enjoyed. And I'm a ADULT. So kids will absolutely love it, too. The Adventure Begins is definitely one of Disney's better direct-to-video releases. The animation may not be on a par with any major Disney feature-film, but it's nevertheless quality, has a rather good music score and brilliant voice-acting throughout. Tim Allen obviously goes without question, but Wayne Knight deserves equal praise for his awesome performance as Emperor Zurg.

Toy Story 2 fans will remember Zurg as being a very Darth Vader-esque villain, yet in The Adventure Begins, his personality underwent a radical change. Here, Zurg is a very comical, very humorous, yet notoriously brilliant villain. And it works fantastically here. What's excellent about it all, is that because of the presentation, the humour aspect takes nothing away from Zurg's ability to be a great antagonist. And seriously...how can you NOT like a villain that says stuff like "That's Jim-Crackin'-Dandy!", "Nana Zurg would be so proud," "Can we SHOOT the big gun?!" and "Evil rules!". You find yourself rooting for Zurg on as a result.

Story-wise, the film is the classic good vs. evil premise. But what stops it from being stale is the presentation. Plus, there are some really nice twists and turns in the story, brilliant humour throughout, well-scripted dialogue, great characters, moments of tragedy, betrayal, mystery and excitement, a nice ending and William Shatner performing the end credits song "To Infinity and Beyond". And because of the film's light-hearted nature and mild-fantasy violence, it means that all the family can enjoy this.

The film was originally released in 2000 and it's lasted well, too. As for the DVD transfer, perhaps it could've been cleaner and crisper, but it's still very acceptable. There's subtitles on the disc, plus an interactive comic book which acts as a kind of prequel to The Adventure Begins. It's okay for kids but I would've gone for a few other things like a documentary, trailers and maybe an audio commentary. It would've given a bit more substance to the DVD.

In closing, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins is a high-quality production that Disney have given us. It's not a par on Toy Story 1 and 2, but it isn't trying to be. It's a grand little spin-off that I found very enjoyable. Other reviewers have surprisingly judged it harshly by comparing it to the Pixar films and I think that's unfair. Fans of Disney animated series will certainly love it and others will be pleasantly surprised. And at such a bargain price, I'd certainly recommend it. But whether you choose to rent it or buy it, this is a film that definitely merits a chance. To infinity and beyond! Obviously.

My 4 year old is mad about this film: she frequently asks if we can go back to the villa we rented on holiday; I thought this was because of the pool, beach etc but no, it's because they had a copy of BUZZ LIGHTYEAR OF STAR COMMAND and she watched it at least once every day. Am now buying our own copy. Only four out of five as it is a little misleading in that it starts with Toy Story quality graphics and then becomes a standard cartoon.

My four year old loves this DVD, he has to watch over and over again.