‘Lightyear’ goes to infinity, but not beyond, in a likable offshoot of ‘Toy Story’

The mission goes awry, leaving Buzz and firm stranded on this forbidding planet. Dedicated to make proper what went flawed, Buzz embarks on his personal quest to safe their escape, although the results of which might be each surprising and, within the execution of them, oddly candy and touching.

Directed by Angus MacLane (“Discovering Dory”), who shares script credit score with Jason Headley, “Lightyear’s” secrets and techniques actually should not be disgorged to maximise the viewing expertise, however suffice it to say that the movie name-checks loads of issues made in style by “Toy Story” lore, from “To infinity, and past!” to the villainous Zurg. There’s additionally a small group of upstart, unorthodox recruits, with Keke Palmer and Taika Waititi (the latter taking part in a personality he appears to have carried out about seven instances earlier than) among the many vocal contributors.

Though the motion ought to entertain children with its space-faring visuals, the larger ideas in “Lightyear” — those which have elevated Pixar by the years — are thought-provoking, if maybe not of the standard that has elevated the animation studio’s work to a different degree. They do not rival one thing like “Up,” whose classes come to thoughts, and probably the most persistently pleasing addition may be among the many silliest: A robotic cat named Sox who behaves like a family pet, but additionally proves extraordinarily helpful in a pinch.