‘Toy Story’ Stars Tim Allen and Tom Hanks Have Mini-Breakfast Reunion

Toy Story stars Tom Hanks, and Tim Allen reunited over a meal in Los Angeles. TMZ shared a photo on Sept. 17 of the co-stars appearing to be deep in conversation during breakfast at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel. Hanks voiced Woody, and Allen portrayed Buzz Lightyear in the 1995 Pixar film. There have been several sequels, but neither actor was in this June’s Lightyear.

The meeting comes almost three months after Hanks spoke out about Allen not being cast in the movie, which stars Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz Lightyear. Hanks spoke with CinemaBlend in June about the Baz Luhrmann-directed drama Elvis, in which he plays Elvis’ manager Col. Tom Parker; Lightyear was also in theaters at the same time. During the interview, he called out the producers of Lightyear, saying he wanted to work with Tim Allen on the sequel, but “they didn’t let Tim Allen do it.” 

“I wanted to go head-to-head with Tim Allen,” Hanks said. “They didn’t let Tim Allen do it. I don’t understand that.” Hanks did not clarify his comment further, instead switching to discussing the joy of seeing theaters fill with people again after the lockdown. “Just as long as people come back to the motion picture theater,” he said. “I want to go back into the theater with a bunch of strangers and leave with something in common. That’s what I want to do.”

Not only did Hanks not understand why Allen was not chosen to play the part, but many fans were also confused over what had happened with the casting. However, logistics reportedly drove the decision. Allen voices Buzz Lightyear, the toy, while Evans voices Buzz Lightyear, the cinematic astronaut who is the inspiration for the toy in the Toy Story universe.

That same month, Allen talked with Extra about the controversy surrounding Chris Evans voicing his Toy Story character. “The short answer is I’ve stayed out of this ’cause it has nothing to do [with my Buzz Lightyear],” he explained. “It’s a wonderful story,” the actor said of Lightyear. “It just doesn’t seem to have any connection to the toy, and it’s a little…I don’t know. It just has no relationship to Buzz. It’s just no connection. I wish there was a better connection.” 

Allen revealed he was approached about making the film years ago, saying, “We talked about this many years ago. It came up in one of the sessions. I said, ‘What a fun movie that would be’.” He added, “this is a whole new team that really had nothing to do with the first movies. It’s [Tom] Hanks and I. There’s really no Toy Story’s Buzz without Woody.”

While discussing the film with Entertainment Tonight earlier this summer, Evans praised Allen and acknowledged that it was “nerve-racking” delivering some of Allen’s most famous lines in the movie. “Because it’s something that we all know from someone else,” Evans said, referring to Allen’s delivery of the line, “To infinity and beyond!” as Buzz Lightyear in the Toy Story franchise. “So it’s big shoes to fill and you want to put your own interpretation on it, but you also have to make sure you pay homage to what we all know and what we all love.”