Buzz Lightyear

Buzz Lightyear is one of the main characters of the Toy Story franchise. He is the deuteragonist of the original Toy Story movie, a major character in Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3 and Toy Story 4, the titular protagonist of its television series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command​ and its direct-to-DVD movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, the protagonist of the Toy Story Toons episode Small Fry, and a supporting character in the Toy Story franchise's other media, Toy Story Treats, Hawaiian Vacation, Partysaurus Rex, Toy Story of Terror!, and Toy Story That Time Forgot.

He is a plastic bilingual spaceman action figure with wings, a laser and a helmet, who accompanies Woody on his adventures in each movie.

His often repeated catchphrase is "To infinity and beyond!".

Biography
"Buzz Lightyear is a heroic space ranger action figure, complete with laser beam, karate-chop action and pop-out wings. Buzz is a boy's dream toy who becomes a quick favorite of young Andy, and the closest of buddies with Woody. While Buzz's sole mission used to be defeating the evil Emperor Zurg, what he now cares about most is keeping his toy family together. Buzz's new mission is sidetracked along the way, however, when his journey brings out surprising aspects of his personality even he didn't know existed."

Appearance
Buzz Lightyear is a brawny electronic spaceman action figure. He has fair skin, blue eyes, a purple head cap and collar, a clear plastic space helmet with purple buttons on both sides that open or close it.

His green torso consists of a light blue sticker that has the words "SPACE RANGER" and the Star Command symbol, purple straps connected to it, three oval talk buttons - one blue, one green, and one red, a yellow nametag that says "LIGHTYEAR" above a red button that pops out purple plastic wings with red and white candy cane lining on the top of each, and green ends with red and green flashing lights. On his back, he has a white jetpack with a purple valve and green triangular accents and two black and yellow stickers - one says, "DANGER", and the other says "JET EXHAUST".

His white arms have gray circular elbows and matching spheres on the end of his upper arms with black rings on it. His gloves have purple lines on his knuckles and fingertips and green squares on the back of each. His right arm has a red button on his upper arm with a yellow and black striped sticker that reads "LASER" and a red light on his right wrist. His left arm has a Space Ranger symbol sticker on his upper arm and a communicator sticker in his wrist communicator and "MADE IN TAIWAN" engraved inside on his lid of the wrist communicator. A black bending with a thin green waist.

His white spaceman pants have matching collars at the bottom and gray spheres behind his knees and holds his white shoes with green toe accents, purple soles and a black handwriting reading "ANDY" on his right shoe sole.

Toy Story
In the first Toy Story film, Buzz starts out as a surprise birthday present for Andy from his mother. He is first seen fully when Woody climbs up on Andy's bed to see Buzz standing tall on top of it. As Buzz comes to life, he believes that he is a real space ranger and scans the place where he has ended up in and tries to contact Star Command, only for no one to answer, but then catches sight of his ripped cardboard packaging, thinking that his "spaceship" has been damaged. As Buzz tries to report his mission log to his wrist communicator, scans the surrounding "terrain" and doubts if the outside air is breathable, Woody suddenly comes into his view, startling Buzz and causing him to activate his laser on Woody. Woody introduces himself to Buzz and tries to tell him that he is standing on Woody's place.

But then, Buzz catches sight of the other toys who have climbed up onto the bed, forcing him to reactivate his laser, but told by Woody that they are harmless creatures, Buzz thanks them for their kind welcome. All the toys, except Woody, are fascinated with the new features of the Buzz Lightyear action figure (buttons that activate his sampled voice, laser and wings). As Buzz shows off his wings, he and Woody have a brief argument over whether or not Buzz can fly, which leads to Buzz demonstrating how he "flies" by jumping off from the bed post, bouncing off a rubber ball, riding down the track on a Hot Wheels car, moving in circles while hanging from the plane suspended from the ceiling until it sideswipes a wall to cause Buzz to be detached from the plane, and finally landing gracefully on the bed. Buzz receives an adoration from the toys, except Woody, who describes that as "falling with style".

As the days pass, Buzz quickly becomes Andy's new favorite toy, although Buzz believes himself to be the real Space Ranger. This leads to tension with Woody because prior to Buzz's arrival, Woody has been Andy's favorite toy since kindergarten. When Woody confronts Buzz the next day, he accidentally triggers Buzz's helmet to open, causing Buzz to suffocate briefly before realizing that the air is breathable, but Buzz snaps at Woody, warning him that he almost has had Buzz's eyeballs sucked from their sockets as he closes his helmet. He suddenly hears something outside, Sid Phillips, Andy's next-door neighbor (who loves to torture toys). When the toys watch Sid preparing to blow up a Combat Carl from the window of Andy's room, Buzz declares he will stop the kid, but is too late because when he has a brief argument with Woody about his laser, Lenny notices Sid lighting a fuse attached to the Combat Carl, prompting the toys to back away as the Combat Carl is blown up, followed by Sid's evil, victorious cheer. Buzz regrets not being able to stop Sid as Woody jokingly states that he will love to see Buzz as a crater.

That evening, when Andy and his family are to go to a family outing at a Pizza Planet restaurant, Woody, wanting to ensure that Andy will pick him instead of Buzz, calls to Buzz that there is trouble (a helpless toy being trapped). Buzz then rushes to "help" the toy, and Woody sends RC to push Buzz into the gap between the table and the wall, but Buzz catches sight of RC racing toward him and jumps out of the way. RC then bumps into a board leaning against the wall, which then falls onto a globe, freeing the sphere, which rolls toward Buzz. While running away from the rolling globe, Buzz trips over some colored pencils, but manages to roll himself out of the globe's way, ending up on a windowsill. The globe then hits a desk lamp, which swings around and hit Buzz, knocking him out of the window. Most of the other toys, especially Mr. Potato Head, indict Woody for attempting to murder Buzz out of jealousy, but Buzz has survived the fall as he emerges out of the bushes to see Woody being taken by Andy into the car.

Seeking revenge on Woody, Buzz jumps onto the car's bumper, and while Andy and his mother stop for gas at a gas station, Buzz drops down through the car's sunroof, confronts Woody, and jumps on him, knocking the two out of the car. As they both roll under the car, they continue fighting until the car drives away, leaving the two stranded. Buzz tries to report his mission log to his wrist communicator again, which results in a more intense argument with Woody, during which Buzz blames Woody of delaying his "rendezvous with Star Command" and putting the security of the entire universe at stake. After Woody shouts in exasperation that Buzz is a toy and not a real space ranger, he sees Woody is no help to him, but is convinced by Woody (who has caught sight of a Pizza Planet delivery truck) to come back upon hearing that Woody has found a "spaceship". The two then hitch a ride to Pizza Planet, but as they enter the restaurant, Buzz, still thinking that he is a real space ranger catches sight of a rocket-shaped game, thinking it is a spaceship promised by Woody that will take him to his "destination." Inside, he meets some Aliens, but Woody catches up with him. Unfortunately, Sid takes control of the claw and fishes Buzz and Woody out. The two are taken to Sid's house and up the stairs to Sid's room, where they encounter the mutant toys, whom Buzz refers to them as cannibals. Buzz tries to contact Star Command to send in reinforcements and claims he has adjusted his laser "from stun to kill," causing Woody to sarcastically declare hope that they will be able to "blink" the mutant toys to death.

The next day, the two are brutally tortured by Sid (evidenced by Buzz having two suction cup darts on his helmet and back), and as they head for the open door out to the hallway (despite Buzz claiming that they don't know what's outside), they are stopped by the mutant toys, prompting Buzz to activate his laser, but nothing happens. As Buzz ponders what is wrong with his laser, Woody suddenly grabs Buzz as a hostage and pushes a large button on Buzz's back, making Buzz's arm chop up and down repeatedly to fend off the mutant toys and make their way out the door, despite Buzz telling him to stop. As Woody tries to retreat up the stairs after being stopped by Sid's vicious dog Scud sleeping at the bottom of the stairs, Buzz grabs him, covering Woody's mouth, and warns Woody that another stunt like what Woody has done may lead to their deaths. As they walk across the hallway, they accidentally wake up Scud. Buzz darts into a dark room while Woody hides in a closet, and Scud follows the former, but backs away when he catches sight of Mr. Phillips sleeping on a La-Z-Boy.

Soon, Buzz hears a voice calling for him. Thinking he can finally rendezvous with Star Command, Buzz opens his wrist communicator, but he realizes that the voice is actually coming from a TV, in which a commercial advertising Buzz Lightyear toys available at Al's Toy Barn is playing. From that commercial (as well as a "MADE IN TAIWAN" message inscribed on the lid of his wrist communicator), Buzz has discovered, for the first time, he is a toy, much to his dismay. Dejected, he walks out of the room and down the corridors, then catches sight of a window above the stairs. Despite Woody's voice echoing in his mind "You are a toy! You can't fly!", he nevertheless tries his last attempt at proving he is a Space Ranger by opening his wings and jumping from the top of the stairs, aiming toward the window, only to fall to the bottom of the stairs and dislodge his left arm in the process, finally realizing that Woody was telling the truth after all. There, he is found by Sid's little sister, Hannah, who decides to borrow Buzz for a tea party, nicknaming him as "Mrs. Nesbit." Woody then enters Hannah's room to coax Buzz out of the room. When Buzz sarcastically shows him off as "Mrs. Nesbit," Woody tries to make Buzz come to his senses by opening Buzz's helmet, slapping Buzz's head with his severed arm, and politely closing his helmet. As Buzz moans over not being able to fly out of the window, Woody, seeing the window to Andy's room through the window out of Sid's room, pulls Buzz into Sid's room.

However, due to Buzz being depressed that he is a toy, he refuses to help Woody in his escape plan, only throwing his severed arm on a desk, right next to Woody (and forcing Woody to fake Buzz being there, but making Andy's toys believe that he has severed Buzz's arm, thus ruining any chance of being rescued). Just then, the mutant toys surround Buzz, prompting Woody to fight them off, but the toys have reattached Buzz's severed arm back in place, stunning Woody. Soon, Sid bursts back into a room with a rocket, and while looking for Woody, he steps on Buzz's laser and tapes the rocket onto Buzz's back, stating how he has always desired to "blow a spaceman into orbit," but is forced to delay his launch due to a sudden rainstorm. Overnight, Woody, who has become trapped in a milk crate due to a toolbox rested on top of the crate, calls for Buzz to free him, and when Buzz doesn't answer, he throws a washer that strikes Buzz's helmet to get his attention. However, Buzz, who has claimed to have started to think clearly for the first time, is still too depressed to help Woody, as he admits that Woody has been right all along: Buzz is not a Space Ranger, but just a "stupid, insignificant toy."

In the film's turning point, Woody explains to Buzz what being a toy is and why that is better than being a Space Ranger, even going far as describing the features that Buzz has (having wings, glow-in-the-dark, buttons that make him talk, helmet doing the "whoosh" thing), all of which makes Buzz a "cool toy." As Woody, too, falls into depression and finally accepts that he will have no chance of standing up to a Buzz Lightyear action figure, Buzz thinks for a moment, looking at Andy's name written on the bottom of his boot that proves his ownership to Andy and considering everything Woody has told him as he finally discovers that being a toy isn't so bad after all, then becomes determined to get himself and Woody back in the hands of their owner. He then starts to push the toolbox off the crate and manages to free Woody, but not before catching sight of a moving truck that has pulled in front of Andy's house. Just then, Sid wakes up and takes Buzz out of the room, prompting Woody to give chase, but Scud has stationed himself in the way, preparing to attack any toy that emerges out of Sid's room. To save Buzz, Woody has to call for the mutant toys, who help Woody with his plan to escape safely to Sid's backyard, where they move into their final positions. Woody successfully scares Sid away, warning him never to torture toys again while saving Buzz from being blown up by Sid.

As Woody commends the mutant toys, Buzz calls to Woody to thank him for the rescue. The two toys then shake hands, putting their past rivalry and tensions behind, and their friendship is born. Just then, the two hear the sound of Andy's car starting next door, and they rush to catch the car, but Woody has to go back briefly to free Buzz, whose rocket has made him stuck to a fence, causing them both to miss the car. After the moving truck passes over the two, they make a dash for the truck, unaware that Scud has caught sight of them. Buzz has made it onto the truck's bumper, but as Woody begins his climb up to the bumper, Scud catches up with them and tries to pull Woody off the truck, prompting Buzz to leap onto Scud to fight the dog off. Not wanting Buzz to be left behind, Woody opens the truck's back door for a box of Andy's toys and dig into the box to find RC, whom he tosses onto the street and sends to pick up Buzz. While Buzz rides RC with Scud chasing after him, the other toys, believing Woody is attempting to murder RC, ambush him, causing RC to move around in circles and jump. Buzz finally loses Scud after RC cruises into an intersection in which cross traffic is moving and Scud runs into the intersection, causing cars to swerve and form a circle that entraps Scud. Buzz heaves a sigh of relief after losing Scud.

After Woody is tossed out of the truck, he joins Buzz as they ride RC, then they try to catch up with the moving truck. The other toys see Woody and Buzz riding on RC and feel guilty for what they have done to Woody. As RC gains closer to the truck, Slinky tries to help them back into the truck, but becomes overstretched due to RC's batteries depleting. After losing grip of Slinky and RC comes to a dead stop, Buzz then realizes the rocket taped behind his back, but in order to light the rocket, Woody has to use Buzz's helmet to focus the sunlight onto the rocket fuse. When he succeeds, Buzz holds onto Woody, who holds onto RC, as they rocket toward the moving truck. Woody manages to toss RC back into the truck (and accidentally impacted straight at Potato Head), just as he and Buzz go skyrocketing into the air. Buzz then frees himself from the rocket by opening his wings, and he and Woody plummet to the ground, but a sudden updraft causes the two to glide gracefully in the air, with Buzz describing it as "falling with style", echoing what Woody has said earlier. The two toys pass over the moving truck and reach Andy's car, where they drop down through the car's sunroof and land in an open box next to Andy, finally making him happy once again, now that he has finally found his favorite toys.

On Christmas Day at Andy's new house, Buzz (now with his helmet permanently open for the first time) is seen sitting on the bed, listening to Sarge's voice through the baby monitor. Woody joins Buzz as they sit on the bed together, and Woody asks Buzz if he isn't worried about being replaced and what present for Andy may be worse than him. When the toys hear that Andy has received a puppy, Woody and Buzz look at each other with a surprised, dreaded smile on both their faces.

Toy Story 2
In Toy Story 2, Buzz is first seen watching Rex play a Buzz Lightyear video game. Then he rushes over to assist Woody, who is looking for his hat, since it is the day Woody is going to Cowboy Camp with Andy (although he mispronounces "s'mores" as "schmoes"). Later, when Woody alerts the toys about a yard sale taking place outside the house, Buzz walks along the line of toys, calling out their names to ensure that all the toys are present. After a squeeze toy penguin named Wheezy is taken by Andy's mom to be sold at a yard sale, Woody whistles for Andy's dog, Buster, and Buzz uses Lenny to keep watch on Woody.Woody rescues Wheezy, but falls off Buster and is eventually found by a man who has been looking for Woody. As the man walks away from the yard sale after stealing Woody, Buzz attempts to give chase. He jumps onto the man's car and opens the car's back trunk, but the force of a bump lid knocks him off the car and down onto the pavement. However, Buzz manages to catch a glimpse of a license plate before the car speeds away, leaving behind some feathers, one of which Buzz picks up. During the Crime Scene Investigation, Buzz attempts to decipher the license plate number, but is not getting any accurate leads until Mr. Potato Head, while frustrated at Buzz's lack of progress, sarcastically tells the other toys to let Buzz play with his toys.

This inadvertently causes Buzz to remember a crucial detail that not only allows him to trace the culprit as working at Al's Toy Barn, but also causing him to deduce from the feather that the culprit is actually the man in the chicken suit, Al McWhiggin. Later, Buzz and the toys surf through the TV channels to find an ad for Al's Toy Barn (which has appeared earlier in the film), and when the ad appears, Buzz has Etch draw a very elaborate map of how to get there. After explaining that he still owes Woody for risking his life to save him, Buzz forms a rescue party with Mr. Potato Head, Hamm, Rex, and Slinky that goes to save Woody from Al. He appears to be a very serious leader, as shown during that night when, after successfully covering two blocks with nineteen left to go, the toys request a rest, and Buzz demands that they will not stop until Woody is safely back in Andy's room. The next day, Buzz and the toys arrive across the street from Al's Toy Barn, but a wall of traffic lies in their way.

Buzz formulates a strategy to safely cross the road by utilization of traffic cones, dropping them and proceeding under Buzz's commands (indirectly causing a massive pile-up on the street). Arriving at the entrance to Al's Toy Barn, Buzz, after seeing a worker enter the store to ensure that the doors open and close automatically, orders the toys to jump simultaneously on a door sensor mat to trigger the door open, and once inside, Buzz tells the toys to split their search. During his search, Buzz encounters an aisle full of new Buzz Lightyear toys with their hands and legs tied up inside their boxes. He then catches sight of the words "NEW UTILITY BELT!" on a display stand and, thinking he may be able to use one of those, climbs up the stand only to encounter yet another new Buzz Lightyear action figure.

When he foolishly attempts to take the newer Buzz's Utility Belt, the New Buzz suddenly springs to life, mistaken him for an AWOL space ranger and overpowers him in a fight. Andy's Buzz tries to convince New Buzz that the latter is a toy, only to irritate him instead. New Buzz then restrains and imprisons Andy's Buzz in an empty Buzz Lightyear cardboard box and places him on the shelf. When the toys cruise by, Andy's Buzz sees the toys taking New Buzz, and shouts, "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG BUZZ!" but they don't hear him from inside imprisonment box and take New Buzz with them anyway, leaving him behind still struggling with his hands and legs tied up.

After a while, Andy's Buzz manages to jump down with his box from the shelf and kick himself out. As he sees Al walk by, he spots Rex's tail sticking out of Al's bag. He tries to gives chase, but trips over some bouncy balls (spilled on the floor earlier when Tour Guide Barbie has accidentally rammed the car in which the toys have been riding). Buzz then uses hanger bars to execute acrobatic moves, jumps on a trampoline, and grabs hold of a wire-bound plane that takes him to the doors. He makes a leap toward the closing doors, but the doors slam shut and Buzz crashes into them. He tries to reopen the doors by jumping on the sensor mat, but to no avail. However, Al's car luckily does not go far; it drives over to an apartment building located just across the street. Spotting a stack of boxes next to the door, Buzz knocks it over, and the boxes land on the sensor mat, triggering the doors open, enabling Buzz to exit to run after his friends, unaware that a box that has become sandwiched between the closing doors contains an Emperor Zurg action figure.

While Zurg, having emerged out from that box, gives pursuit after Buzz, Buzz uses a traffic cone to cross the street to the apartment building. Seeing the toys' tracks leading to an air vent and hearing their voices coming through the vent, Buzz follows them and grabs hold onto the bottom of the elevator as it rises to level 23. He catches up with New Buzz and the toys in Al's Penthouse as they grab Woody and head toward the vent, where he stops them, and in a brief argument, he opens New Buzz's helmet, causing the other Buzz to suffocate under toxic air, and shows to the toys Andy's name on the bottom of the boot to prove he is the Buzz they know. He attempts to persuade Woody to come back with him and make him remember what being a toy means by (ironically) using Woody's words from the first film, but Woody tells him that he intends to go to the Konishi Toy Museum with his Roundup gang and that Buzz has wasted his time coming over to the rescue.

As a disappointed Buzz and the other toys leave the penthouse, Woody tells Buzz that being in a museum is his only chance, to which Buzz says a rather upset farewell to Woody, warning him that he will end up spending the rest of his life watching kids from behind glass and never being loved again, and leaves him to contemplate his decision. However, Woody eventually comes to his senses of what being a toy means and calls Buzz back to let him know that he is coming with him, making Buzz and the other toys relieved, but Stinky Pete The Prospector separates the two, determined to get Woody, along with the rest of the Roundup gang, to Japan, where he will never face upstart space toys, especially Buzz, whom he detests. After Al packs his Roundup collection into his case and leaves the Penthouse, Buzz and the toys run back to their elevator, only to encounter Zurg, who has followed the trails of Andy's Buzz.

After New Buzz jumps into battle with Zurg, Andy's Buzz and the other toys jump onto the elevator, head for the emergency hatch, open it, and attempt to fish Woody out of the case using Slinky. After Al steps out of the elevator and out of the apartment lobby, Mr. Potato Head throws his hat like a Frisbee to jam the closing doors, allowing Buzz and the others to pass through. Outside, Mr. Potato Head spots an idling Pizza Planet delivery truck nearby, and Buzz orders them to climb aboard the truck as he runs into New Buzz one last time when the other Buzz is playing catch with his "father," Zurg. Andy's Buzz bids New Buzz farewell, then he climbs aboard the truck and assigns the toys to their positions (taking the pedals, navigating, and operating the levers and knobs). He takes control of a steering wheel as Rex navigates him to chase Al's car to the airport. Arriving at Tri-County International Airport, Buzz spots Al just checking in his case, then he and the toys use a pet carrier to walk into the airport lobby and enter a maze of conveyor belts, where he tells the toys to split their search.

Finally, Buzz catches up with the case containing Woody, but when he opens it, he is punched off the ramp by Stinky Pete. However, he manages to catch up with the rest of the toys as they use a flash camera from another luggage to stun the Prospector seconds before he can finish Woody off. After Buzz captures Stinky Pete, Woody decides to teach the Prospector the "true meaning of playtime" and tells Buzz to shove him into a Barbie backpack belonging to a girl named Amy. After Stinky Pete is disposed of, the toys call to Woody and Buzz as Bullseye emerges out of the case in time, but Woody is unable to rescue Jessie as the case reaches the end of the conveyor belt routine and is loaded into a luggage transporter. Buzz then assists Woody in rescuing Jessie as they mount Bullseye and gallop across the airfield. Woody stands on Buzz's shoulder to reach for and grab hold of a tag attached to one of the luggage, but becomes separated from Buzz; nevertheless, Buzz instructs Bullseye to follow Woody, as the two eventually catch up with Woody and Jessie who have emerged out of the plane.

Galloping next to the plane's front wheels, Buzz catches Woody's hat when it is blown off from Woody's head. As the plane heads down the runway, Woody tells Buzz to get behind the tires, then, using his pull-string, he and Jessie swing between the tires and land on Bullseye right behind Buzz. Together, they watch triumphantly as the plane takes off from the runway and disappear into the sky. Buzz gives Woody his hat back, but their celebration of triumph is cut short by another plane about to make a touchdown. Woody decides that the toys go home.

Back at Andy's house, after Jessie and Bullseye are accepted into Andy's toy collection, Buzz tries to gather up his courage to talk to Jessie, describing her as a "young woman with a beautiful yarnful of hair, a hairful of yarn." As he decides to go after becoming his embarrassment overcomes him, Jessie grabs him and describes him as the "sweetest space toy" she has ever met, and the two seem to enter a relationship together, especially after witnessing Jessie perform a stunt with the Hot Wheels car and track to jump to the door handle to let Buster out of the room (Buzz's wings automatically open up in astonishment).

Buzz later walks up to Woody and asks him if he is still worried about Andy growing up. Woody replies that he isn't worried anymore, and that when it's old over, he will have old Buzz Lightyear to keep him company "for infinity and beyond," the answer to which Buzz agrees. Finally, Buzz and Woody are seen with their respective "girlfriends," Jessie and Bo Peep, as they watch a newly-fixed Wheezy sing "You've Got a Friend in Me." Buzz also has two alternate incarnations in Toy Story 2.

"Video Game" Buzz
"Video Game" Buzz is a character that appeared only in a Nintendo-like video game played by Rex at the beginning of Toy Story 2. He infiltrates Zurg's fortress "through the main gate" and battles against Zurg, but loses.

Utility Belt Buzz
For character details, see main article at Utility Belt Buzz.

Toy Story 3
In Toy Story 3, Buzz is first seen in the film's opening sequence that takes place in Andy's real-world imagination, when he lifts up a train that has fallen into a ravine due to a railroad bridge that is destroyed by One-Eyed Bart (Mr. Potato Head's character), saving the lives of Woody and the orphans. He then flies off to catch the criminals and fires his laser to slice the corvette, in which Bart and his goons are riding, in half. As Woody and Jessie are about to arrest the criminals, Buzz catches sight of a spaceship, and realizes that it is Evil Dr. Porkchop (Hamm's character). When Dr. Porkchop executes "Death by Monkeys", thousands of monkeys swarm over Buzz, Woody, and Jessie, holding them hostage as Bart prepares to blast the three heroes into oblivion. Back in Andy's room, Andy himself brings the scenario to a close by using his fingers to trace Buzz's laser reflecting off Woody's badge to "destroy" the "spaceship" and allowing Woody to arrest Bart and his goons. Years later, when a 17-year-old Andy prepares to depart for college, Buzz and Woody set up another staff meeting. When Andy's mother asks him what he is going to do with his toys, Andy opens his toy box and puts many of his toys in a trash bag.

When Andy pulls out Woody and Buzz, he begins to ponder what he should do about them, and he puts Buzz in the bag and Woody in a box bound for college. However, Andy's mother mistakes the bag full of toys as trash and carries the bag outside to be picked up by an approaching garbage truck, prompting Woody to rush over to rescue his friends. The toys manage to escape the bag as Woody spots them running into the garage hidden under a bin. Woody tries to clear up the misunderstanding, but Buzz and the others, believing that Andy does not want them anymore, declare that they will go to Sunnyside Daycare. There, Buzz meets Lotso and the other Sunnyside toys as Lotso gives him a big hug, shows the toys around Sunnyside, and assigns them to the Caterpillar Room. Buzz wants to start a new life at Sunnyside with the rest of the toys, much to Woody's chagrin. When Woody decides to go back, Buzz reaches his hand out for a handshake to say goodbye, but Woody ignores Buzz and walks away.

On the first day, however, just before the Caterpillar Room toddlers enter and they expect playtime, Buzz notices several of the toys trying to hide just as they are about to enter, giving away an early clue to the Caterpillar Room's true nature. During a rough and savage playtime with the toddlers, a boy snatches Buzz away from another boy who wants to play with him, a girl licks on his helmet, and another girl uses him as a hammer. Landing on the ledge next to the window, Buzz then notices the kindergarten children in the Butterfly Room playing with Lotso and his toy gang respectfully, making him wonder why it is peaceful in the Butterfly Room and a nightmare in the Caterpillar Room.

That evening, Buzz regrets having moved into the Caterpillar Room and wants him and the other toys to be moved with Lotso, so he sneaks out of the room, with help from the other toys, to find him. Following a few of Lotso's henchmen, he sneaks into the vending machine and climbs to the very top, only to overhear what the Sunnyside toys are planning to do with Buzz and his friends. However, just as Buzz is about to leave the vending machine, he bumps into Big Baby, who has just entered and throws Buzz onto the table, and Lotso's henchmen capture him and bring him to Lotso.

After listening to Buzz's request, Lotso offers the transfer only to him, believing that the kids in the Caterpillar Room need some toys to play with. This makes Buzz refuse Lotso's offer, believing he and his friend stay together as a family, but then Lotso orders his gang to have Buzz restrained and open his back compartment for the gang to access a "Play-Demo" switch and a reset hole, which leads to his two different personalities later on.​

Bad Buzz
Not to be confused with Evil Buzz Lightyear.

After being reset into his "Demo" mode, Buzz thinks he is a real Space Ranger again and loses all the memory of his friends. Lotso then takes this chance to manipulate Buzz to be his henchmen by making him think Andy's toys to be minions of Emperor Zurg, and Buzz captures Andy's toys and imprisons them in wire cubbies functioning as prison cells in the Caterpillar Room. He then sets up the standards and rules for the toy prisoners and orders them to follow them, warning them that anyone who acts otherwise will spend the night in a sandbox, where Mr. Potato Head, for his "misbehavior," is thrown into by Big Baby.

The next day, Buzz catches Hamm playing harmonica inside his cell and orders him to keep quiet. Lotso and his gang enter the room to wake up the prisoners and pick up Buzz to take him back to "Star Command". When Woody returns to Sunnyside, he formulates a plan to help the toys escape. After learning from the toys that Buzz has become a real space ranger again, Woody decides to restore Buzz back to his normal self.

That night, Buzz and Ken walk along the cells, taking name calls, and when Mr. Potato Head doesn't respond when called, Buzz shakes his cell, only to find a real potato inside. Spotting Mr. Potato Head on a windowsill, Buzz and Ken, along with Big Baby, rush over to corner him. Mr. Potato Head kicks Ken, prompting Ken to order Big Baby to take him back to the sanbox. As Buzz continues patrolling the room, he catches Rex and Hamm fighting, prompting him to intervene. As Buzz tries to break up the fight (as hitting people is his job), Jessie and Bullseye emerge from their cells and slam a plastic storage bin over Buzz. Rex and Hamm stand on the bin, trapping Buzz, who tries to break free by ramming the bin and using his laser, but to no avail. Banging on the top of the bin, he tries to call for help because of a prison riot. Rex and Hamm tell Buzz that they can't hear him, but when they turn to see Woody, Slinky, and Barbie return to the room, Buzz takes this advantage to execute an acrobatic move to kick the bin off. Buzz then attempts to escape, but Rex and Hamm tackle him down from the side.

As Buzz struggles to wrench himself free and demands his prisoners to unhand him, Barbie unscrews his back compartment for Woody to access the "Play-Demo" switch. When flicking the switch doesn't work, Hamm reads a Buzz Lightyear instruction manual (which is retrieved from the Bookworm by Barbie under the disguise of "Spacesuit Ken") on the steps on how to reset Buzz. Thinking fast, Woody then orders Rex to insert his finger into the reset hole below the switch and hold it long enough to cause Buzz to shut down.

Spanish Buzz
Just as Rex feels ashamed for what he has done to Buzz, Buzz suddenly springs back to life, still thinking he is a real space ranger, but starts speaking in a different language—Spanish—much to the shock of the other toys. Told by Woody that the toys are "amigos" to Buzz, Buzz faithfully rejoins their side. As the toys catch up with the others, Buzz is charmed by Jessie's beauty, calling her his beautiful "desert flower." Jessie is at first uncertain about Buzz's attitude, but then Buzz starts performing a salsa dance to gain the affections of Jessie, who finally starts to like Buzz.As Buzz offers a dandelion for Jessie, Woody catches up with the toys, and Jessie runs to Woody and hugs him, making Buzz jealous as he throws down the dandelion in envy. After the toys reach a trash chute (the only way out of Sunnyside as the Chatter Telephone has told Woody about earlier), Woody calls to Buzz for help, but Buzz, whose concern is to impress Jessie even more, performs an acrobatic stunt by leaping toward a broom, swinging around it, then jumping to the handle of the chute, hooking his feet on the handle, and pulling it down. Woody, Jessie, Buzz, and the other toys go through the chute, but at the end of a chute is an open dumpster, and Buzz wonders where his spaceship is.

When the toys get loaded into a garbage truck, they rush toward Buzz because his glow-in-the-dark functionality allows him to be easily spotted. When the garbage truck loads more garbage into the truck, Buzz searches frantically for Jessie. Finding her caught under some trash, Buzz rushes over to free Jessie and carry her to safety, but Mrs. Potato Head suddenly shouts, "Look out!" Buzz then looks up to see a broken TV falling towards him, then he throws Jessie over to the toys as the TV falls on him. Jessie becomes shocked to see her rescuer get flattened by the TV, so she rushes over to try to lift it up.

Back to Normal
The toys help Jessie lift the TV, and with help from Slinky, they pull a limp and unconscious Buzz out of the TV by his arms. Jessie opens Buzz's helmet and frantically shakes him, then, feeling it was her fault that she let Buzz be crushed to unconsciousness, begins sobbing over his apparent "death." When Buzz comes back to life, he briefly sniffs the outside air, then notices all the toys staring at him and speaks English once again. Jessie is relieved and overjoyed to see that Buzz is alive from death as she kisses Buzz repeatedly on his cheek, thanking him for saving her from being buried alive. Buzz is confused and wondered what went on. As Woody tells Buzz that he has gone "beyond infinity", Buzz is overjoyed to see Woody as he recognizes him, a sign that his memory has been restored (although unaware of his Spanish mode as well as the events of his brainwashing).

After the toys are dumped at the Tri-County Landfill, they are pushed onto a garbage conveyor belt. Seeing that they are heading toward a set of garbage shredders, Buzz orders the toys to grab hold of something metal so that they hang from the magnetic ceiling, safe from the shredders. Just then, Lotso calls for help from under a golf bag, and Woody drops down to free Lotso. Seeing the danger Woody has put himself in, Buzz also drops down to assist Woody, and the two use one of the golf clubs to pry up the bag, letting Lotso crawl out, and they all grab onto the club to be pulled up to the ceiling, narrowly escaping the shredders that pulverize the golf bag.

The toys then realize that they are heading toward an incinerator, and try to run for it, but are unable to outrun the speed of the conveyor belt. Lotso notices an emergency stop button on the top of a ladder, and Buzz and Woody rush over to help Lotso climb up the ladder toward the button, but Lotso turns away, leaving the toys to die in the incinerator. After the toys are dropped into a large bowl toward the flames, Jessie frantically asks Buzz what they are going to do next, and Buzz, coming to realize that he and his friends are deprived of any escape chance, takes Jessie's hand with one arm as they finally admit their feeling for each other inside themselves. The other toys do the same as they realize that they are now facing death, and Buzz reaches his other arm out to take Woody's hand. The toys are rescued at the last moment by a giant claw commandeered by the Aliens.

Once outside, Buzz and Jessie sit up to find themselves still holding hands, and they smile at each other. They tell Woody that they still need to get him home, but when Woody expresses his worry about how the toys will handle their lives in the attic, Buzz and Jessie remind Woody that as Andy's toys, their job is to be there for him. The toys return to Andy's house by hitching a ride in Sid's garbage truck, and Woody washes some grime off Buzz's helmet with a garden hose. After climbing back up to Andy's room, Woody and Buzz shake hands, unable to admit that the two friends are now separating ways after all they have been through. As footsteps approach the room, Buzz bids his best friend farewell and climbs into a box bound for attic along with the other toys.

However, Woody believes that the toys deserve a better place than the attic so while Andy is saying farewell to Molly and Buster (who is now an old dog), he writes a note telling Andy to donate the toys to Bonnie's house. Andy reads the note, decides to donate the toys, and drives over to Bonnie's house, where he gives his toys, including Buzz, to Bonnie Anderson and spends the last playtime with his toys before departing for college. After Andy leaves, Buzz comforts Woody, who is given to Bonnie as well, as they accept that their life with Andy is complete, and Woody introduces Buzz to Bonnie's toys.

During the end credits, Woody reads to the toys a letter from Sunnyside, which Buzz thinks it is written by Barbie, based on the girlish handwriting, only for Jessie to pinpoint Ken's signature at the end, making the trio exchange uncertain looks. It is also shown that Bonnie has made drawing for her toys, including Buzz and others given to her from Andy. Finally, Jessie takes advantage of Buzz's Spanish personality, and the two perform a paso doble to "Hay Un Amigo En Mi", the Spanish version of the song "You've Got a Friend in Me," to amusement of Woody and the others.

Toy Story 4
Buzz Lightyear returns in Toy Story 4, helping in the nine-years-ago flashback to rescue RC from a flooding storm drain. In the present, Buzz is still with Bonnie's Toys and goes with Bonnie on the road trip to the carnival. Noticing that Woody is exhausted from trying to restrain Forky from throwing himself away, Buzz offers to help a bit, but Woody insists that it is his responsibility because his conscience tells him it is. Buzz, uncharacteristically, doesn't understand what a "conscience" is, and Woody describes it as his "inside voice". Buzz confuses this for the sounds that he makes when his buttons are pressed, and presses one, alerting nearby humans and forcing Woody to tackle him for fear of being seen.

Safely obscured, the toys are shocked to realize that Forky has taken this opportunity to escape and jump out of the moving RV. Woody dives after him, while Buzz stays behind to lead. Again going counter to his strong leadership skills in past films, Buzz cannot figure out what to do and so simply presses his buttons for advice on what courses of action to take.

Eventually Buzz sets out on his own to find Woody and Forky, leaving leadership to Jessie. Still using his voice sounds for advice, Buzz jumps onto a carnival ride in order to get enough elevation to glide where he needs to go. He unfortunately collides into something mid air unfortunately, arresting his trajectory and, after bouncing around repeatedly, lands in front of a portable toilet. Getting up and preparing to try again, the door to the portable toilet opens and knocks him aside. Noticing Buzz lying on the ground, the man who emerged from the door picks him up and ties Buzz to his toy stand as a prize.

Ducky and Bunny, also prizes at the toy stand, get Buzz's attention to taunt him. Buzz asks for help to escape, but Ducky only kicks him in the head repeatedly. Again using his voice sounds for advice, Buzz closes his helmet on Ducky's foot, causing the three to drop off of the stand. Buzz takes this chance to continue his search for Woody, but Ducky and Bunny pursue him in anger.

Unable to find Woody, Buzz again consults his voice box, which coincidentally tells him to look up. Buzz miraculously sees Woody and Bo Peep moving above the ground from umbrella to rooftop, and Buzz quickly pursues. Finding them on the rooftop, he is briefly reunited with Bo until Ducky and Bunny catch up and tackle him, wrestling until Woody can calm the with a promise of adoption.

Now working together, Buzz and company head into the antique store where Forky is held captive by Gabby Gabby, intending to help Woody rescue him. Buzz, along with Officer Giggle McDimples, Ducky, and Bunny, are tasked with getting the key to Gabby Gabby's cabinet (where Forky is held) from the storeowner. Ducky and Bunny suggest increasingly horrifying methods of getting the key, most of which involving, attacking the elderly owner, all of which Buzz rejects. Luckily for Buzz however, the storeowner just so happens to place the key right in front of them as they try to think of a plan.

Arriving in the "club", Buzz and company present the key to Bo, Woody, and Duke Caboom, making up a story about how incredibly difficult it was to get the key. Despite their earlier luck, they are ultimately unsuccessful in rescuing Forky, requiring everyone to retreat. When Bo and everyone else but Buzz abandons Woody as a result of the disastrous attempt, Buzz also ends up leaving as his "inner voice" will only give him responses indicating that he should leave, no matter how many times he presses them. Buzz then returns to the RV to regroup with Bonnie's Toys. Knowing that Bonnie left her backpack at the antique store, Buzz comes up with a plan to go back for Woody with greater numbers when the family goes back to retrieve it. This backfires however, when Bonnie forgets that she lost her backpack and says that the family can head back home. Not knowing what to do, Buzz rapidly clicks his buttons to get advice from his "inner voice", which causes Mrs. Anderson to pick him up at the noise. Thinking him defective, she puts him in a cabinet to keep quiet, until Buzz speaks in his own voice that Bonnie forgot her backpack, causing the family to turn around.

Only recovering Forky from Bonnie's backpack, Forky tells Buzz that Woody wants to rendezvous at the carousel in the center of the carnival. Jessie and Trixie then come up with a plan to fake the voice of the RV's navigation system in order to make Bonnie's parents go back to the carnival, which Buzz assists with. When Mr. Anderson decides to ignore the "malfunctioning" navigation system, Buzz helps the other toys take over the pedals and navigate the RV toward the carousel against his will.

Finally arriving with a string of police cars following, Mr. Anderson gets out to talk to the police while Buzz has Forky keep the door locked, preventing his re-entry, and also orders the awning extended in order to create a bridge between the RV and the edge of the carousel for Woody to pass across. Buzz moves up to meet Woody, but notices that Woody is indecisive about returning to Bonnie or staying with Bo. Buzz now finally shows his characteristic good judgment, saying that "she'll be ok". Woody, thinking Buzz is referring to Bo, moves to return to Bonnie, until Buzz clarifies that Bonnie will be ok, that Woody can stay with Bo.

When all of Andy's old toys come to the awning to say goodbye to Woody, having decided to stay with Bo, Buzz and Woody share a hug as lifelong friends. The goodbye continues until Forky also shows up to say goodbye, until it dawns on all the toys that Forky was supposed to be preventing Mr. Anderson from entering the RV to drive home. At that moment the RV begins to move, and Buzz scrambles with all the other toys back to the RV as Woody and Bo return to the carousel.

Sometime later, Buzz is also present when Jessie unveils Knifey.

Hawaiian Vacation
In this short, Buzz appears to be the activities director for Ken and Barbie. He also provides entertainment for them after Jessie sets him to Spanish mode.

Small Fry
Buzz and Rex are taken by Bonnie to Poultry Palace, where Bonnie pretends to be sliding into hot lava in the ball pin. When Bonnie is not looking, a diminutive Fun Meal Buzz Lightyear switches place with Buzz and is taken home instead. When the real Buzz comes to, the restaurant is closed. Unable to get through the front door, Buzz goes through the vents, only to fall into the basement, where he meets a support group for discarded Fun Meal Toys. Buzz is mistaken for another abandoned Fun Meal Toy and is encouraged to join the group. Buzz begrudgingly does so, as he has no other way out other than the vent in the ceiling. While doing role-play with Lizard Wizard to simulate a child abandoning his toy, the group leader, Queen Neptuna, suggests he move over to Gary Grappling Hook, whom Buzz uses to get back into the vent. Making his way back into the vent, Buzz figures that the only exit not locked is the drive-thru window, which he uses to escape. Upon arriving home, he finds his friends, who have tied up Fun Meal Buzz to a glue bottle, devising a plan on how to rescue him, before revealing himself. Afterwards, Buzz takes his diminutive counterpart to Poultry Palace to add him to the support group and serves as his "sponsor."

Partysaurus Rex
TBA

Toy Story of Terror!
Buzz is seen on a road trip with Bonnie to her grandmother's house, watching a scary movie with the other toys. When they are forced to stop off at the Sleep Well motel for the night, after Woody warns Mr. Potato Head not to wander off because he might get lost, he leaves anyway and disappears and Buzz, Woody and Jessie go to search for him, and eventually come across his arm. A monster (later revealed to be Mr. Jones) is seen snatching up all the toys, and takes the arm, Buzz and Woody, leaving Jessie alone by herself. It is later revealed that Buzz, along with all the other toys, were taken to Ron's office, where he sells the toys on Ebay. The toys are all later saved by Jessie when she opens the cabinet, and when they leave to check out, Bonnie and her mother notice the toys in the background and retrieve them. Buzz along with all the other toys continue their road trip.

Toy Story That Time Forgot
Buzz first appears in the special when Bonnie takes some of her toys to Mason's house. He walks around the Battlesaur playsets. Later, when it is revealed that the Battlesaurs are not aware that they're toys, Buzz tries to explain to The Cleric what they are, but he is shrugged off. Later, Buzz along with Woody are seen being thrown into the Battlesaurs arena, where they are forced to fight. When they lose, The Cleric reveals he knows he's a toy, realizes he can't let them reveal his secret to the other Battlesaurs and orders them to be destroyed.

Buzz and Woody are forced to a vent fan, where they would be destroyed by it, but Trixie manages to save before they can be destroyed. Buzz later returns with Bonnie to her house.

Disney Parks
Along with Woody, Jessie, Bullseye, Lotso, Bo Peep and the Green Army Men, Buzz also can be seen in Disney parks in the Toy Story live shows or meeting young children.

Specials

 * 2020 - The Secret of the Cave Treasure

Movies

 * 1995 - Toy Story
 * 1999 - Toy Story 2
 * 2000 - Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins
 * 2010 - Toy Story 3
 * 2019 - Toy Story 4

TV

 * 1996 - Toy Story Treats
 * 2001-2002 - Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
 * 2011 - Hawaiian Vacation and Small Fry
 * 2012 - Partysaurus Rex
 * 2013 - Toy Story of Terror!
 * 2014 - Toy Story That Time Forgot

Voice actors

 * Tim Allen (UK/US; Movies)
 * Patrick Warburton (UK/US; Buzz Lightyear of Star Command)
 * Stephen Stanton (UK/US; Video Games)
 * Mike McRae (UK/US; Disney Infinity)

Features

 * Wrist Laser
 * Pop Out Wings
 * Retractable Helmet
 * Flip out wrist communicator
 * Joints
 * Karate Chop Action
 * Demo Mode
 * Spanish Mode

Trivia

 * As of Toy Story of Terror!, Buzz and Rex are the only two Toy Story characters who have appeared in every medium in the franchise.
 * Buzz's fictional home planet is the planet of Morph.
 * It is interesting to note that in every Toy Story film except for Toy Story 4 there is one delusional Buzz Lightyear toy who believes he is a space ranger.
 * In the first film, it was the current Buzz Lightyear who believed he was a space ranger until he learned he was just a toy.
 * In the second film, when the toys went to Al's Toy Barn, Buzz was attacked by another newer Buzz Lightyear after Buzz tried to take newer Buzz's belt, and was placed in a display box while the other delusional Buzz went with the Woody search group after hearing Rex say he found the secret to beating Zurg (in a video game). It should be noted that this is technically the only instance in the movie franchise thus far that Andy's Buzz himself does not become delusional about being a genuine space ranger.
 * In the third film, Lotso kidnapped Buzz and reset him to Demo mode where he lost his memories and reverted to his delusional Buzz state. When his friends attempted to reset him, they found they couldn't reset him by putting him back to normal mode and instead accidentally reset him to delusional Buzz in Spanish mode. He later regained his memories and his current persona when he was hit by a TV set while saving Jessie.
 * Buzz is similar to Bolt from the 2008 film of the same name, as both believe to possess their TV shows' super powers, and yet, they do not have them. It is then later that both heroes realize (and admit) it.
 * The role of Buzz Lightyear was originally offered to Billy Crystal who turned it down, a move he later admitted regretting. Crystal eventually voiced Mike Wazowski, a character in Monsters, Inc. Also, Bill Murray and Jim Carrey were also considered for the role.
 * What attracted Tim Allen to the role of Buzz Lightyear, was before him they offered the role to his biggest influence in his career, Chevy Chase, who turned it down.
 * Buzz does a Vulcan salute from the Star Trek series when saying "Farewell" to Woody at the gas station, when leaving Andy's house to embark on his mission to rescue Woody, and when saying "Farewell" to the other Buzz who is playing catch with Emperor Zurg.
 * Buzz makes a cameo in Finding Nemo, as a toy that was in the dentist's waiting room.
 * The Lightyear Blimp in the movie Cars is a reference to Buzz Lightyear, and is also a parody of the Goodyear Blimp.
 * Buzz appears during the end credits of Cars as a car, arguing with Woody. He is a Space Rover, and Woody is a woody station wagon.
 * All Piston Cup racers' tires in Cars are branded as "Lightyear," both a reference to Buzz Lightyear and a play on the name Goodyear (an actual tire manufacturer).
 * The original script for Toy Story 3 had Buzz and his entire toy line recalled back to Taiwan (where the Buzz Lightyear toys are made) due to a defect. Apparently, that defect could have explained why Buzz and his toy line believed themselves to be real space rangers. While this plot idea was ultimately scrapped, the final script did still include an explanation as to why the entire toyline had at the very least initial delusional beliefs to being the real Buzz Lightyear (as apparently they are pre-set to Demo Mode when first made).
 * In only the North American release of Toy Story 2, Buzz gives out his speech with the US flag in the backdrop and the US national anthem, the "Star-Spangled Banner," playing in the background, similar to the way General Patton did in Patton' (1970).
 * The colors on Buzz are the favorites of John Lasseter (lime green) and his wife, Nancy (purple).
 * Buzz's facial features are loosely based after Lasseter.
 * Buzz was based on the G.I. Joe toys from the 1960s.
 * In one of the Toy Story films, Buzz flies over the river from A Bug's Life.
 * In an episode of House of Mouse, Donald Duck dresses up like Buzz.
 * Buzz along with Woody were at one point planned to appear as new summons in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, but this idea was scrapped.
 * Buzz was nominated for AFI'S 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains. One of three animated heroes appear on the list, along with Belle and Peter Pan. Unfortunately, none of them made the list.
 * Buzz Lightyear's catchphrase "To infinity and beyond!" was also said by Flik in one of the outtakes of A Bug's Life, as well as Tim Allen's character, as a dog, in another Disney film The Shaggy Dog (2006).
 * Buzz is 11.43 inches tall, and his helmet adds 0.37 inches.
 * Buzz has 215 animation avatars in his face.
 * The quality of Buzz's voice box deteriorated within the ten years between Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3, and is now on par with Woody's sound quality (and the original Thinkway Buzz Lightyear action figure).
 * Buzz and Jessie's dance moves during the end credits of Toy Story 3 were choreographed by Tony Dovolani and Cheryl Burke of Dancing with the Stars.
 * In Toy Story, you can see copyright Disney on Buzz's butt, but in Toy Story 2 and 3, it says Disney/Pixar.
 * A parody of Buzz Lightyear appeared in the Mad episode "The Buzz Identity/Two and a Half Man."
 * In Toy Story 2, when Utility Belt Buzz was putting Andy's Buzz on the shelf, the string that was tied on Buzz's left hand in the cardboard box was missing.
 * Buzz has labels on his rear end. In Toy Story, he had a label that said "Disney," which was shown when he attempted to fly out of the window at Sid's house, and in Toy Story 3, he had a Disney/Pixar label that was shown just before he was picked up by a child at Sunnyside.
 * Buzz is mentioned in the song Boyfriend by Justin Bieber.
 * The characters that Buzz and Zurg are based on from whatever they're from in the Toy Story universe, are spoofs of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in the sense that they parody one of the few last scenes in Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back, where Zurg claims he's Buzz's father just like Vader did to Luke, as the Zurg and Utility Belt Buzz in Toy Story 2 think they're the real versions of themselves and fight in a parody in the Luke/Vader fight in Star Wars.
 * When Toy Story was being made, Buzz wasn't going to be in the main plot. Tinny was going to be in his place. But John Lasseter decided a tin toy wouldn't be a good toy for a boy, so Tinny was scrapped and Lasseter decided to put in a military/space character that a boy would want so badly. When names came around, the original two were Lunar Larry and Tempis from Morph.
 * Stinky Pete said that space rangers sold more than the 50's cowboys, which makes it so Buzz's predecessors have been around since the early or late 60's.
 * The use of flashes by Buzz to stun Stinky Pete in Toy Story 2 is similar to (and possibly in reference to) the use of flashes by Homer and Bart to stun malfunctioning robots in the 1994 Simpsons episode "Itchy & Scratchy Land." This was in turn a reference to Michael Crichton's movie Westworld.
 * Based on him still functioning after being hit by both water from a water hose in Toy Story 3 and a tidal wave of water when the bathroom door burst out in Partysaurus Rex, Buzz Lightyear is likely waterproof.
 * Buzz tends to mispronounce words. For example, he mispronounces the word "S'mores" as "Schmoes", and in Hawaiian Vacation he mispronounces Hawaii as "Hay-way-I". Woody corrects him both times.
 * Buzz appeared at the 2016 Oscars with Woody and the Aliens, where they announced that Inside Out won the Best Animated Feature Film award.
 * Buzz will appeared in the new Toy Story Apple watch faces.
 * The line "There seems to be no sign of intelligent life anywhere..." is a reference to early Star Trek (1966) fanon, a bumper sticker on which Captain James T. Kirk says "Beam me up Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here". This sticker was a double misquote, as Kirk in the series never says "Beam me up Scotty" either.​​​​​​