[.ca] Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins ...

From Amazon.com:
This direct-to-video feature, which serves as a lead-in to the upcoming Disney animated TV series, continues the adventures of Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story films--and introduces the new supporting cast. Buzz battles the evil Emperor Zurg, who steals the "Unimind," a device that enables three-eyed aliens to function as a single intellect. The aliens, referred to as "LGMs" (little green men), form the support crew that keep Star Command running, but as individual thinkers, they're inept. During the course of this tongue-in-cheek adventure, Buzz acquires the sidekicks who form Team Lightyear: Booster, an oversized, overeager alien; XR (short for "Experimental Ranger"), one of the aliens' less successful robot inventions; and the inevitable spunky girl, Princess Mira Nova of the planet Tangeah. The two-dimensional, hand-drawn figure of the three-dimensional, computer-generated Buzz recalls the animated versions of live performers who populated Saturday morning TV during the 1980s. This adventure is typical of current kidvid: it has more special effects and sight gags than the cartoons of 20 years ago did, but the violence-free battles feel very tame. Buzz Lightyear may engage kids who play with the toys, but it won't appeal to the adults who flocked to the brilliant Toy Story features. --Charles Solomon

no story, a lot of violence:
My 3y old kid loves toy story, and especially Buzz So what a disappointment: First of all this is cartoon-like, not animation type. Second of all there is no story at all, except the usual simple plot: "good guy searches for bad guy, and eventually gets him" Apart from a couple of scenes like the first one, there is no humor neither (nothing like the real toy story). On the other hand, there are endless (and unexplained) scenes of laser fighting, explosions, etc... Violence at its best, that is without justification, and going on and on... From my son's own words: "it is a bad movie" (to him, it means that it is a violent/scarry movie and not fun to watch) Definitely a bad experience.

kids might like the action,though it is pretty tame:
i wasn't too impressed with this animated spin off of the Toy Story films.i just expected better.the story was pretty weak,but at least there were a few amusing moments.i found it too preachy myself.i like the message it has,about friendship and teamwork,but i just thought it was a bit too unsubtle.kids might like it,considering there was a fair amount of action.there's nothing inappropriate that i saw,so it's probably suitable for most ages.in fact,the movie is pretty tame,with pretty much no violence.anyway,this isn't horrible by any means,it just isn't anything special.for me,Buzz Lightyear of Star Command:The Adventure Begins is a 2/5

To infinity and Beyond:
I rate this only 4 stars for the fact that this widescreen transfer is not Anamorphic. All widescreen DVDs should be anamorphic. Other then that this is great. This is actually the first three episodes of the tv show. There is tons of laser fire. There is more laser fire in this then A New Hope. Boys love lasers. Still only machines get blown up and it is not any more violet then the Toy Story movies. This tells Buzzes backstory and helps explain why Buzz was so depressed when he found out he was a toy in the first Toy Story. In this movie Buzz is a spaceranger and fights for Justice with his friends X-R, Booster, and Mira. There seems to be a debate on whether Buzz or Woody is the coolest Toy. If you are a Toy Story fan who thinks Buzz is the coolest then go buy this DVD right now. Also watch the TV show a good one.

My two year old loves it:
My two year old loves this video since it stars Buzz, his hero from the Toy Story movies. As other people have noted, this is not animated the same way as Toy Story 1 and 2; it is a straight-forward cartoon. That said, it is still a lot of fun. We've watched this together many times (many, many times...parents, you know what I mean) and I still haven't gotten tired of it. The script is funny and well written with lots of great one-liners, especially from Zurg. There are plenty of laser blasts and action, but it is pretty tame any my two year old didn't find any part of it scary. I wish they had done this in wide-screen, but that is a minor complaint (from me, not my son). I am looking forward to the next one.

Great film, Recomended for all:
This movie is a great addition to a DVD collection. It is a great movie with 2 trivia games with it and it also has a Digital Comic Book. Buy it or Rent it it is great. If you liked Toy Story or Toy Story 2, this is the film to get.