Pixar’s Lightyear drops in theaters nationwide tomorrow, Friday, June 17th. One thing is clear after screening the new film (review to come), and that is that the breakout star is none other than Sox the Robot Cat. Sox is a robot, Buzz’s personal companion, and the true comic relief of the new Lightyear film. Fans are going to fall in love with him instantly, but there is a looming question that needs to be answered: why wasn’t Sox the robot cat a toy in any of the Toy Story films? Filmmakers had a simple answer for it and more during the press junket for Pixar’s Lightyear.
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Lightyear Movie Quotes
Pixar’s Lightyear SOX The Robot Cat
Pixar’s Lightyear director Angus MacLane had a simple answer when asked why Sox was never present in the Toy Story films, and it makes perfect sense: “Andy’s mom couldn’t get it. It was sold out everywhere.” The cost of the Sox the Robot Cat toy wasn’t a silly little plush either, as MacLane went on to say, “It would have been like Worlds of Wonder or Tiger Electronic. It would have been a kind of a fancy like a $70 toy. That’s a lot.“
MacLean provided even more details about Lightyear’s Sox the Robot Cat, sharing where he received his name — “Sox was named by Matt Aldrich, who was the first rider on the film who left the project amicably to work on his own stuff“ — to even what he imagined Sox’s design would be early on, “He was very low-tech. He was very clunky, where Buzz was going to look very sleek and was going to move very believably, this would be like a cat that was fooling no one.”
About Pixar’s Lightyear
A sci-fi action adventure and the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy, “Lightyear” follows the legendary Space Ranger after he’s marooned on a hostile planet 4.2 million light-years from Earth alongside his commander and their crew. As Buzz tries to find a way back home through space and time, he’s joined by a group of ambitious recruits and his charming robot companion cat, Sox. Complicating matters and threatening the mission is the arrival of Zurg, an imposing presence with an army of ruthless robots and a mysterious agenda.