Why does my son love Buzz?

I have shelved this Toy Story 1 CD for quite some time in an old rack. If I recall it right, my husband bought this CD a long time ago, we were still dating then. I remember accompanying him to a CD store where he bought this movie for lack of any other interesting material. Little did we know that this CD had a purpose of its own and that is to serve a little master, our son.

My kid received a Buzz Lightyear bubble blower from his Godparents last Christmas. This toy became an instant hit to him the moment he saw Buzz blowing bubbles in the air. He was absolutely delighted as he chased the floating air packets around. The refill bottle did not last a week and so were the batteries.

Wanting to educate our son on the beginnings of Buzz Lightyear, my hubby decided to look for our good old CD and tried in on the player. Fifteen minutes later we get a first glimpse of Buzz when he is seen standing atop Andy’s bed as the poor Woody cowboy is flung from his prized spot. My little boy suddenly stands up, with glistening eyes and exclaims “Buzz!” The instant recognition earned Buzz our respect that he was to become Keith’s favourite toy and so begun our history of the toy-never-ending- story.

Who is Buzz Lightyear? According to the description inscribed in his spaceship, “he is a member of the elite Universe Protection Unit of Space Ranger Corp. protecting the galaxy from the threat of invasion from the Evil Emperor Zurg, sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance.” I am writing this from memory, who couldn’t I watched the movie a hundred times already.

My son adored Buzz even though he is only a secondary character in that film where Woody is. He plays Buzz to the hilt – he jumps, crawls, runs, and raises his hands and even his right foot as copied onscreen. I am amazed at how this more than an hour movie holds the attention of my 1-year old.

I fear that constant exposure to the same movie may pose a health hazard to my son in the long run. Like all mothers, I did my homework and arrived at a conclusion that TV viewing is alright in regulated doses and should be quality controlled. This is quite obvious as “just enough” is always a better choice to less and more. The TV like any other device is a technological means that could be tapped for creative learning. I was a follower of Sesame Street and Batibot once and I guess my tolerance streams from this reason. This is our version of MTRCB at home, Toy Story 1 will be shown once a day then gradually reduced to thrice a week until it becomes occasional.

In response to the above query - why does my son love Buzz- well based from my almost a 100th time viewing, I am expected to offer highly analytical and profound answers but I can only say: Buzz is funny (my kid’s laughter is proof enough), creative and gutsy (Buzz refers to flying as falling with style) and sincere (he is a true friend to Woody whom he saves in the movie). My son deciphered these qualities the first time he watched Toy Story 1 that is why ….while it took me almost a hundred viewing times before I picked it up.