(Photo by Elen Nivrae, from Wikimedia Commons)
Actor and “Lightyear” star Chris Evans stands up against critics who oppose a gay couple featured in the upcoming Pixar movie.
Evans, the voice behind the Disney movie’s main character and namesake Buzz Lightyear, had some choice words to say about the people negatively reacting to the gay couple in an interview with Reuters Television June 14.
“The real truth is those people are idiots,” Evans said. “Every time there’s been social advancement as we wake up, the American story, the human story is one of constant social awakening and growth and that’s what makes us good.”
Several countries have already made their dissatisfaction with the Pixar movie’s depiction of a gay couple known as it has been banned from being shown in the United Arab Emirates, as well as 13 other Middle Eastern and Asian countries.
“Lightyear” is inspired by the movie that inspired the toy Buzz Lightyear from Pixar’s “Toy Story” franchise. Buzz Lightyear is a legendary space ranger whose close friend is a female space ranger who marries another woman. During the film, the two share a brief kiss.
“There’s always going to be people who are afraid and unaware and trying to hold on to what was before,” Evans said. “But those people die off like dinosaurs. I think the goal is to pay them no mind, march forward and embrace the growth that makes us human.”
Evans’ co-star Keke Palmer, who plays Buzz Lightyear’s close friend Izzy Hawthorne, quoted Buzz’s signature phrase “to infinity and beyond” when referencing the future of acceptance in an interview with Reuters.
“Refurbish your idea of tradition … it’s time to move forward,” Palmer said. “It’s time to accept and look and enjoy all the faces that have always been there. They’ve always been a part of the picture, you just tried to paint them out.”
The movie’s producer Galyn Susman wonders why there’s never as much outrage over depictions of failed relationships on screen.
“We have a relationship here which lasts an entire lifetime,” Susman said. “It’s loving, it’s supportive and it shows Buzz exactly what he doesn’t have and that’s the whole point. We should all be so lucky to have that kind of relationship in our life.”
“Lightyear” is now open in theaters across the U.S.
