I still feel like he's struggling to understand the appeal of Buzz Lightyear. Audiences love that he's a slightly dumb but well intentioned and heroic good guy. He's a great contrast to Woody, a character who is wimpy, emotional, insecure and anxious while Buzz is brave, strong-hearted and a bit naive.

The problem was that the Buzz in Lightyear had none of the appeal of the Buzz Lightyear audiences love. This portrayal was one-dimensional and boring. His character journey is - his inability to let go of the past? His need for control and learning to work with others? This is an action movie for children. The original character was inspired by the 50s action serials like Flash Gordon. He needs to be a barrel-chested hero getting into crazy adventures. Why the hell would they go with a drab, boring, gray movie inspired by Interstellar? What kind of pretentious bullshit is that?

That character can lead his own franchise, but get to the core of what made him work. People liked the straight man in a whacky world. Give him a colorful cast of aliens and 90s silliness instead of that boring, forgettable, braindead, nothing, bleh cast in that movie we got instead. That animated series got the appeal of the character way better, plus paired him with a great supporting cast - Mira Nova was pragmatic and sensible when Buzz was naive, Booster was wimpy and unconfident while Buzz was headstrong, and XR was a know-it-all when Buzz himself is kinda dumb.

It's not the audiences' fault for not understanding the movie. It's Pixar's fault for not understanding their own character.