The Santa joke makes Tim Allen’s Lightyear rewrite so much weirder

Santa Clause Episode 4 contains an inside joke related to Buzz Lightyear, which adds to the odd situation of Buzz’s Lightyear recast.

Warning: Spoilers for the Santa Clauses below!The Santas contains a joking reference to Buzz Lightyear, reflecting only the 2022 casting situation light year more bizarre. in the The Santas, Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) decides to give up his coat and hat as Santa Claus to raise his family outside the North Pole and hands his duties over to tech genius Simon Choksi (Kal Penn). Scott and his family are still struggling to adjust, and Episode 4, titled “Chapter Four: The Shows from the Bed,” shows some of that when Scott and his wife, Carol (Elizabeth Mitchell), meet a child at a coffee shop.

Filled with his usual Christmas cheer, Scott Calvin identifies the child as “Luke!” and comments that he “got these pajamas with the Buzz Lightyear on it‘ as a token of his sci-fi fanbase. The boy holding a stuffed grogu doll The Mandalorianand his mother aren’t amused by Scott’s joke, but mention of Buzz Lightyear comes in The Santas reminiscent of Tim Allen’s portrayal of this character. The reference is even stranger due to The Santas only released months later light yearwhich saw some dismay below toy story Fans because Chris Evans is voicing the character and not Allen.

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How the Santa Clauses played into the Lightyear recast debate

The fact that Chris Evans voiced Buzz light year led to some speculation that there had been a falling out between Disney and Tim Allen that led to the rewrite. sure, The Santas Being in production at the same time obviously shows that Allen and Disney hadn’t parted ways. When it comes to reshaping light yearthe decision likely boils down to his sever relationship with the toy story Franchise that tells a story about the fictional Space Ranger that formed the basis for Buzz Lightyear’s action figures.

For his part, Allen commented that this very approach may have been detrimental to Buzz Lightyear’s iconography. Allen explained in one Interview with extra “There really is no Toy Story buzz without Woody.” He also said: “It’s a wonderful story, it just doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the toy.” Whatever you say about the non-toy story the light year told outside of the franchise’s usual sandbox, the reference to Buzz Lightyear in The Santas stands out more than it could have been without the controversy of light year‘s buzz rewrite.

Why the mention of Santa Clause’s Buzz Lightyear felt forced

release so soon after light year, The Santas The inclusion of a Buzz Lightyear joke on the fourth wall almost acts as a reminder intended to reassure viewers of Allen’s association with the role. The joke probably wouldn’t have come across that way light year performed better, but the child’s grogu doll also makes the strange situation with the child worse light year to kid. With Buzz Lightyear’s backstory that’s obvious war of stars Influences seem like the inclusion of the Grogu doll is an attempt to amplify them The Santas‘ Reference to Buzz.

With the unexpected box office disappointment of light yearthe weird mood that The SantasBuzz Lightyear’s joke is almost certainly unintentional. Meta-humor of this sort can take surprising turns due to circumstances beyond the filmmaker’s control. This is the case with The Santas‘ Oddly layered inside joke referring to Buzz Lightyear.

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