Concept and Creation
Buzz Lightyear's name was inspired by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin acknowledged the tribute when he pulled a Buzz Lightyear doll out during a speech at NASA, to rapturous cheers; a clip of this can be found on the Toy Story 10th Anniversary DVD. Aldrin did not, however, receive any endorsement fees for the use of his first name.
Regarding the design of Lightyear, his creator, John Lasseter, is on record as saying he wanted to create an action figure in the line of G.I. Joe for Toy Story and decided upon a spaceman figure. He attributes his design to the influence of Apollo astronauts, in particular their clear helmets, skullcaps, communication devices and white suits
The purple and lime green colour scheme were his wife's and his own favourite colours respectively. The wholesome good looks of television actor Ed Kemmer are also believed to be a prototype for Lightyear. Kemmer played Commander Buzz Corry in Space Patrol, one of the first science-fiction series on US TV.
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Famous quotes containing the words concept and/or creation:
“It is impossible to dissociate language from science or science from language, because every natural science always involves three things: the sequence of phenomena on which the science is based; the abstract concepts which call these phenomena to mind; and the words in which the concepts are expressed. To call forth a concept, a word is needed; to portray a phenomenon, a concept is needed. All three mirror one and the same reality.”
—Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794)
“I do not, like the Fundamentalists, believe that creation stopped six thousand years ago after a week of hard work. Creation is going on all the time.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)