Lightyear: 5 Reasons It's Not The Movie Andy Watched In Toy Story (And 3 Reasons It Is)
3. Why It Is Not: The Special Effects Would Not Have Been This Advanced
Lightyear looks beautiful, but it does not have any right to be if it is supposed to be an early ‘90s movie at the latest. How can a movie of its time accomplish these kinds of visual effects?
The way the camera moves through space, through creatures and objects, requires sophisticated CGI and post-production that would have not been available. Not that movies did not have matte paintings, stop-motion, or early CGI work, but since the technology and techniques were not as refined as even the best special effects could only be shot in limited angles. Not in a free-roaming space in almost every frame.
By the latest, Lightyear would have come out in 1995. By note of comparison, the most impressive effects work at the time would have been Jurassic Park. The money shot then was the T-Rex attack at night where the T-Rex effect is made through practical animatronics that keep on switching with CGI seamlessly. Yet while it was impressive, the animatronic can only be shot in specific angles, and the CGI only looked real and seamless because it was shot in the dark while raining.
Here in Lightyear, there are robots and vine monsters that keep on appearing in multiple frames in quick succession, physically interacting with people. The camera seems to be roaming freely around the creatures and robots like there are no angles that cannot be shot. Zurg’s robots can be seen dozens at a time - That kind of CGI sophistication was only achieved by 1999, with Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.