10 Films With Awesome Animated TV Shows You Forgot Existed

by Ewan Paterson

1. Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command

Perhaps the most intelligent premise for universe expansion I've seen pretty much ever, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command remains an underrated gem from Pixar's formative years on TV. A Toy Story spin-off without the toys, the show lasted for two seasons and spawned a video game of the same name, which my five year old self would probably tell you was the best game of all time.

The genius of Star Command lies in its decision to expand upon the lore of the Toy Story series without the accompanying danger of encroaching upon the franchise's cinematic potential, adding instead to the in-universe lore of Buzz Lightyear by offering a window into the cartoon show that spawned Tim Allen's toy from the 1995 original film. The intro literally follows Andy's toys as they gear up to watch the series with the audience, and the pilot even featured Allen in the role all over again. To make matters even better, when the Galaxy Quest star failed to return for the rest of the series, Tick actor and all-around fantastic guy Patrick Warburton stepped in as a replacement.

Indeed, Warburton's acting style only seemed to enhance the show's idea of offering a hyperbolised take on Buzz's roots, and with two seasons worth of content to enjoy, it made the wait between Toy Story 2 and 3 just that little bit easier. Not much, but, you know - a little.

Adding a completely different dynamic to one of Pixar's most beloved properties was always going to be a difficult task to accomplish, but, in doing so, Star Command exemplifies the strengths of the Toy Story franchise perfectly, in that it can survive and indeed thrive without the need of another blockbuster entry. And while, yes, we're getting Toy Story 4 (whether we wished it or not), the show illustrates that Pixar have a variety of options left at their disposal. Who's to say a Woody's Roundup reboot is off the cards?

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Which of these shows was your favourite? Any that we missed? Let us know down in the comments.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.