Fans of Toy Story know that Buzz Lightyear comes to life when no human is looking. But here I am staring at him on my table as he moves his eyes and mouth. He’s walking and talking just like he does in the movies, complete with an adjustable space helmet and high-pressure space wings. At my command, he even fires his standard-issue Star Command wrist laser — a little blinking light bulb.
Andy could only dream of having something this detailed. Robosen Robotics worked with Disney and Pixar to launch a realistic version of the iconic character that answers to voice commands. Starting today, this walking, talking, programmable version of the space ranger goes on sale for $599. If you don’t have an Al’s Toy Barn Outlet near you, it’s sold at Robosen’s website and at DisneyStore.com.
There may be no signs of intelligent life, but this animated Buzz Lightyear is packed with computer smarts.
Robosen’s biggest hits have been its series of Transformers character robots that walk, talk, dance, punch — and yes, they really transform into a semi-truck, a tank and, in Grimlock’s case, a T-Rex. In 2022, the company went beyond the Hasbro franchise with another flavor of Disney’s Buzz that mimics the character from the “Lightyear” movie. It didn’t have an animated face, but its big feature was a jetpack that blasted out steam.
Now, after three years of development, the company brings the animated toy version to life. Robosen says this Buzz is crafted with more than 3,000 parts, 75 microchips and 23 servo motors. And it uses the company’s first “micro servos” for eye and mouth movements.
I had the chance to play with this robot, and what immediately struck me when I took it out of the box was the incredible attention to detail. Everything from the look and sound to the movements was crafted authentically — even the legs walk just like Buzz does in the movies. Buzz Lightyear has been a major part of our collective popular culture since the first Toy Story movie came out in 1995. I grew up watching the movies in theaters, and I owned the toy replicas. Now, here I am with my own kids, who know the movies, and I’m face to face with a real-life example of how today’s robotics can bring a movie character to life.
But the best part might be his Spanish mode.
There are several ways to interact with Buzz. There are about 30 different voice commands that trigger different movie quote moments. Speak the wake words, “Hey, Buzz” and he’ll respond, “Roger that” as he awaits your next voice command to call up his animations.
For example, say, “To infinity” to bring up his heroic catchphrase, “To infinity and beyond!” Or say, “Scan the terrain,” and he’ll move up his wrist to scan while playing his quote about finding no signs of intelligent life.
Among the animations you’ll also find his “I’m Mrs. Nesbitt” mental breakdown, or he’ll gasp for air (from when Woody lifted his helmet visor). There’s also a number of quotes of the default-programming Buzz from Toy Story 3 when he’s working for Lotso.
Robosen’s Buzz Lightyear comes with interchangeable hands and wings that extend when you press his buttons. (Not a flying toy.)
Out of the box, Buzz’s three-button suit also brings up different aspects of the character. Hitting the blue button cycles through a select number of movie quotes and animations. Green gets Buzz to act out his Spanish quotes from Toy Story 3. And the red button triggers a different type of sound and animation — replicating the sounds from his soundbox, just like the toy Andy would experience. With these sounds, his mouth doesn’t move, and the audio plays with a hollow quality, just like it would from a mass-produced plastic spaceman action figure.
Buzz’s wings expand with the press of the big red button on his chest. While there’s no button to activate the laser light, it’s incorporated into the voice animations when you tell him to “open fire.” (Regrettably, I didn’t see him display any karate-chopping action.)
Along with voice commands, Buzz can be controlled and programmed with an app.
Since it’s so new, I haven’t had time to explore everything he can do in the app, but it includes an expanded library of movie quotes — plus, it serves as a remote control and a programming teaching tool. Robosen has both app and web-based programming available for Buzz, so you can create additional animations to go with various movie quotes. I’ll come back to update this post after I get to experiment with that some more.
Playing with Buzz was like having an animatronic figure from a Disney World ride at home, except it’s not bolted down and can walk along my table and do whatever I command. That said, it also costs as much as five tickets to a Disney theme park. So consider this a collectible that’s also a premium programmable robot.
This time, Woody is wrong. Buzz Lightyear is not a toy; he’s a walking computer.
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