Tim Allen on Sobriety, Spirituality, and the Legacy of Toy Story

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Actor Tim Allen recently addressed his journey of faith, as well as his decades-long career in entertainment, as he reprises his role as Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 5.

Speaking with US Weekly, Allen recalled how the first Toy Story film, released in 1995, would create a lasting impact on multiple generations.

“Essentially, it’s a story about a wonderful friendship. Kids recognize it, and adults recognize it, and they’ve added a whole color palette with the other toys, so it’s like a little community. I think [if it were with] stick figures, it would still be very popular,” he explained.

Allen also noted the initial doubts leading up to the first film’s release.

"When we first saw 'Toy Story,' everybody was in the room going, 'I don't know what to make of this.' [The] powers-that-be were very unsure it would [translate]. [They] thought, 'Maybe we just go right to DVDs,'" Allen said.

Three decades later, the fifth installment of the franchise addresses the increased use of

technology amongst children, The Christian Post reported.

“I’m amazed Pixar did this. They’re into tech, and yet they’re putting a light on their own tech. That scene where all the kids are on their phones in the houses, everybody got very quiet in the screening room. It was courageous to re-encourage kids to play.”

When it came to how faith plays a role in his life, Allen acknowledged that he's been “a questioner most of [his] life.”

“If I look back at the horrible things that have happened to me or to others, am I supposed to be OK with that? Or is it none of my business? For a long time, I still enjoyed church services now and then, but underneath, I was going, “I don’t like this creator because you can take anybody any time you want for no reason,” the actor explained.

“I remember one time a Catholic school bus fell off the road somewhere… I spent some time in behind bars, and there’s never a prison bus on the way to court that gets hit by another truck; it’s always a school bus. I’ve learned to stop asking.”

He also opened up about sobriety and how it affected him as a father, particularly with his first daughter, Kate, who was born in 1989.

"I was not sober for some of [Kate’s] formative years. I made amends to her," Allen said. "With the younger one, I see how much different it is when I’ve been sober almost 30 years. She never knew any of that guy. I’ve thought about it many times, and I’ve talked to Kate, and she doesn’t hold it against me."

Earlier this year, Tim Allen announced on social media that he read through the entire Bible in a span of 13 months.

“Finished the entire Bible it’s been a 13 month word by word page by page no skimming journey. Humbled, enlightened, and amazed at what I read and what I learned. I will rest and meditate on so much. I will begin it again,” he wrote.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Momodu Mansaray/Stringer

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.