Hey everybody, there was no Monday Movie Fun Fact last week because I was on vacation and ran out of time beforehand to write one up. Same with Movie Whose Line and Movie Quote of the Week. Anyway, I’m back on schedule so let’s get started. This week’s MMFF is similar to the last one about a casting that could have been but was probably better that it didn’t happen.
You know Buzz Lightyear, right? The space ranger action figure from Toy Story voiced by Tim Allen. Could you imagine Allen not in the iconic role? Well that was almost the case. The part of Buzz Lightyear was originally offered to Billy Crystal. In an interview for his 2012 movie Parental Guidance, Crystal says he turned down the role due to “bad advice from managers and agents” and not following his instincts. This became one of his biggest regrets, leading him to unquestionably accept the next part Pixar offered to him, which ended up being Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc.
I’m actually pretty happy Crystal voiced Mike rather than Buzz. His voice isn’t suited for the part of Buzz, at least not like Allen’s is. Allen was spectacular as Buzz, the same way Crystal was perfect for Mike. So in the end, everything worked out.
Here is Crystal’s Buzz Lightyear screen test:
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