Patricia Heaton calls out Disney for casting Chris Evans instead of Tim Allen in Lightyear

Patricia Heaton has called out Disney and Pixar for casting Chris Evans instead of Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear in the new Toy Story spin-off movie.

The new animated film seeks to tell the origin story of the beloved Toy Story character – voiced by Allen in the original franchise – and his journey to infinity and beyond.

On Tuesday (14 June), the 64-year-old actor showed her disappointment towards the producers in a Tweet.

“Saw the trailer for Buzz Lightyear and all I can say is Disney/Pixar made a HUGE mistake in not casting my pal Tim Allen in the role that he originated, the role that he owns,” she wrote. “Tim IS Buzz! Why would they completely castrate this iconic, beloved character?”

In a follow-up tweet, Heaton added: “Ok so the current Buzz Lightyear movie is an origin story – but the reason the character became so beloved is because of what @ofctimallen created.

“Why remove the one element that makes us want to see it?”

She also added the hashtag #StupidHollywoodDecisions in her post.

Earlier this month, director Angus MacLane revealed why Evans replaced Allen as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in his new film.

“Tim’s version of Buzz is a little goofier and is a little dumber, and so he is the comic relief,” he said. “In this film, Buzz is the action hero. He’s serious and ambitious and funny, but not in a goofy way that would undercut the drama. Chris Evans has the gravitas and that movie star quality that our character needed to separate him and the movie from Tim’s version of the toy in Toy Story.”

Evans also praised Allen’s original portrayal, adding that he used “Allen as a guideline”.

“I’d be a fool not to acknowledge the work he did,” he said.

“But I couldn’t just do a shameless impression. I had to somehow create my own understanding of the character, and try to make some fresh tracks in the snow while paying homage to the great work that he did,” the Marvel actor clarified.

“Eventually I felt comfortable enough to make my own interpretation, and part of that was lowering the tone of my voice. I basically have to lower the register of my voice in everything that I do.”

Months prior to the movie’s debut, Pixar restored a same-sex kiss shared between two characters, after staff released an open letter criticising Disney’s response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

“It’s great that it’s back in the film,” Evans said. “It should be more normalised, but I’m glad we are making those steps.”

Lightyear is out in cinemas on 17 June.