Movie review
June 15, 2022 · 105 min · PG
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Lightyear includes a same-sex kiss between Space Ranger commander Alisha Hawthorne and her wife Kiko. Pixar restored the scene after internal staff pressure and the “Don’t Say Gay” backlash. The movie shows their lesbian marriage and family growing across time-jump montages while Buzz tests hyperspace flights. This queer representation is the clear identity signal and triggered major backlash, bans in multiple countries, and “go woke go broke” complaints.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Lightyear.
Woke representation / casting
Deliberate inclusion and restoration of a same-sex kiss plus ongoing lesbian marriage for supporting character Alisha Hawthorne; diverse voice cast fits futuristic sci-fi premise but the queer element was a documented production priority.
Woke political dialogue
No explicit political or activist dialogue present in the story.
Identity-driven story themes
Queer couple appears only as normalized background for time-dilation montages showing colony aging; not a driver of Buzz’s adventure or character arcs.
Western institutional / cultural critique
No modern activist-style institutional or identity-politics critique; conflict is standard sci-fi robot army villainy.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant
Production
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Widespread, sustained backlash specifically over the same-sex kiss, international bans, and “woke agenda” framing in media and social platforms.
Creator track record context
Longtime Pixar team with classic family-animation credits; aligned with recent studio inclusion efforts but no established pattern of activist or identity-driven prior work.
