Toy Story and Toy Story 2 Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack review |

Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) in Toy Story

The creative geniuses at Pixar created a film in Toy Story that is just as enjoyable and endearing today, as it was when I first watched years ago. Aside from being the first completely computer-animated feature film released to theaters, Toy Story was also groundbreaking because of its fresh and funny wit, and the way its characters instantly became a part of everyone’s family.

Toy Story 2 continued that tradition, nearly outdoing its predecessor, in terms of story depth and visual delights. Director John Lasseter ups the stakes with every scene, the best of which is a nightmarish sequence in Sid’s room. Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are highly recommended for kids of all ages, and Disney/Pixar has just released both films in extras-laden Blu-ray editions, that will take you deep into the creation of both of these iconic CG-animated treasures.

Toy Story

Bonus Material

The audio commentary features director John Lasseter, co-writer Andrew Stanton, art director Ralph Eggleston, supervising animator Pete Docter, and more examining Toy Story’s production process, from concept through completion of the final movie.
Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: Blast Off features Buzz, Hamm, and Rex introducing NASA and space exploration in a short film geared towards younger viewers.
Paths to Pixar: Artists centers on several Pixar artists discussing their early passion for animation, going to art school, as well as their experiences at John Lasseter’s studio.
There’s also a 2 minute Sneak Peek at the upcoming Toy Story 3 called Toy Story 3: The Story. This is the first of two new Toy Story 3 featurettes, the other of which is on the Blu-ray edition of Toy Story 2.
Studio Stories features three lovable animated shorts that are simply a must see.
Buzz Takes Manhattan features John Lasseter talking about Buzz Lightyear’s Macy’s Day Parade float.
Black Friday: The Toy Story You Never Saw centers on a version of Toy Story that was scrapped in favor of the film we now all know and love.
Filmmakers Reflect is a featurette from the standard DVD, containing a roundtable discussion between Lasseter and his fellow Pixar artists talking about the film’s production.
Making Toy Story delves into the development, design, and animation of Buzz and Woody’s first adventure.
The Legacy of Toy Story features John Lasseter, voice actors, film critics, and a number of filmmakers including Peter Jackson and George Lucas, sharing their thoughts on Toy Story, and how it changed and revitalized the animated film genre.
Designing Toy Story is a solid vignette that discusses more technical aspects of the film’s production.
There are ten unfinished deleted scenes on the disc, many of which are alternate versions of iconic sequences.
There’s also a nearly 30 minute featurette called Design loaded with character & background galleries, and pre-viz.
Production takes two studio tours, where viewers learn about several layout tricks used in the film.
The Music & Sound segment features the You’ve Got a Friend in Me music video, a featurette titled Designing Sound, and a set of Randy Newman audio tracks.
Publicity features a large set of advertising materials, including a mock character interview short, two theatrical trailers, TV Spots, a set of One Sheets, and a merchandise photo gallery.
Maximize Your Home Theater allows the viewer to calibrate their video and audio for the best possible presentation.
There is also BD-Live functionality for compatible Blu-ray players.

Toy Story

Film

Extras

Toy Story 2

Bonus Material

Things start off with an Audio Commentary featuring John Lasseter, co-directors Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon, and co-writer Andrew Stanton discussing the development of the sequel and its characters, along with the difficulties of being original.
Toy Story 3 Sneak Peek: The Characters introduces the world to new characters that fans can expect to see in this summer’s highly anticipated Toy Story 3.
Pixar’s Zoetrope features the Pixar team sculpting a stunning three-dimensional zoetrope.
Celebrating Our Friend Joe Ranft is a moving tribute to story artist Joe Ranft, who was dubbed by Lasseter as “the heart and soul of Pixar.”
Studio Stories features three animated shorts, including: a funny sketch that examines Lasseter’s ditching of the first version of Toy Story 2; another that focuses on Pixar’s original offices; and a tale about a mistake of near-tragic proportions, and a baby who saved the day.
Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: International Space Station is another short aimed at kids, this time with Buzz hosting a tour of the space station.
Making Toy Story 2 is a behind-the-scenes extra from the original DVD release of Toy Story 2, exploring the development of the sequel’s story, characters and themes. It also looks at the challenges of outdoing the now classic original film.
John Lasseter Profile centers on the legendary animation director and how he continues to inspire the staff at Pixar.
Cast of Characters is a roundup of all the characters that inhabit the Toy Story 2 world.
Toy Box are the “outtakes” that roll during the end credits of the film; an easter egg from the original DVD called “Jessie’s Gag”; a stack of golden-age “Autographed Pictures; and more fun stuff.
There are three Deleted Scenes, including a deleted animation Intro, and an early version of the “Crossing the Road” sequence.
Production includes a series of DVD featurettes include “Designing Woody’s Past”, “Making Woody’s Roundup”, “Production Tour”, “Special Effects,” and more.
Music & Sound are a series of featurettes from the original DVD and include “Designing Sound,” “Making the Songs,” “Woody’s Roundup Music Video,” and a Randy Newman demo-recording of “Jessie’s Song.”
Publicity is a collection of advertising materials including character interview shorts, trailers and more.
This disc also includes the Maximize Your Home Theater audio and video calibration tool.
BD-Live Functionality