Parents' Guide to Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins

It's no Toy Story, but this offshoot brings back many familiar characters in a fast-paced adventure that amuses adult science fiction fans as well as kids who like Buzz and Zurg. Though it parodies the Star Wars movies, none of the jokes gets a laugh like Zurg's confession that he's Buzz's father in Toy Story 2. Still, lines echoing the rebel mission against the Death Star and Princess Leia's dislike of her title are humorous.

Though there are many fights and explosions, the violence always looks comical. Only robots (which the engineers rebuild) receive serious damage. A 4-year-old viewer pointed out that Buzz, Zurg, and the Rangers wear body armor and use mechanical wings to fly; he saw them as superheroes without the physical weaknesses of real people or even of toys, which can break. Like the fighting kids see on Saturday-morning cartoons, the combat scenes are more about action than injury. The message about following school rules gets a little muddled since Buzz and his team keep breaking them, but the emphasis on teamwork and collaboration is reinforced throughout. Younger kids won't realize that brainwashing devices, pit vipers, and regulations on lightspeed travel are staples of cheap sci-fi movies, though some may recognize the voice of Star Trek's William Shatner performing the concluding song.