The Ultimate Toy Box Collection
October 17th, 2000
MOVIE 5
VIDEO 5
AUDIO 5
EXTRAS 5
OVERALL 5
Three Discs
1.77:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
English Subtitles
Original Theatrical Trailers
Audio Commentaries
Audio Only Track
Music Only Track
Outtakes
Deleted Scenes
Abandoned Concepts
Short: Luxo Jr.
Short: Tin Toy
Toy Story Cartoon Bumpers
Monsters, Inc.
Sneak Peak
History of Toy Story
Documentaries
Special Effects/Design Tests
Original THX Logo Animations
Run Time: Toy Story: 81 Minutes Toy Story 2: 92 Minutes
Boxed Set
MOVIE Both Films 5
Rated G. Don't worry. Just show the kids these films. Period.
I saw Toy Story for the first time, in a theater with two girls
that I wanted to date. Both Amy and Nicole were unattainable, seeing other
guys, doing other things, and I was their friend that they wished their guys
were more like. So, for Christmas, I took them both to see a kid's movie. Girls
dig that, I've found. I didn't get any closer to dating either of them, though.
What I did get out of it was a Sheriff Woody Doll from Nicole that I treasure
to this day, despite wanting a Buzz Lightyear. Interestingly (to me anyway) I
got that Buzz Lightyear on a blind Internet date meeting thingy at Gurnee
Mills, finding him, strangely in the clearance bin. The Buzz Lightyear shortage
of that year was nothing compared to the Cabbage Patch shortage of my youth,
but it was still a big deal. Retailers felt that the American public would
prefer the soft toy to the hard plastic spaceman. They didn't figure on the
general public wanting both. Toy Story toys sold hard that year, though
their availability and lack of variety hurt sales. They didn't make the same
mistake years later when Toy Story 2 came out, but I'm getting ahead of
myself.
Sitting there with those two girls, one on either side, I was in heaven. They were both snuggled with me, their heads on my shoulder, laughing and laughing with the film. All of this was a moot point, though, because the film was tremendous. I could've been sitting on nails and I would've enjoyed it just as much. I was enthralled. Here all this hype around the film have been touting it almost solely as the "first entirely computer animated film ever" barely even mentioning how truly superb it 
was. The story was rich and the characters were vivid. The jokes were funny and the moral wasn't overbearing as it often is in films for children. What struck me most was, for the first time in an animated film in years, I was completely given over, completely absorbed. Sure, I'd loved some of the recent Disney films; Aladdin was hilarious, The
Lion King had a great story (courtesy Shakespeare of course) and Hercules,
well, Hercules was glorious goofy fun. But Toy Story, it had it
all, and climbed to the top of my favorite Disney film list fast.
Sheriff Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) is a cowboy doll leading the
droves of toys in "Andy's Room," a world in and of itself. The room
is run like a small town, with weekly meetings on important issues, especially
everybody picking moving buddies because Andy, his little sister and his mother
will be moving soon. Woody's world is complete, he has his semi-girlfriend
Bo-Peep (voiced by [i]Annie Potts[/i],) the porcelain figurine from his
little sister's bedside lamp, a gallery of supporters and friends including
Rex, a terrified Tyrannosaurus (voiced by Wallace Shawn), Slinky Dog,
who's name says it all (voiced by Jim Varney), Hamm the know it all
piggy bank (voiced by John Ratzenburger) and the cranky Mr. Potatohead (voiced
by Don Rickles.) This entire world is thrown into upheaval with the arrival
of Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) in Woody's spot at the top of the bed. Buzz is a space toy, a futuristic rocket man who is so delusional that he actually thinks he IS Buzz Lightyear, a cartoon character in Andy's world, destined to save the universe from the Evil Emperor Zurg. Through a series of events, Woody 
and Buzz get separated from the pack and are lost in the world beyond Andy's room. And I've barely even begun to describe this densely plotted narrative.
These days, I unfortunately look at Toy Story through tainted glasses,
seeing it as a lesser film simply because its successor Toy Story 2 was
so phenomenal. Truth be told, I remember my feeling when I saw it for the first
time, and then the several subsequent times in the theater, loving it to death
every single time. It was truly fantastic. The film drew upon universal fears,
as does the second and Monsters Inc., the fear that we'll lose someone
close to us due to someone else moving in is such a realistic fear that we
instantly identify with Woody and are ready to hate Buzz Lightyear for his
arrogance and smugness, only to find out that Buzz is delusional and more
confused about his situation than even Woody. It takes our expectations as an
audience and changes them, then just when we have things figured out, they change
again, and again. The world these toys inhabit, a world where there is a code
of conduct among toys, to help each other out and to never allow humans to see
them move unless absolutely necessary. The villains aren't so much opponents in
this film as circumstance. And the menace is ever shifting, moving from Buzz to
the world to Sid (voiced by Erik von Detten) the toy murdering neighbor
who bares more than a bit of resemblance to Scut Farcus from A Christmas
Story. There are surprises and in-jokes (note the Binford brand on the tool box) everywhere. I find it's best not to think of this as a kid's movie. It's an adult movie that is 
appropriate for kids as well.
Three years later, A Bug's Life came out, and with the hype around
that film came an interesting rumor, Toy Story 2 was in production as a
direct to video sequel from Disney. I stumbled across a production still of
Buzz and Woody playing Super Nintendo. I got jazzed, but the important question
had still yet to be answered, would Tom Hanks and Tim Allen be reprising their
roles? That prayer got answered soon afterwards and we heard that the title
would be Toy Story 2: Collector's Edition, and that the words
"Collector's Edition" referred not to the video release but to an
important plot point, Woody was a rare doll, coveted by a toy collector. More
information began to trickle out and the title changed to Toy Collector but
then the bombshell hit, the studio brass had seen advanced work on the film and
decided to rework some things and release Toy Story 2 theatrically in
November of 1999. There are skeptics who say that this was all a product of
Walt's hype machine, putting the feelers out to see if there was any interest
for a theatrical sequel. Whether that's true or not didn't matter, what was
important was that our prayers were answered, we'd get to see Buzz and Woody in
an all-new big screen adventure.
Flash forward a few years. Peachykeen and I (she was not yet Fiancée)
gathered a veritable gaggle of friends and relations including Rocketman, Wrestlin
Reviewer and many others, filling multiple theater rows in AMC 30's biggest
theater, all jazzed because the reviews had been overwhelmingly positive, many
pointing out that this film was better than the first. I remained a skeptic,
almost refusing to believe that it could possibly be true, but hoping beyond
hope that it was, that I'd see another vision in glorious digitally created
characters. I was in no way prepared for Toy Story 2, and it hit me like
a sucker punch, leaving me weak and broken, in pain, and ready to do it again.
In total I saw Toy Story 2 eight times in the theater and several more
pop-ins while waiting for another movie to start.
So what was it? Toy Story 2 was a story about loss and how it can
hurt. Yes, it is a story about toys, but first and foremost, loss. Again, they
took a universal truth, eventually, sometimes, people grow up and grow apart,
and when that happens, things are never the same, be it with a girlfriend or
boyfriend, with a sibling, with childhood friends, often you can never
recapture that wonderful feeling you had at a younger age.
So, in actuality, the story is that Woody accidentally finds his way down
to Andy's mother's (voiced by Laurie Metcalf) yard sale while Andy is
away at camp (Woody couldn't go because a seam in his shoulder popped and he
was relegated to the dreaded "shelf.") He's found and bought by a Al
(voiced by Wayne Knight) of Al's Toy Barn fame that brings him back to his upscale apartment building in the city and places 
him in a display case. When Al is gone, Woody tries desperately to escape only to be interrupted by two other toys that seem to know him, Jesse (voiced by Joan Cusack), a
cowgirl that bares some resemblance to Woody in terms of design and Bullseye, a
horse that seems tailor made for him. With the help of a third toy, still mint
in the box, named The Prospector (voiced by Kelsey Grammar,) they show
Woody that he is a rare doll, based on a vintage TV series and with the three
of them, he completes an ultimate collection of Television memorabilia. They
tell him that, now that he's with, they'll be able to go to a toy museum in
Japan and no longer be stuck in a box in storage. Woody is torn between his
friends and this new situation, completing a family that desperately needs him.
Meanwhile, Buzz leads a search and rescue team across the city to Al's Toy Barn
to find Woody. In tow is Mr. Potatohead, Rex, Hamm and Slinky Dog. They face
terrible danger like no toy has ever faced, culminating in crossing an
eight-lane street to the store.
But once again, the film is about loss. Woody again is faced with the fear
of losing Andy when his arm rips and Andy goes to cowboy camp without him. The
toys in Andy's room all lose Woody when he's stuck into the yard sale stuff.
Wheezy (voiced by Joe Ranft,) the squeaking penguin toy who lost his
squeaker has been stuck on the shelf for ages, accumulating dust. He's already
lost everybody, but it's worse because he can still see them, but can't get to
them. Jesse is the embodiment of loss through her story and heartbreaking song
"When Somebody Loved Me" about her friend Emily and how she got left
behind when Emily grew up, something that terrifies Woody by the possibility
that it'll happen with Andy, so he decides to go with the toys to Japan. The
story instantly reminded me of the troubles faced by a group of friends from
high school in that summer after senior year, when people begin to scatter to
the four winds, heading across the country and away, promising to write, and as
the years get longer, writing and visiting less until maybe you don't ever see
them. Who doesn't know the pain of losing someone close, or the fear that
someone will realize that maybe they don't want to be with you anymore, or
don't need you anymore, or worse, just don't want you anymore.
But at the same time, like it's predecessor, Toy Story 2 is much
more than that. The adventure sequences are incredible with two highlights
being the opening Buzz Lightyear adventure and the crossing the freeway. The
comedy isn't at all forced, instead flowing freely, filling every scene with so
many jokes that you often have to stop and catch your breath, but unlike most
comedies that do this, none of the jokes fall flat. They all resonate instead,
hinting at deeper truths. There are moments in Toy Story 2 when you
couldn't wipe the dopey smile off your face.
My personal favorite scene is when Woody discovers the collection of
tie-in products. The voice acting by Tom Hanks, accompanied by stunning visuals
and Randy Newman's bittersweet score is perhaps the closest to a perfect a
scene as I've ever seen. And Jesse's song will have you in tears if you have
any heart at all. Don't be afraid to be a kid again when you watch these films,
recall a more innocent time in your life when you were less jaded and just
allow Pixar's magic to take you away. You won't be sorry.
VIDEO QUALITY 5
As with A Bug's Life, released on DVD before it, both Toy Story films
are presented here as a direct transfer from the computer to the digital DVD
medium. Therefore, since no film print was involved in the process, there are
no film problems to contain with on these DVDs such as scratches, flicker,
popping, grain, etc. All of those are completely nonexistent. And since the
films are shorter and are on their own DVDs each, there aren't any visible
compression artifacts here. Toy Story 2 looks better than the first, but
I'd imagine only because computer animation had advanced so much between the
two films. Looking at them one after another, this fact is extremely apparent.
Both are presented in the 16x9 aspect ratio of 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen,
setting them up to look just PERFECT on that High Definition widescreen TV you
just bought.
AUDIO QUALITY 5
Pixar is proud of the sound effects in their films
and it shows on this DVD release. Both films have a separate audio track just
showing off the sound effects with no dialogue or incidental music to go along.
Its a treat to listen to a bit of this, making special note of the sounds Hamm
makes when he walks, with the change jiggling inside, but a sound effects only
track gets old fast. So, with that in mind, Id advise watching the films with
their actual soundtracks instead (like you werent going to anyway) and listening
to them mixed in gloriously filling Dolby Digital 5.1. As all the soundtracks
had to be built from scratch, theyre played with more in animated films than in
live action often, and sound effects really travel in the Toy Story films,
two moments in the second one stand out, Als burp and the trip through the
ventilation shafts in Als building, the sound is stunning. Their new THX logos
are perfect sound demonstration pieces as they use all five speakers.
EXTRAS 5
Okay, so its not an extra, but I love the new THX logos Pixar created with
the little robot guy. Theyre funny and they look great, and to top it off,
theyre the best audio demonstration of what my sound system can do and I love
them for it.
First and foremost then is a pair of audio commentaries by John Lasseter
and the crew, namely Andrew Stanton who talk nonstop, interrupting each other
to give interesting information on the film. They talk about origins of
characters and how ideas from the first film that were abandoned (Woody's dream
& Wheezy) made it into the second film, they detail the process from direct
to video to theatrical release and they endear themselves to you by being self
deprecating and fun. There are two other extra audio tracks, the sound effects
and the music tracks, both are interesting and nice to have, though I doubt
you'll get much mileage out of them.
More interesting are the theatrical trailers and teasers, and the teaser
for Monsters, Inc.
The outtakes that were later attached to the end of the second film are present
here. Also present are the two early Pixar Shorts Tin Toy and Luxo Jr.
Tin Toy is fun and funny and was evidently the origin of the Toy
Story idea, but the better of the two is Luxo Jr, 
their first film from back in the late eighties and it's amazing how much emotion could be conveyed even back then by digitally created and animated desk lamps. Fabulous.
Now we jump over to the third disc in the collection. The box claims that
there are over nine hours of material on this three disc set and, if we
eliminate the movies and the audio commentaries then we still have roughly
three hours of extras on this the third disc. I've had the DVDs for nearly two
years now and I'm still not sure I've seen all there is to see. What I have
seen are cut scenes that aren't fully rendered, abandoned concepts, early
tests, especially a funny little short design test between an enormous Woody
doll with a ventriloquist dummy mouth and a tiny red spaceman not yet named
Buzz Lightyear. This test shows very different dynamics between the two
characters with Buzz very scatterbrained and Woody mean spirited and angry.
Also included is the original story concept for the film that was about a
ventriloquist dummy going cross-country, as with Monsters, Inc.
bears little resemblance to the finished film, but is much more interesting and
enjoyable than the original version of that film. There are so many character
tests with alternate versions of many different characters, various production
designs, computer glitch outtakes (which are REALLY strange) and, my favorite,
though I can't find it anymore, an animation test of Woody used to demonstrate
how perfect Tom Hanks would be, using the audio from the sequence where Hooch
eats his car seats in Turner & Hooch, we find Woody begging a small
blue Pac-manesque character not to eat his car, a small toy car.
Something definitely worth watching is nearly an hour and a half's worth
of short "bumpers" created by Pixar to be placed between commercials
on Saturday morning cartoons featuring the Toy Story characters. Both
Buzz and Woody are voiced by other people, but their voices are close, and most
of the shorts focus on the green aliens and Rex anyway. They're hilarious and
are almost another movie in and of themself.
This collection packs all the information from the mammoth Toy Story laserdisc
boxed set along with so much extra material from the first film and a wealth of
information from the second (in production once DVDs began to emerge) comes to
a superb package that is worth every dollar. Be sure, however, to pick the
three disc silver set instead of the white two disc set that only includes the
movies and the shorts, no commentary, hereafter known as Toy Story: The
Crappy Editions.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
My love for Pixar and the Toy Story films
should be apparent by now. I have a Buzz Lightyear poster in my room, and a
shelf with all my Toy Story toys on it including Buzz and Woody dolls,
Slinky Dog, Hamm, Jesse, Zurg, Mr. Potatohead, Rex, Bullseye and more
(unfortunately I couldn't find a full size Prospector.) The two films hold a
proud spot in my collection and I'm wary of loaning them out because I know
that as soon as I do, I'll want to watch them. These are transcendent films,
they can't be easily classified and most people shrug them off as being kiddie
fare. They're not. Their emotionally mature and funny for adults. As I've said
before, they're adult films that kids can watch, and who could really ask for
more than that?